Current state of hemispherectomy and callosotomy for pediatric refractory epilepsy in Denmark

Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Objective: To evaluate outcomes from hemispherectomy and callosotomy related to the need for anti-seizure medication (ASM), seizure frequency, and cognition. Methods: A review of the medical charts of all Danish pediatric patients who underwent hemispherectomy or callosotomy from January 1996 to December 2019 for preoperative and postoperative ASM use, seizure frequency, and cognitive data. Results: The median age of epilepsy onset was two years (interquartile range (IQR): 0.0–5.3) for the hemispherectomy patients (n = 16) and one year (IQR: 0.6–1.7) for callosotomy patients (n = 5). Median time from onset to final surgery was 3.4 years for hemispherectomy and 10.2 years for callosotomy, while the median follow-up time was 6.9 years and 9.0 years, respectively. Preoperatively, all patients had daily seizures and were treated with ≥ 2 ASM. Hemispherectomy resulted in a reduction in seizure frequency in 87.5 % of patients, with 78.6 % achieving seizure freedom. Furthermore, 81.3 % experienced a reduction in ASM use and 56.3 % stopped all ASM. Median IQ/developmental quotient (IQ/DQ) was low preoperatively (44.0 [IQR: 40.0–55.0]) and remained unchanged postoperatively (IQ change: 0.0 [IQR: −10.0–+4.0]). Callosotomy resulted in a seizure reduction of 86–99 % in four patients, and ASM could be reduced in three patients. Median IQ/DQ was 20.0 preoperatively (IQR: 20.0–30.0) and remained unchanged postoperatively (IQ change: 0.0 [IQR: 0.0]). Conclusion: Hemispherectomy and callosotomy result in a substantial reduction in seizure frequency and ASM use without deterioration of IQ. Extensive epilepsy surgery should be considered early in children with drug-resistant epilepsy.

Original languageEnglish
JournalBrain and Development
Volume46
Issue number3
Pages (from-to)142-148
Number of pages7
ISSN0387-7604
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2023 The Japanese Society of Child Neurology

    Research areas

  • Anti-seizure medication, Cognitive function, Drug-resistant epilepsy, Epilepsy surgery, Intelligence quotient, Seizure frequency

ID: 383704187