Wednesday, March 9 (5:00 pm – 6:30 pm EST)
Link: https://vimeo.com/event/1410950/ea786eb9f1
Session Organizers:
Nancy McNamara, MD
Assistant Clinical Professor, Co-Director of Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Program
University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine
Ann Arbor, MI
Erin Fedak Romanowski, DO
Assistant Clinical Professor, Co-Director of Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Program
University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine
Ann Arbor, MI
Course Description:
Children with pharmacoresistant epilepsy (failure of ≥2 antiseizure medications to control seizures) may be candidates for epilepsy surgery. Early evaluation leads to a better prognosis both for seizure-control and neurodevelopmental outcomes. The approach to epilepsy surgery has changed dramatically over the last decade; subdural grids have been rapidly replaced by stereoEEG. In addition to classic resection, some patients undergo thermal ablation or neuromodulation of complex epileptogenic networks. Each child is unique, but in general the chances of being seizure free after epilepsy surgery can be as high as 50 – 80%. The chances of seizure freedom are higher if the child has an obvious lesion causing the epilepsy. Early seizure control is among the most important factors for optimal neurodevelopment; early referral for epilepsy surgery evaluation is a modifiable approach to improving the trajectory of our patients’ lives. Yet, many children suffer for years before they are referred to a surgical center. This symposium is designed to fill key knowledge gaps that are preventing appropriate referrals.
During this symposium, we will discuss the history of epilepsy surgery in pediatrics, the importance of early intervention and the impact of frequent seizures on a developing brain. We will also discuss the evaluation of a pediatric patient prior to surgery, and introduce the audience to emerging technologies such as responsive neurostimulation and deep brain stimulation. And finally, we will discuss how group science and collaborative clinical efforts are transforming the state of the art.
Topics & Speakers:
Introduction/Setting the stage: Case Presentation
Nancy McNamara, MD
University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine
Ann Arbor, MI
Historical versus current view of epilepsy surgery in children
Sarah Kelley, MD
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD
Focal MRI but diffuse looking EEG – is surgery ok?
Ajay Gupta, MD
Cleveland Clinic
Cleveland, OH
Resection versus neuromodulation
Erin Fedak Romanowski, DO
University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine
Ann Arbor, MI
How collaboration will lead us forward
M. Scott Perry, MD
Cook Children’s Medical Center
Fort Worth, TX
Speaker & Organizer Brief Biographies
Nancy McNamara, MD is co-director of the pediatric epilepsy surgery program at the University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine. She will provide a course introduction/overview by way of an initial case presentation.
Sarah Kelley, MD is a pediatric epileptologist and associate professor at Johns Hopkins University. She is the medical director of the epilepsy monitoring unit and well known as a thoughtful and engaging speaker. Her clinical and research interests include treatment of children with refractory epilepsy and children with electrical status epilepticus of sleep. She will review the history of pediatric epilepsy surgery in children and the importance of early intervention in children with intractable epilepsy.
Ajay Gupta, MD is the head of the section of Pediatric Epilepsy in the Epilepsy Center/Neurological Institute. He is Professor at The Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University. He is an expert in the field of childhood and adolescent epilepsy with emphasis on epilepsy surgery evaluation, management of complex childhood epilepsies, and neurocutaneous disorders such as Tuberous Sclerosis Complex and Sturge-Weber syndrome. In his talk, he will review focal drivers for what appear to be generalized epilepsy syndromes and specifically those that may be amenable to surgical resection.
Erin Fedak Romanowski, DO is co-director of the pediatric epilepsy surgery program at the University of Michigan, Michigan Medicine. She will review latest surgical techniques and neuromodulation, as well as outcomes and risks.
M Scott Perry, MD is a pediatric epileptologist, medical director of the neurology program, codirector of the Jane and John Justin Neurosciences Center, and director of the Genetic Epilepsy Clinic at Cook Children’s Medical Center. He is also the PI for the Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Database project, a multicenter collaboration of the Pediatric Epilepsy Research Consortium Epilepsy Surgery subgroup. He will discuss trends from nearly 1000 children currently enrolled in this project, while highlighting areas of needed research to close treatment gaps through collaboration.
NOTE: All CNS live-streamed webinars will be posted on the CNS website (“Craft” section), usually within one week of original presentation. The first five previously recorded webinars will be posted later this week.