Abstracts

Surgical treatment seems to be the best option for patients with refractory symptomatic temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The aim of this study was to analyze the surgical results of two epilepsy centers of Argentine operated between October 1996 to March 2002.
We selected 42 patients who were operated due to a diagnosis of medically intractable TLE and who had, at least, 1 year of postsurgical follow-up. All the patients were evaluated using a multidisciplinary approach that include a complete medical and neurological history, outpatient EEG, MRI of the brain and Video-EEG. Neuropsychological tests were performed in 37 p. (88 %), intracarotid amobarbital test in only 1 patient. Deep electrodes were implanted in two patients. Seizure outcome was assessed using Engel[rsquo]s classification.
There were 24 females and 18 males, mean age 35 years. In 40 patients an anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) was performed, and in 2 patients a lesionectomy was done. Twenty six patients were operated on the right side and 16 on the left side. The histopathological findings showed a low-grade tumor in 6 patients, hippocampal sclerosis in 30, dual pathology in 2, cavernous angiomas in 1 patient and neuronal migration disorder in 2. The mean follow-up period was 2,5 years (range 1- 4 years). Thirty-two patients (78 %) were in class I, 4 patients were in class II, 4 patients were in class III and 2 patient was in class IV.
Our results showed a postoperative outcome comparable with series of developed countries. The number of patients that were operated during the period of analysis was significantly lower than the potential candidates. This finding is of great significance for the creation of epilepsy surgery programs in developing countries