In 1997, Jean AICARDI, one of the most brilliant child neurologists of our era, commented on "How the view has changed" in the field of pediatric epilepsy surgery : "Surgery for epilepsy has now become a realistic therapeutic option for selected children and the field is likely to increase in the near future. It is now realised that procrastination, in the hope that new antiepileptic drugs will become efficacious, is not justified for some forms of epilepsy that can often be recognised from onset or after a relatively short course. It is also becoming clear that surgery is not reserved for a highly selected population of patients with normal intelligence and focal seizures, but may also help a proportion of more severe epilepsies if a realistic view of the problem and perspectives is taken by the partners". Twenty years later, the most obvious and probably still the strongest reasons against epilepsy surgery in children are cultural and psychological. This book, written by members of the ad hoc ILAE Task Force for pediatric epilepsy surgery and experts in the field, is the result of continued collaborative working between pediatric epilepsy surgery centres over the years. Authors critically review all available data and set out the key elements of presurgical evaluation, the specific electro-clinical presentations per etiology, the range of outcomes to be monitored, and the surgical techniques used today. What becomes obvious when reviewing all available data is that the key to optimized outcome in children with epilepsy is early appropriate recognition of possible surgical candidates and timely referral to centres with expertise.

Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery

Although epilepsy in children is often considered as a benign condition with possible recovery in adolescence, most cases are accompanied by serious disturbances of the cognitive functions. Epileptic encephalopathies represent the most dramatic section of pediatric neurology. In most cases, children develop severe frequent polymorphic seizures, permanent extended epileptiform activity on the electroencephalogram and severe disturbances of higher mental functions. In some patients, seizures may be absent but severe cognitive, behavioral and speech disturbances develop in any case.  This book, written by Russian experts in the aforementioned field, is devoted to those epileptic encephalopathies when epilepsy itself is the major cause of psychomotor retardation in children. It summarizes current data from the worldwide literature and the authors' long experience of practical work with patients suffering from epileptic encephalopathies.  Each chapter includes a clear definition of the syndrome, its historical background, information about etiology and pathogenesis. Maximal attention is paid to the semiology of epileptic seizures, EEG and neuroimaging data. Diagnostic criteria and differential diagnosis are presented in detail. Many sections are illustrated with histories and photos of patients with rare diseases, examples of typical changes in EEG and MR1. And of course, the treatment is provided for all forms of epileptic encephalopathies.

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