Investigators Workshop | Functional and Medical Outcomes After Large Pediatric Epilepsy Surgeries

OVERVIEW:

This workshop examines the post-operative implications of large epilepsy surgeries on children and their caregivers and offers strategies for clinicians to address patient outcomes.

One-third of children with epilepsy have drug-resistant epilepsy and may be candidates for epilepsy surgery. Epilepsy surgery utilization is increasing and some children require large surgeries. Traditionally, seizure control has been the primary measure of efficacy; however, alterations in neurodevelopmental trajectory and quality of life are crucial considerations. While the latter typically improve with seizure control, large surgeries can impair the brain networks responsible for movement, vision, cognition, and other domains, and can disrupt cerebrospinal fluid and hormonal regulation. The resulting outcomes can be difficult for parents to manage post-operatively, especially if symptom surveillance was not initiated or the potential for the comorbidities was not expected.

This workshop provides clinicians information to:

1. Facilitate their understanding of potential medical and functional sequelae after large epilepsy surgeries
2. Provide accurate counseling to families
3. Manage parental expectation
4. Initiate surveillance of symptoms post-operatively by referral to appropriate clinical care, and thus, improve long-term outcomes in these children