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Hemispherectomy for the Treatment of Epilepsy and Behavior Disturbance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

N.O. Ameli
N.O. Ameli*
Affiliation:
Dariush Kabir Medical School, Tehran
*
42 Himount Drive, Willowdale, Ontario M2K 1X5, Canada
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Summary:

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This study is based on 28 personal cases. Twenty seven cases of infantile hemiplegia and one case of Sturge- Weber syndrome, with uncontrollable epilepsy and severe behavior disturbance, were subjected to hemispherectomy. Any evidence of a defect in the other hemisphere was a contraindication to operation. In nine cases the left cerebral hemisphere was removed. Following the operation, epilepsy and behavior disturbances were abolished in nearly all of the cases. In those with left hemispherectomy there was no speech disturbance before or after the operation.

It is postulated that at birth all cerebral funtions including consciousness, speech, and movement are bilaterally represented, but to unequal degrees. With training and education these functions become more lateralized. Thus, we can explain the greater plasticity of the brain in childhood.

Type
Research Article
Information
Canadian Journal of Neurological Sciences , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , February 1980 , pp. 33 - 38
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1980

References

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