Abstracts

In children with medically intractable seizures surgical resection of the affected area is a widely accepted option. There are reports of discontinuation of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) in adult patients but few reports in children. The purpose of this study is to review surgical outcomes and need for AEDs following epilepsy surgery. The clinical course after extratemporal and temporal lobe resections was retrospectively analyzed in 80 pediatric patients from the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at the University of Alberta Hospital. Children were maintained on at least one AED for one year post-surgery. AED discontinuation was attempted after one year seizure free with a non-epileptic EEG. The outcome following discontinuation of AED after surgery was examined. Many patients were successfully taken off AEDs following both extratemporal and temporal lobe resections. In the extratemporal lobe resection patients eighteen of forty children (45%) remain seizure free off medications. Twenty-seven of forty patients (67.5%) remain seizure free off medications in the temporal lobe group. Many children who have had epilepsy surgery are seizure free postoperatively. Success rates for AED discontinuation were higher in the temporal lobe group versus the extratemporal lobe group. Long-term AEDs may not be necessary in all cases and in many children antiepileptic medication can be discontinued after one year following successful epilepsy surgery.