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Arkansas Children's Hospital
General Information 501-364-1100
Arkansas Children's Northwest
General Information 479-725-6800
This type of surgery is used to improve or cure seizures. The surgery takes a few hours. After that, your child would spend a few days in the hospital. Recovery at home will take 4 to 6 weeks. There are two types of therapeutic epilepsy surgery.
A doctor removes the part of the brain where the seizures start. This type is for patients who have focal epilepsy. Focal epilepsy means it is coming from a specific part of the brain. Resection means surgery to cut out the abnormal part of the body. This is mainly used when seizures come from an area of the brain that is not critical to normal body function. Critical areas of the brain include ones that control speech, movement, memory, and vision.
Chances of success can depend on things in the brain that are not normal and where your seizures start in the brain. More than 8 out of 10 (80%) people who have their temporal lobe removed get better. Only about 4-5 out of 10 (40 to 45%) people who have their frontal lobe removed get better.
There are 2 types of focal resection:
This is a surgery mostly for children that have seizures on one side of their brain. Your doctor will separate the area in the brain where seizure starts from the rest of the brain. This surgery takes several hours, sometimes most of the day. After that, your child will stay in the hospital at least 5-7 days (may need inpatient rehabilitation as well). Recovery at home will take couple months. About 8 out of 10 people (80%) have better seizure control after this type of surgery. Many do not have seizures any more.
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS), Arkansas Children’s, Baptist Health and Proton International (PI) have signed a Letter of Intent to bring proton therapy — an alternative to radiation therapy for treating cancer — to Arkansas.
Bariatric surgery may be an option for some children who have not been able to maintain weight loss and control their health with diet and exercise alone.
Palliative epilepsy surgery may lower the number and severity of seizures.
Diagnostic epilepsy surgery is used to find areas in the brain where the seizures come from.
Radiation uses special kinds of energy waves or seeds to fight cancer cells and prevent them from growing and spreading. The type of radiation therapy used depends on the kind of cancer being treated.
In some cases, surgery is needed to remove a tumor or to remove sections of bone, muscle or soft tissue that is affected by cancer or benign growth.
Our surgeons do everything possible to restore the affected bone or limb. After the affected bone and tissue is removed, the remaining gap in the bone is replaced with a bone graft or an artificial metal part.
At Arkansas Children’s your child will have access to a wide range of treatments, from traditional to experimental. Treatments may include chemotherapy.
Our comprehensive pediatric epilepsy program is an NAEC Level 4 Center, offering innovative diagnostic and treatment methods, improving the quality of patients’ lives.
Learn more about how our specialized pediatric epilepsy care can change the short and long-term quality of life for patients who suffer from seizures.
The technology used at the Burn Plastics clinic includes Lumenis UltraPulse Laser Therapy.
The pediatric vascular anomalies team at Arkansas Children's treats various hemangiomas (also called strawberry birthmarks).