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Comprehensive Epilipsy Program Offers Individualized CareFor 15 years, the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin has offered the latest diagnostic and treatment options for men and women with epilepsy. Team members specialize in helping people with unusual seizures or epilepsy that cannot be controlled with medications.
“As one of the first epilepsy programs in the state, we offer medication options, surgical options and vagus nerve stimulation, as well as medication research trials,” said Linda Allen, RN, Epilepsy Program Coordinator.
Team members include four epileptologists (neurologists who specialize in epilepsy), a neurology fellow, neuropsychologists, neurosurgeons, neurodiagnostic technicians, epilepsy nurses, a psychologist and social workers. During weekly case meetings, team members discuss individualized care for each patient.
About 250 patients are referred by neurologists to the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program each year for video EEG monitoring to determine the type (classification) and focus (location in the brain) of seizures they are having. This helps to determine the best course of treatment. Performed in a special inpatient monitoring unit, EEG monitoring allows for a continuous record of seizures over several days.
“Patients are referred from all over Wisconsin and northern Illinois,” Allen said. “Our goal is to improve the patient’s quality of life by making them free of seizures without any side effects from medication, and to return them to their referring neurologist for continuing care.”
While medication will control seizures for the majority of patients, some people require additional therapies such as surgery. Two types of surgery are performed:
- Removal of the brain tissue causing the seizure. This may be a one-stage procedure during which the patient is asleep, a one-stage procedure during which the patient is awake (if brain mapping is required), or a two-stage procedure in which the patient is (usually) asleep. With “awake” surgery, the patient is under local sedation so he or she can respond during surgery.
The two-stage procedure involves implanting electrodes on the brain to locate the focus of the seizure. This is followed by brain mapping to identify the areas of the brain that control language, body movements and other functions. This helps the surgeon to remove as much seizure tissue as possible and spare the vital functional areas of the brain.
- Vagus nerve stimulation may be done for patients who are not candidates for or choose not to have brain surgery. This involves implanting a pacemaker-like device in the chest under the skin. A wire connects the device to an electrode attached to the vagus nerve, which relays information to and from the brain. The stimulator is programmed to generate pulses of electricity at regular intervals. When a seizure is about to occur, the stimulator is activated to stop the seizure.
Source: Every Day Date: May - July 2006 |
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