Docs de-wire boy’s brain before surgery

The boy, hailing from Pudukkottai district, was suffering from epilepsy since he was four months and was being given treatment locally. However, he continued to get seizure attacks despite taking high dosage medication. He was referred to a hospital in Chennai. The EEG and MRI scan revealed that he suffered from side effects due to heavy usage of medications, which led to drug-resistant epilepsy and needed surgical cure.

Epilepsy surgery is most effective when seizures always originate from a single location in the brain. It is not the first line of treatment, but is considered when at least two anti-seizure medications have failed to control seizures, a condition is known as drug-resistantepilepsy. A team of doctors led by Dr Dinesh Nayak, senior neurologist and epileptologist, and neuroscience team removed the area of the brain where seizures originate. For this, the doctors had to de-wire the entire rear portion of the brain, called as the posterior quadrant disconnection. “The outcome of epilepsy surgery varies depending on the type of surgery performed. The most common is the resection of tissue in the temporal lobe that results in seizure-free outcomes for about two-thirds of people. If the patient remains seizure-free for at least one year, the doctor may consider tapering off anti-seizure medication and eventually taking off of the drugs entirely,” Dr Nayak explained.

After the surgery, the boy has recovered well and regained his intellectual abilities. His anti-seizure medications are being reduced and would be discontinued in the coming weeks, he added.