Clinical profile and outcomes of epilepsy surgery in children from a tertiary epilepsy care center in India

Introduction: The present study aims to describe epilepsy surgery outcomes in the pediatric population from a tertiary center in India.

Methodology: Children less than 18 years who underwent epilepsy surgery between June 2015 and December 2019 for whom at least a 1-year follow-up was available, were retrospectively evaluated for clinical presentation, radiology, surgical intervention, and seizure outcomes.

Observations: Out of a total of 355 epilepsy surgeries performed, 242 were in the pediatric group (140 males, 80 females). The mean age at surgery was 9.4 years ±4.8 years (range 4 months-18 years). The mean duration of epilepsy was 5.64 years ±3.91 (range 2 months-17 years). 126 patients experienced daily seizures, 45 weekly and 39 reported monthly seizures. Six had refractory status epilepticus. All the patients were on multiple anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs): the mean number of AEDs was 3.27 ± 0.98 (range 2-7 AEDs). Focal seizure was the most common seizure type seen in 72.27% of children (159/220). The most frequent etiology was focal cortical dysplasia (70), followed by bilateral parieto-temporo-occipital gliosis (48). All the patients underwent standard pre-surgical evaluation. Eleven patients needed stage 2 evaluation (intracranial EEG). The different surgeries performed were electrocorticography (ECOG) and navigation-guided resection (65), anterior temporal lobectomy and hippocampectomy (ATLAH) (48), functional hemispherotomy (39), callosotomy (28), disconnection surgeries (16), and multilobar resection (12). Twelve patients underwent more than one surgery. The patients were followed up between a minimum of 12 months and a maximum of 66 months (median 32 months; IQR 20 months). Engel class 1 outcome was observed in 81.38% in definitive surgeries. Outcomes of temporal lobe (TL) surgeries (92.3%) were better compared to hemispheric (87.17%) and extratemporal lobe (ETL) surgeries (75.32%). We encountered unexpected transient motor deficits in 2 patients and culture-proven meningitis in 8 patients. Post-surgery drug freedom (P-value 0.003) was the most important factor for better developmental, cognitive and behavioral outcomes.

Conclusion: Epilepsy surgeries are safe and seizure outcomes are excellent in properly selected cases with thorough presurgical evaluation. Early referral to a tertiary epilepsy center is needed for timely intervention.