Anterior temporal lobectomy

Anterior temporal lobectomy is the complete removal of the anterior portion of the temporal lobe of the brain. It is a treatment option in temporal lobe epilepsy for those in whom anticonvulsant medications do not control epileptic seizures. Anterior temporal lobectomy is the complete removal of the anterior portion of the temporal lobe of the brain. It is a treatment option in temporal lobe epilepsy for those in whom anticonvulsant medications do not control epileptic seizures. The techniques for removing temporal lobe tissue vary from resection of large amounts of tissue, including lateral temporal cortex along with medial structures, to more restricted anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) to more restricted removal of only the medial structures (selective amygdalohippocampectomy, SAH). Nearly all reports of seizure outcome following these procedures indicate that the best outcome group includes patients with MRI evidence of mesial temporal sclerosis (hippocampal atrophy with increased T-2 signal.) The range of seizure-free outcomes for these patients is reported to be between 80 and 90%, which is typically reported as a sub-set of data within a larger surgical series.