Incidence of postoperative epilepsy in children following subfrontal craniotomy for tumor.

Thirty-one children who underwent 36 subfrontal craniotomies were retrospectively studied to determine the incidence of postoperative epilepsy and the effectiveness of antiepileptic drugs for seizure prophylaxis. The incidence of postoperative epilepsy following a subfrontal craniotomy did not exceed 12% when examined at various time periods during a 3-year postoperative course. Antiepileptic drugs were not warranted to reduce the incidence of postoperative seizures after the 1-month postoperative period and should not be used for long-term prophylactic therapy in children following a subfrontal craniotomy.