|
|
Hemispherectomy involves disconnecting one side of the brain (that is, one cerebral hemisphere) from the rest of the brain. In years past, surgeons usually removed a large part of the hemisphere. The name that resulted—anatomic hemispherectomy, cutting out a hemisphere—is still used. Today, however, much less tissue is removed. Instead, the surgeon mostly just cuts the connections from one hemisphere to the rest of the brain so that seizures arising in that hemisphere have nowhere to go. This procedure is called "functional hemispherectomy." There are several variations in the procedure.
Hemispherectomy is only considered for patients (usually children) who have severe epilepsy with seizures arising from only one side of the brain. It is performed only if that hemisphere is already functioning very poorly (because of both prior injury and continued seizure activity), so the patient loses little or no additional function.
The results are quite good. More than 75% of patients experience complete or nearly complete seizure control. The outlook for seizure control is less good if the patient has a progressive disorder such as Rasmussen's syndrome.
Topic Editor: Howard L. Weiner, M.D.
Last Reviewed:3/8/04
Welcome to the Wiki. This space is created for epilepsy.com members to share their own experiences and expertise to help refine and expand the discussion around important topics.
No members have yet contributed to this topic. If you are not yet an epilepsy.com member, register today to get started on this Wiki topic and the many other advantages of being a member. If you are a member and wish to be the first to edit this Wiki topic, please make sure to login, then click on the orange "Start Wiki" button at the top of this page. Or, learn more about Wikis.
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| I am new, had a EEG,Please, can anyone help with my results | Jun 24, 2009 | |
| sherri07 | ||
| View all Forums | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| Simple Partial Seizures and EEG/EKG | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| erkadrka | ||
| NyQuil | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| Eilliem | ||
| TLE or PNES? | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| mel239 | ||
| Can taking OTC medications for cold, flu and sinus infections result in seizures? | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| larryz | ||
| twitchy arm | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| emzclarinet | ||
| How long do your symptoms last (if they ever even go away) | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| jasssmit | ||
| Who is your personal hero? | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| phylisfjohnson | ||
| Causes of Underemployment. | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| Matthew Simington | ||
| Is there such a thing as PNES | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| jonah | ||
| Just Looking for Some Help... | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| maja99 | ||
| View all Forums | ||
| Title | Page Views | |
|---|---|---|
| my.epilepsy.com Updates | 20,442 | |
| epi_help | ||
| topamax and weight loss | 18,960 | |
| alexia mom | ||
| kepra | 18,900 | |
| brian mattingly | ||
| Possible cure for absence seizures | 15,799 | |
| pdl1 | ||
| Epilepsy and marijuana | 15,559 | |
| cjad234 | ||
| Sexual Side Effects | 13,109 | |
| George R | ||
| How exactly do aura's feel | 13,010 | |
| WendyBendy | ||
| MEDICAL ALERT I.D.'s | 11,452 | |
| picnupthepcs | ||
| Over 40 Different Types Of Seizures - Revised | 10,070 | |
| spiz | ||
| electrical shock in head? | 9,454 | |
| Maggie | ||
| View all Forums | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| what should i do? | Oct 22, 2009 | |
| BiGirl101297 | ||
| View all Blogs | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| same dose for 6 years possible unidentified seizures | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| mash4077 | ||
| Well, I know.... (Question at bottom of blog.) | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| quesofresco | ||
| nightmares | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| becky89 | ||
| i need to vent... | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| jacky99 | ||
| michelle | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| michelle41 | ||
| Etiology of a Housebound Visionary | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| tigro65 | ||
| Anyone w/ temporal lobe epilepsy and not on medication? | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| hazel baum | ||
| MY 1ST BLOG :) | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| awalkingmiracle | ||
| I hate the hospital. | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| Shenoah | ||
| Visit to a doctor - February 2010 | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| MichaelK | ||
| View all Blogs | ||
| Title | Page Views | |
|---|---|---|
| Inspirational Quote - My Own Personal Inner Thoughts | 8,007 | |
| Butterflygrl | ||
| my partial complex seizures | 3,872 | |
| Zanna1211 | ||
| Topomax... The Dreaded......... | 3,654 | |
| Dr Jason | ||
| Brain Zaps, tics & twitches | 3,473 | |
| JudiS | ||
| side effects of phenobarb. | 3,073 | |
| pksmom | ||
| Feeling Sick | 2,929 | |
| JBJ1984 | ||
| How can you tell if a sleep seizure happens? | 2,891 | |
| epl_controller | ||
| Tegretol XR and ANXIETY meds | 2,811 | |
| Butterflygrl | ||
| TYLENOL, AEDs & SEIZURES | 2,732 | |
| cmscribbles | ||
| Nonepileptic "Events" vs. "Seizures" | 2,601 | |
| teft | ||
| View all Blogs | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| Treating Depression with Epilepsy | Feb 4, 2010 | |
| mypetitmal | ||
| Burm80 | Feb 1, 2010 | |
| burm80 | ||
| WHO NEEDS A SEIZURE ALERT DOG | Jan 19, 2010 | |
| MOMMY HOLLIE | ||
| surgery group | Dec 20, 2009 | |
| bobby chen | ||
| Parents of Adult Children with Epilepsy | Nov 22, 2009 | |
| askadis | ||
| Grandparents of grandchildren with Epilepsy | Nov 14, 2009 | |
| EmiliesGrandma | ||
| neeraj clinic, rishikesh,india | Nov 14, 2009 | |
| ankita gupta | ||
| Project Uplift | Nov 4, 2009 | |
| tamliniscute | ||
| SEIZURE FREE | Nov 3, 2009 | |
| gracie9933 | ||
| EPILEPSY SUPPORT GROUP NORTH CAROLINA | Oct 9, 2009 | |
| Roxanne D | ||
| View all Groups | ||
| Title | Posted | |
|---|---|---|
| Looking for answers... | Feb 9, 2010 | |
| BSimons | ||
| Finding myself through the years | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| starlitgemini | ||
| Too many times doing the fish!!! | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| Jeffrey Resetar | ||
| My First story | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| eggcoo | ||
| my beautiful 6yr old boy | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| kaiden | ||
| My son has Rolandic Epilepsy | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| klabiche | ||
| My mother's epilepsy | Feb 8, 2010 | |
| Raymond Loh | ||
| A married man with a sick wife | Feb 7, 2010 | |
| russell11 | ||
| Many changes I had and continue to have. | Feb 7, 2010 | |
| Its Me | ||
| SheriK | Feb 7, 2010 | |
| SheriK | ||
| View all Stories | ||
| Title | Page Views | |
|---|---|---|
| Jessica Roiz | 2,294 | |
| kroiz | ||
| (TLE) seizures, insurance company denies me for health care due to epilepsy | 888 | |
| wenko | ||
| my story | 473 | |
| snoby | ||
| Always Have On Clean Underwear | 449 | |
| crashllama | ||
| Kelly's Life With Epilepsy | 421 | |
| kjcanada1979 | ||
| my brain has died a thousand deaths........... | 401 | |
| banffgirl | ||
| What My Seizures Are Like...... | 382 | |
| javaman | ||
| Nocturnal grand mal seizures (primary generalized epilepsy) | 341 | |
| karalyeva | ||
| Temporal Lobe Epilepsy | 337 | |
| Life......... | 333 | |
| dizzygal | ||
| View all Stories | ||
