POSTICTAL PSYCHOSIS AS A RISK FACTOR FOR MOOD DISORDERS AFTER TEMPORAL-LOBE SURGERY

This study investigated the psychiatric consequences of 38 consecutive patients who had surgery for intractable temporal lobe epilepsy with special attention to postoperative mood disorders. A close interrelati on between preoperative postictal psychosis and postoperative manic or depressive episodes was suggested. Left sided lobectomy augmented thi s correlation. Because the first sign of postoperative manic and depre ssive episodes appeared within 1 month and 2 months respectively, caut ious psychiatric follow up for several months after surgery proved to be crucial to prevent postoperative suicides. Postoperative manic depr essive episodes disappeared within the first 2 years after operation w ithout exception, if treated suitably. This suggests that we do not ha ve to preclude patients with postictal psychosis as surgical candidate s, but measures must be taken to prevent postoperative depressions.