WORSENING SEIZURES AFTER SURGERY FOR FOCAL EPILEPSY DUE TO EMERGENCE OF PRIMARY GENERALIZED EPILEPSY

Our patient underwent right anteromesial temporal resection at 17 year s of age for intractable complex partial seizures due to hippocampal s clerosis, and then developed juvenile myoclonic epilepsy after a chang e in medication. Postoperative seizures ceased after a change to valpr oate monotherapy. Our patient reminds us to remain aware that generali zed and focal epilepsy may coexist as an unusual cause for surgical fa ilure. We feel that these patients may still be favorable candidates f or epileptic surgery, as long as the focal epileptogenic zone is amena ble to resection and the generalized epilepsy appears to be readily co ntrollable.