For resective surgery to be a viable option, the patient
with treatment-refractory epilepsy should ideally have
a single epileptogenic focus in a non-eloquent corti-cal region (ie, not involved in key language, memory
or motor processes). It should be noted that excep-tional cases do exist, where larger resections such as
hemispherectomies are acceptable if the seizures are
severe and the benefit gained from such surgery can
be justified.
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Major surgery such as corpus calloso-tomy can be considered as last treatment option in
palliative care for patients with intractable seizures.
This invasive intervention is usually aimed at pre-venting secondary generalization in patients who are
regularly experiencing loss of consciousness and a
high frequency of seizure-related injuries