Identifying the trajectory of social milestones 15-20 years after epilepsy surgery: Realistic timelines for postsurgical expectations.

Abstract

Objective: Patients often undertake epilepsy surgery with the expectation that it will lead to improvements in their social situation. Short- to medium-term research consistently points toward improvements in social outcomes; however, no study has mapped out postsurgical social timelines, particularly for longer-term (>15 years) outcomes. Methods: We recruited 39 patients who had undergone anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) for drug-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) between 1994 and 2002. The cohort (24 females) had a median age of 49 years (range 38-67), age of habitual seizure onset was 9.5 years (range 0.5-29 years), and age at surgery was 31 years (range 20-53). Patients were followe..