By SerVaas, Cory

Surgery Cured Wife's Epilepsy

Dear Dr. SerVaas,

"Medical Mailbox" had a reader asking about the vagus nerve stimulator for her 20-year-old grandson with epilepsy. I would suggest the grandson seriously consider surgery.

After 20 years of epilepsy, my wife was 100 percent cured through brain surgery. Though it took a piece out of her brain the size of a thumb, her memory has improved dramatically, and her IQ grew 10 points in the year after surgery.

Studies have shown that surgery is an effective-but underutilized- cure for epilepsy that doesn't respond to drugs. The most recent was from the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, as reported in Science News (Vol. 168, July 9, 2005).

My wife's surgery removed an abnormality, barely visible on MRIs, that proved to be a benign tumor. The operations are typically on the temporal lobe, which controls body motions. Fortunately, these functions are duplicated on the left and right sides of the brain.

Though her epilepsy was not as severe as some, my wife was always at its mercy. She couldn't drive, remember jobs she had held or trips we had taken, or even details of our wedding.

The drugs were expensive, and she twice overdosed on standard dosages. She is a beautiful woman, and now she has a normal life.

Richard Hull

Kalispell, Montana

Thank you for your interesting case history. I hope readers with seizures that are unresponsive to medicines will be in touch with you in Kalispell, Montana.

Readers may send their letters to Medical Mailbox, 1100 Waterway Blvd., Indianapolis, IN 46202. Please include mailing address. Via e- mail: medicalmailbox@satevepost.org.

by Cory SerVaas M.D.

Copyright Benjamin Franklin Literary and Medical Society Mar/Apr 2006