Radiofrequency ablation (RFA) is a viable minimally invasive surgery alternative for refractory focal epilepsy, according to a report on the first Australian patient to receive the procedure from Queensland neurologists.
The team, led by Dr Lisa Gillinder from the Mater Centre for Neurosciences, said the minimally invasive surgery was safe and effective with the patient experiencing no complications or postoperative deficits and still seizure-free on medication at two years.
The patient, a 45 year-old male at the time, had presented with a history of eight years of epilepsy.
“Seizures had a bland semiology comprising behavioural arrest, non-sustained swallowing, right arm and face dystonia with occasional secondary generalisation,” the report published in the Internal Medicine Journal said.
Neuroimaging was non-lesional and neuro-psychology testing was normal.
Stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) identified frequent seizures arising from the left entorhinal cortex which remained localised and only after a prolonged period began to involve the left amygdala.
RFA of the epileptogenic zone was performed with intra-operative electrocorticography between each ablation to monitor the evolution of epileptiform activity.