A focal resection is an epilepsy brain surgery where a specific area of brain is removed that is responsible for seizure activity. A focal resection has the goal of no seizures, minimal to no loss of any brain function, and a cure for epilepsy.
Children who have focal epilepsy (seizures are coming from a specific area in only 1 hemisphere of the brain) may be potential epilepsy surgical candidates for a focal resection.
This is an intense epilepsy surgery process that the family is involved in from the very beginning of testing to the full consultation with the neurosurgeon and overall surgical decision.
This procedure occurs in the operating room under general anaesthsia and takes the paediatric neurosurgeon around 4-6 hours to complete. The child then recovers for 1-2 nights in the Paediatric Critical Care Unit (PCCU) and then is transferred to the inpatient paediatric floor (B6-200) until the child feels well enough to be discharge home.
