Epilepsy & Seizures

Epilepsy is a common neurological condition that causes frequent seizures. A seizure is uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain that can cause changes in movement, behavior, perception or consciousness.

Not all seizures are caused by epilepsy. Uncontrolled epilepsy or seizures can significantly impact your quality of life. They can even lead to long-term damage, behavioral changes or loss of certain physical functions.

The Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care team treats all forms of seizure disorders, including:

• Epilepsy
• Focal seizures
• Generalized seizures
• Grand mal seizures
• Juvenile myoclonic epilepsy
• Petit mal seizures
• Post-traumatic epilepsy
• Post-traumatic seizures
• Simple partial seizures
• Status epilepticus

Getting the right care for epilepsy or seizures starts with the correct diagnosis. This begins with an initial consultation. During this appointment, Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care epileptologists discuss your symptoms and any previous treatments you may have had.

After your consultation, our team may conduct diagnostic tests to help us determine the best treatment for your condition.

Some of the diagnostic tests we use include:

• Blood testing. Blood testing can help to identify genetic forms of epilepsy.
• EEG (electroencephalogram). This test, which usually lasts 35 minutes, examines brain wave activity to determine brain health and function. Our team may ask that you wear a portable EEG at home for two to three days so that we can track your brain activity during your regular daily routine.
• Long-term video monitoring (video EEG). During a long-term test, which we conduct in one of our Epilepsy Monitoring Units, you will stay in a private room at the hospital while we monitor your brain activity for several days.

We may also conduct an imaging test. Doctors also use these tests to plan for surgery. Imaging tests we use to diagnose epilepsy or seizure disorders include:

• Computed tomography (CT) scans
• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and functional MRI

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The Baptist Health Brain & Spine Care team offers the latest medical and surgical treatments for epilepsy and seizure disorders.

If you have drug-resistant epilepsy, our team will evaluate your current treatment and make adjustments or recommend a new treatment option.

If medicines are not the best treatment option for you, we may recommend neurosurgery. Neurosurgical procedures to treat epilepsy and seizures include:

• Laser ablation. This treatment uses heat to destroy the area of the brain that is causing epilepsy.
• Resective surgery. This treatment removes brain tissue where the seizures start.

Our team is also highly skilled in the latest functional neurosurgery procedures to treat epilepsy. Some of the procedures we use include:

• Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS). This treatment uses electrical pulses to stimulate the vagus nerve and reduce seizures.
• Responsive neurostimulation system (RNS). This surgically implanted medical device monitors and responds to your brain’s electrical activity to prevent seizures.
• Deep brain stimulation (DBS). This treatment uses electrical pulses to regulate brain signals, which can help reduce seizures.

We are also home to one of the only intraoperative monitoring programs in the region. Intraoperative monitoring, called iMRI or iCT, allows specially trained neurophysiologists to track brain function during surgery. Neurosurgeons use intraoperative monitoring to identify changes in brain function that may lead to permanent damage. This type of real-time monitoring allows neurosurgeons to make adjustments that improve patient safety and outcomes.