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Abstract

Purpose: Resective epilepsy surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) remains underutilized in elderly patients and only few studies report postsurgical seizure and neurocognitive outcomes in this group. The aim of this study was to investigate the tolerability and efficacy of surgery in older epileptics.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of 18 patients aged 55 or older to assess the efficacy and tolerability of the procedure. Mean disease duration was 34 years.

Results:  Fourteen patients (78%) achieved Engel class I outcome over a mean follow-up period of 4.2 years. Thirteen patients had neuroimaging and histopathology consistent with mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS). We did not find a measurable effect of disease duration on postsurgical outcome. We confirmed that the MRI evidence of MTS can be used as a predictor for postsurgical outcome. Postsurgical neuropsychological evaluation completed in 13 patients between three months and two and a half years post resection showed decline in verbal abilities most significantly in those who had undergone dominant temporal lobe surgery.

Discussion: Our results indicate that epilepsy surgery is well tolerated, safe and effective in older patients with refractory TLE. Postsurgical neuropsychological evaluation showed expected decline in verbal abilities in patients who had undergone dominant resection.