The longitudinal course of adjustment after seizure surgery

Abstract

Surgical alleviation of chronic epilepsy can give rise to a process of adjustment as the chronically ill patient learns to become well. This process can manifest clinically as an array of symptoms which we have previously described as the 'burden of normality'. The aim of this study was to explore the longitudinal course of post-operative adjustment by mapping the incidence of symptoms of the burden of normality over a period of 2 years, and examining symptom occurrence relative to seizure outcome. A series of 90 anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) patients was drawn from our Seizure Surgery Follow-up and Rehabilitation Program. All patients were prospectively assessed using the Austin CEP Int..