8-year-old boy came to Dr Pradnya Gadgil with a history of seizures since 6 years of age. His seizures were not coming under control despite many anti-epileptic medications. His academic grades were also dropping. In addition to these problems, he was developing weakness in one side of his body. He had tests performed elsewhere, which showed a supposedly normal MRI.
We performed a detailed presurgical evaluation consisting of Video EEG, MRI brain, Functional MRI, Ictal SPECT, PET scan and neuropsychological evaluation. This revealed that a small area of the brain was malformed and highly epileptogenic. Unfortunately, this was also the area which was responsible for controlling the movement of one side of his body. This was also the reason for his grades worsening (as his IQ was normal).
Parents were very keen on getting the surgery done despite significant possible risks.
We planned a tailored respective epilepsy surgery with Dr Abhaya Kumar using intraoperative monitoring. This intraoperative monitoring done by Dr Gadgil enabled us to successfully resect the epileptogenic area of the brain without causing any complications.
Post-surgery not only is the patient seizure-free but his weakness has also improved. He is able to use his right hand to write like before and has resumed normal schooling.
