Commission on Surgical Therapies

About Us

Epilepsy Surgery Networks Task Force

Motivation: Increasingly, surgical epilepsy has become appreciated as a disorder of complex brain networks. Human neuroimaging and electrophysiological studies are uncovering connectivity patterns that may help guide surgical decisions, but approaches differ greatly across research centers.

Goal: Evaluate brain network alterations in surgical epilepsy, advise how a network perspective can improve upon presurgical and surgical care, and prioritize goals for future study.

Epilepsy Surgery Evidence and Outcomes Task Force

Motivation: While various scientific studies have evaluated presurgical tests and surgical outcomes in epilepsy surgery, they vary in quality and scope, and outcome reporting is variable. The field is changing as new technologies are introduced, expanding the pool of potential surgical candidates, but substantial knowledge gaps remain.

Goal: Evaluate and synthesize the evidence for diagnostic and treatment approaches in epilepsy surgery, identify knowledge gaps for future studies, and elucidate strategies for improved outcome reporting.

Pediatric Epilepsy Surgery Task Force

Motivation: Epilepsy surgery considerations regarding surgical approach, functional outcomes, cognitive implications, and medication effects often differ in children, although most guidelines focus on the adult population.

Goal: Identify unique needs and challenges related to epilepsy surgery in children, and evaluate evidence and outcomes in this population.

Epilepsy Surgery Education Task Force

Motivation: Surgical technique is critical for success in epilepsy surgery, but exposure to various approaches differs by geographical region, and surgical education is often underrepresented in epilepsy societies.

Goal: Share and promote advanced techniques, safe approaches, and procedural pearls amongst surgeons at epilepsy centers around the world, and identify areas for improvement.

Epilepsy Surgery in Resource Poor Regions Task Force

Motivation: Resource poor regions face unique challenges in performing epilepsy surgery, including lack of specialized medical education, financial constraints affecting patients and institutions, and insufficient government resources to support surgical care.

Goal: Examine barriers to epilepsy surgery in regions with limited resources, and identify achievable strategies to expand education and utilization where safe and feasible.

Members of the Surgical Therapies Commission and related task forces at the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting in Nashville, USA, on 3 December 2022.
Members of the Surgical Therapies Commission and related task forces at the American Epilepsy Society Annual Meeting in Nashville, USA, on 3 December 2022.