| Abstract | The article reviews the management of medically intractable epilepsy by performing temporal lobe resection. Eleven patients are chosen, including seven women and four men (mean age, 28 years; range, 19-49 years) who underwent temporal lobe resection for intractable epilepsy from 1994 through 1998. The result shows that all but one patient had long-standing medically intractable temporal lobe epilepsy; the duration between the onset of seizure and surgery ranged from 12 to 27 years (mean, 17.2 years). A total of 12 resections were performed without any mortalities or major postoperative complications. After surgery, two patients became seizure-free without the need for antiepileptic medication; six patients were seizure-free but required medication; and two patients showed >90 percent of improvement in seizure control, whereas one patient showed between 50 percent and 90 percent of improvement. Nine (81 percent) of the 11 patients reported significant improvement in their social life and performance of daily activities. Two (18 percent) patients, including one with improved seizure control, reported no improvement in their performance of daily functions. Temporal lobe resection can produce significant improvements in patients who have medically intractable epilepsy. |
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