Pediatric Neurosurgery

Pediatric neurosurgeons treat a full range of pediatric brain tumors, perform complex spinal reconstructions and treat epilepsy with surgical procedures including hemispherectomy, temporal lobectomy, tailored focal resection and implantation of vagal nerve stimulators.

Brenner Children’s is North Carolina’s only children’s hospital offering direct and indirect cerebral vascular bypass to correct childhood diseases such as Moya Moya disease.

 Surgical options now available
Temporal lobectomy, a surgical procedure that involves removing parts of the temporal lobe that cause seizures, is offering hope to epilepsy patients who have not been responsive to medical therapy.

Neurologists and neurosurgeons at Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center use electroencephalograms (EEG), positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the state-of-the-art Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) to pinpoint the exact origin of the disease. Surgeons then remove the scarred tissue to reduce or eliminate the seizures.

The surgery removes a small part of the temporal lobe, part of the brain that extends from the temples to just past the ears. Patients must have failed at least one standard and one new medication to be considered for surgery. Eighty percent of patients are cured with this procedure and 95 percent have a dramatic reduction of their seizures. It adds a tremendous amount to their quality of life.

About 15 to 30 temporal lobectomies are performed each year at the medical center. Just 10 years ago seizure-free living was unthinkable for many people with epilepsy. Today that can be achieved even in difficult-to-control cases.

In March 2006, neurosurgeon Steven Glazier, M.D. performed a temporal lobectomy during a live internet broadcast. The webcast is available for viewing by the general public as well as medical professionals. The program is archived for viewing at any time. To view any of Wake Forest Baptist’s webcasts go to www1.wfubmc.edu/webcasts/.