Biomaterial Database

Hemispherectomy for intractable seizures: long-term results in 17 patients followed for up to 38 years. 1993

K G Davies, and R E Maxwell, and L A French

Department of Neurosurgery, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.

Seventeen patients who underwent hemispherectomy for intractable epilepsy between 1950 and 1971 were reviewed to evaluate outcome for seizure control and the development of late complications. Sixteen had complete resection and in one the frontal pole was preserved. The follow-up period was 19 to 38 years (mean 28 years). One patient was lost to follow-up review 10 years after surgery. Three patients had died but none of the deaths were related to the surgery or to epilepsy. Ten patients had no postoperative complications, and three developed late complications: two had elevated intracranial pressure with enlargement of the remaining lateral ventricle after 13 and 16 years, and one had recurrent bleeding into the cerebrospinal fluid after 6 years. All were treated surgically and have since remained well. Eight patients (47%) had no seizures after surgery and eight (47%) were almost seizure-free. It is concluded that classical hemispherectomy is an effective operation for control of some types of epilepsy. The late complications, which occurred in 17% of the cases in this series, can be successfully treated. This series presents the longest follow-up results after hemispherectomy reported to date.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D007231	Infant, Newborn	An infant during the first 28 days after birth.	Neonate,Newborns,Infants, Newborn,Neonates,Newborn,Newborn Infant,Newborn Infants
D007427	Intracranial Pressure	Pressure within the cranial cavity. It is influenced by brain mass, the circulatory system, CSF dynamics, and skull rigidity.	Intracerebral Pressure,Subarachnoid Pressure,Intracerebral Pressures,Intracranial Pressures,Pressure, Intracerebral,Pressure, Intracranial,Pressure, Subarachnoid,Pressures, Intracerebral,Pressures, Intracranial,Pressures, Subarachnoid,Subarachnoid Pressures
D007806	Language Disorders	Conditions characterized by deficiencies of comprehension or expression of written and spoken forms of language. These include acquired and developmental disorders.	Acquired Language Disorders,Language Disorders, Acquired,Acquired Language Disorder,Language Disorder,Language Disorder, Acquired
D008297	Male		Males
D011183	Postoperative Complications	Pathologic processes that affect patients after a surgical procedure. They may or may not be related to the disease for which the surgery was done, and they may or may not be direct results of the surgery.	Complication, Postoperative,Complications, Postoperative,Postoperative Complication
D002541	Cerebral Decortication	Partial or total removal, ablation, or destruction of the cerebral cortex; may be chemical. It is not used with animals that do not possess a cortex, i.e., it is used only with mammals.	Decortication, Cerebral Cortex,Cerebral Cortex Decortication,Cerebral Cortex Decortications,Cerebral Decortications,Cortex Decortication, Cerebral,Cortex Decortications, Cerebral,Decortication, Cerebral,Decortications, Cerebral,Decortications, Cerebral Cortex
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005260	Female		Females