Type of Surgery
Information
Last updated: 11/24/2009
Hemispherectomy is used to treat epilepsy when it cannot be sufficiently controlled by medications.
The cerebral cortex is the wrinkled outer portion of the brain. It is divided into left and right hemispheres, which communicate with each other...
through a bundle of nerve fibers called the corpus callosum, located at the base of the hemispheres.
The seizures of epilepsy are due to unregulated electrical activity in the brain. This activity often begins in a discrete brain region called the focus of the seizure, and then spreads to other regions. Removing or disconnecting the focus from the rest of the brain can reduce seizure frequency and intensity.
In some people with epilepsy, there is no single focus. If there are multiple focal points within one hemisphere, or if the focus is undefined but restricted to one hemisphere, hemispherectomy may be indicated for treatment.
Removing an entire hemisphere of the brain is an effective treatment. The hemisphere that is removed is usually quite damaged by the effects of multiple seizures, and the other side of the brain has already assumed many of the functions of the damaged side. In addition, the brain has many "redundant systems," which allow healthy regions to make up for the loss of the damaged side.
Children who are candidates for hemispherectomy usually have significant impairments due to their epilepsy, including partial or complete paralysis and partial or complete loss of sensation on the side of the body opposite to the affected brain region.
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Other Information
Hemispherectomy is a surgical procedure where one cerebral hemisphere (half of the brain) is removed or disabled. This procedure is used to treat a variety of seizure disorders where the source of the epilepsy is localized to a broad area of a single hemisphere of the brain. It is solely reserved for extreme cases in which the seizures have not responded to medications and other less invasive surgeries.
Other Information
The total number of neurosurgeries performed in 2006 was estimated at 2,171,195. Of these, 1,345,167 spine-related were performed, equating to nearly 62 percent of the total.
From: AANS
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