Epilepsy surgery: A breakthrough offering hope to hundreds of thousands of patients.

Vietnam estimates that around 710,000 people suffer from epilepsy, of which more than 200,000 are drug-resistant. The emergence of transparenchymal electroencephalography (SEEG) and modern surgical advances is opening up opportunities for effective treatment in cases that have been intractable for many years.

This information was presented at the International Conference on Epilepsy Surgery held on December 10th in Hanoi, with the participation of many leading experts from Vietnam and abroad.

In this context, epilepsy surgery has become a breakthrough, offering a new chance of life to hundreds of thousands of patients.

Associate Professor Duong Duc Hung, Director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital, emphasized that for many decades, epilepsy patients in Vietnam have primarily been managed with medication, seizure monitoring, and rehabilitation support. However, with an estimated 30% of epilepsy cases being drug-resistant, conventional treatment protocols are almost ineffective. Therefore, the need to find more effective and in-depth intervention solutions has become urgent.

The event serves as an important bridge, helping Vietnamese doctors update their knowledge of advanced techniques, share clinical experience, and expand professional cooperation with leading neurological centers worldwide .

Delegates attending the International Conference on Epilepsy Surgery. (Photo: PV/Vietnam+)

Associate Professor Dong Van He, Deputy Director of Viet Duc Friendship Hospital and President of the Vietnam Neurosurgery Association, said that over the past 10 years, the hospital's Neurosurgery Center has developed strongly, performing more than 150 surgeries for drug-resistant epilepsy, with a seizure control rate of up to 80%, a very promising figure in the region.

Reports indicate that a significant breakthrough changing the landscape of drug-resistant epilepsy treatment worldwide is transparenchymal electroencephalography (EEG). This method involves placing electrodes deep through the skull, reaching hard-to-access brain structures such as the hippocampus, amygdala, insular lobe, or deep areas on the inner hemispheres. This technique allows for the accurate, continuous recording of three-dimensional brain activity over several days to trace seizure-triggering networks. Medical facilities in Northern Vietnam have not yet performed any SEEG procedures; this conference is a crucial first step towards training, standardizing, and widely implementing this technique.

SEEG (deep electroencephalography) – the placement of deep electrodes to record brainwaves – has proven to be a valuable tool, with a high success rate in identifying seizure areas and a low complication rate (approximately 1-2%). The application of SEEG is increasing globally, particularly in specialized centers in the US, Europe, China, and India. In Vietnam, with the development of neurosurgery and neurophysiology, SEEG is an important direction for improving the effectiveness of epilepsy surgery, helping many patients overcome seizures and improve their quality of life.

The workshop focused on discussing many in-depth topics such as: Application of stimulation in SEEG to optimize epilepsy surgery; Experience in establishing a SEEG monitoring unit at Taipei Veterans Hospital, Taiwan; Pre-operative assessment of drug-resistant epilepsy; Radiofrequency ablation (RF) under SEEG guidance in epilepsy treatment; Steps in performing SEEG surgery; Principles of SEEG design, path selection and electrodes; Clinical case of drug-resistant epilepsy with negative cranial magnetic resonance imaging at Viet Duc Friendship Hospital…/.

(Vietnam+)

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/phau-thuat-dong-kinh-buoc-tien-mang-lai-co-hoi-cho-hang-tram-nghin-nguoi-benh-post1082212.vnp