Powered By
I had the tests done again many years later. The Occipital Lobe had another site. That would cause serious damage to my vision. The earlier one was one the right Temporal Lobe. That caused a cut in the Peripheral Vision on the left side.
Answer Summary
Members shared deeply personal journeys with epilepsy surgery, VNS implants, and long-term seizure management, offering both encouragement and... Read more
I had surgery on the left temporal lobe, and I am now almost 12 years seizure-free. It can be done. Everyone is different, you need to speak to the doctor.
Thanks to each of you for sharing your surgical experience. The surgical treatment if appropriately designed can be most effective. I was using medical treatment (drugs) for 30 years, trying many different drugs in combination. The effects and side effects were very disappointing. My disabling seizures were at least 1 every 2 weeks with regular small seizures. A VNS was implanted and it was somewhat effective, though it also has some side effects. Recently, the extensive amount of pre-surgical study was completed (which was surgical itself) and I was a candidate for anterior lobectomy on my nondominant temporal lobe. The risks were vision, some language, and memory risks as well. The stereo-EEG and WADA tests mapped my brain and seizure zone very well. A considerable portion of the temporal lobe, amygdala, and hippocampus were removed. All pre and post tests indicate no side effects and so far my seizures have stopped (6 weeks without seizures). My point, surgery can be very effective if pre-surgical mapping and epilepsy zone is carefully identified. And of course, a good surgeon. The risks of vision impairment is there along with other executive function impairments. But, balanced against stopping seizures, these are very difficult decisions.
God bless everyone I just had a MRI of the brain with and without contrast Friday July 31st I have to have a Spect Ct exam it has been a few years since I had either test done I don’t go back to the doctors until October then I will know what are the results and where do I go from there
The only requirement I had was that my seizures were only coming from one side of my brain. They wouldn't do the surgery if they were coming from both sides!
@A MyEpilepsyTeam Member It does help to get as much information before the surgery as you can get. After the neurosurgeon told me about the eyes and possible stroke, my epileptologist gave me some stats. He said I had a 95% chance of better seizure control, an 85% chance of total control ON meds, a 70% chance of total control OFF meds. I am part of the 70%.
Join
Your Privacy Choices
