Surgery for epilepsy

Article Abstract:

Approximately 10 percent of all Americans will experience a seizure at least once in their life. Recurrent seizures is the diagnostic criteria for epilepsy, and 150,000 new cases are diagnosed each year in the US. Although 70 percent of patients with epilepsy can be satisfactorily treated with medication, many others (10 to 20 percent) have what is considered ''medically intractable epilepsy''. Epilepsy is considered intractable according to the frequency, type and severity of the seizures, and the impact on the patient's quality of life and overall health. Many of these patients need to consider brain surgery as an alternative treatment. New sophisticated imaging techniques allow for more specific localization of brain lesions which cause epilepsy, and for improved success rates for surgical treatment. At present only 500 patients each year receive such surgery, but with surgical and technological improvements, it is estimated that this number will soon rise to between 2,000 and 5,000 candidates per year. There have been no controlled research trials, which would lead investigators to agree on standard methods of choosing surgical candidates and procedures. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) organized a consensus conference to help answer the following questions: how patients should be selected, what evaluation is necessary to localize epileptic regions of the brain, which procedures are best for which epilepsies, how should outcome be assessed, and what future research should be planned. Conclusions were reached and are detailed in this article. Before surgery is performed the three absolute requirements agreed upon were: (1) the diagnosis of epilepsy is ascertained; (2) an adequate trial of drug therapy (meaning the right drugs at the proper doses for an appropriate length of time); and (3) the electroclinical syndrome must be defined. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

Complications and side effects, Brain, Epilepsy, Brain surgery

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Minimally invasive endoscopic staging of suspected lung cancer

Article Abstract:

A study to compare the efficacy of the three methods of minimally invasive endoscopy to detect lung cancer to find which of them is most accurate is conducted. Results conclude that endobronchial ultrasound-guided fine-needle aspiration was the best out of the three for detection.

United States, Methods, Evaluation, Diagnosis, Tumor staging, Cancer staging, Lung cancer, Endoscopy, Biopsy, Needle, Needle biopsy, Clinical report

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Minimally Invasive and Robotic Surgery

Article Abstract:

Advances in video imaging, instrumentation, and endoscopes have made minimally invasive surgery a possibility. The use of robots and miniaturized instruments will revolutionize surgery even more.

Laparoscopic surgery

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