The NTUCH Integrated Child Epilepsy Group is a specialized medical team dedicated to the diagnosis, treatment, and management of children suffering from intractable epilepsy. Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder that affects millions of people worldwide, with an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 people in Taiwan suffering from the condition. While medication can control seizures in most patients, there is a group of patients who continue to suffer from intractable epilepsy despite multiple drug therapies. This is where the NTUCH integrated child epilepsy group steps in to offer surgical interventions for children with intractable epilepsy.

The team is composed of highly trained medical professionals who have extensive experience in treating pediatric epilepsy. The team includes neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuropsychologists, and other medical professionals with expertise in the treatment of pediatric epilepsy, who work collaboratively to provide personalized care for each patient. The team's mission is to provide the highest quality of care to children with intractable epilepsy, utilizing state-of-the-art diagnostic tools and surgical techniques to offer the best possible treatment options.

The evaluation of patients with intractable epilepsy requires a comprehensive approach that includes various tests, such as EEG, 24-hour video EEG, MRI, SPECT/PET, and neuropsychological evaluation. In some cases, invasive intracranial electrode implantation such as stereoelectroencephalography (sEEG) is required to directly record seizure activity in the brain. With the assistance of robotic surgery electrodes can be put safely into the brain to more precisely determine the origin of electric activity causing seizure in the brain. The team at NTUCH utilizes these diagnostic tools to carefully evaluate each patient's unique situation and determine whether surgical intervention is an appropriate course of action.

The surgical treatment of intractable epilepsy in children requires careful patient selection, utilizing thorough clinical evaluations and various tests to determine whether the patient is a suitable candidate for surgery. The team at NTUCH uses their extensive knowledge and experience to determine the best surgical approach for each patient. The most common surgical approach for intractable epilepsy is to remove the abnormal neural tissue or tumor causing the seizures, in a procedure known as a seizure focus resection. This surgery aims to eliminate the source of the seizures, and electrocorticography (ECoG) is used to monitor brain activity during the operation. During ECoG, a neurologist will interpret the electrical activity of the brain in real-time, and the surgical team can adjust their approach as necessary to ensure that the operation is successful. In some cases, the surgical team may also perform a corpus callosotomy, in which the corpus callosum is severed to help reduce the spread of seizure activity between the two hemispheres.

Following epilepsy surgery, children will require close monitoring and follow-up care to ensure that the surgery was successful and to adjust their medication as necessary. The team at NTUCH is committed to providing this necessary care and support to ensure that children receive the best possible outcome from their surgery. Patients who have undergone surgery can experience significant improvements in their quality of life, including a reduction or elimination of seizures and an improvement in cognitive function.

The NTUCH Integrated Child Epilepsy Group is dedicated to provide the highest quality of care to children with intractable epilepsy. Their commitment to using state-of-the-art diagnostic tools and surgical techniques, along with their extensive experience and expertise, ensures that they offer the best possible treatment options to their patients. With their dedication to research, the team at NTUCH is continually advancing the understanding and treatment of pediatric epilepsy, improving patient outcomes and quality of life.