Surgical outcome and predictive factors in adult patients with intractable epilepsy and focal cortical dysplasia.

OBJECTIVES

To determine the surgical outcome and prognostic factors in adult patients with intractable epilepsy and focal cortical dysplasia (FCD).

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively studied the operative outcome in 21 consecutive adult patients with FCD who underwent surgical treatment for intractable partial epilepsy.

RESULTS

The mean age at surgery was 32.7 years (range, 18-58 years). The median post-operative follow-up was 2.5 years. The FCD was extratemporal in 11 patients, involved the temporal lobe in 10 patients, and was multilobar in eight patients. Eleven patients (52%) were rendered seizure-free, four patients (19%) had >95% reduction in seizures, and two patients (10%) had an 80-94% reduction in seizures. A seizure-free outcome was associated with shorter duration of epilepsy (P = 0.02).

CONCLUSION

Adult patients with FCD may be candidates for surgical treatment of intractable partial epilepsy. Most individuals have neocortical, extrahippocampal seizures and approximately 50% of patients are rendered seizure-free.