EFFECTIVE TEMPORAL LOBECTOMY IN CHILDHOOD WITHOUT INVASIVE EEG

Temporal lobectomy abolished complex partial seizures (CPSs) in 14 con secutive children (12 years or younger) whose presurgical evaluation i ncluded clinical analysis, scalp EEG, and neuroimaging. Seizures of 13 of 14 patients began with a simple partial component whose symptoms w ere suggestive of limbic system involvement. EEG recorded clinically t ypical seizures arising from the ultimately operated on temporal lobe in seven (50%) and never falsely lateralized seizure origin. Most acti ve interictal spikes arose from the epileptogenic temporal lobe in 13 (93%) and never falsely lateralized epileptogenesis. Neuroimaging disc losed epileptogenic lesions in all: magnetic resonance imaging (MRI; 1 1 patients) and computed tomography (CT; three patients). Children may obtain relief from CPSs by temporal lobectomy without invasive electr oencephalography.