Abstracts

Rationale: Minimally invasive techniques for resection of epileptogenic tissue is desirable for both patients and their providers. Such techiniques, if similar in efficacy to conventional surgical techniques, offer the advantage of decreased morbidity, shortened hospital stay and improved patient satisfaction. The purpose of this study is to collect prospective chart data about the use of an FDA-cleared neurosurgical tool, (Visualase Thermal Therapy System) when used for ablation of epileptogenic tissues in medically refractory patients. Methods: Ten patients with MRI-imageable lesional diagnosed epilepsy underwent the standard clinical assessments in preparation for surgery destruction of seizure foci. These patients then underwent MR-thermal image guided laser ablation (Visualase) of MR-imagable lesions diagnosed as responsible for generation of seizures. Each lesion was treated using one or multiple laser probes during a single procedure lasting approximately two hours in duration. Following completion of the thermal treatment, subjects were evaluated with a neurological and MRI examinationResults: All 10 patients had successful Visualase ablations of targeted tissue. No major complications occurred. Followup data for Engel classification, medical and neurological complaints and changes in subsequent therapy will be presentedConclusions: Visualase is a highly effective and well tolerated procedure for treatment of medically refractory epilepsy. Further study is needed to determine optimal candidate selection and timing of this procedure.