Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy for the Treatment of Mesial Temporal Lobe Epilepsy in Children

ObjectiveFew studies have explored the efficacy of laser interstitial thermal therapy in pediatric epilepsy surgery. This study aims to evaluate seizure-free outcomes in children and adolescents with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy who underwent laser interstitial thermal therapy.MethodsThis was a retrospective cohort study performed at a level 4 epilepsy center. All patients had comprehensive presurgical epilepsy evaluations with a consensus treatment decision made by a multidisciplinary team. Brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data were used to determine lesional vs nonlesional groups. All laser interstitial thermal therapy procedures were performed using Visualase laser ablation systems by the neurosurgical team. Seizure-free outcomes were measured according to the Engel surgical outcome scale.ResultsThis study included 19 patients (12 girls, 7 boys). Age of epilepsy onset ranged from 2 to 17 years (mean 9.9 years), and age at time of surgery ranged from 8 to 20 years (mean 15.1 years). Ten patients (52.5%) had signs of hippocampal sclerosis on MRI (lesional group), and 9 patients (47.5%) had a normal brain MRI (nonlesional group). Engel 1 score was achieved by 14 of 19 patients (73.5%): 9 of 10 patients (90%) in the lesional group and 5 of 9 patients (55.5%) in the nonlesional group. Younger age of seizure onset was a predictor of better postsurgical outcome, but no other outcome predictors could be established.ConclusionLaser interstitial thermal therapy is safe and effective for the treatment of drug-resistant mesial temporal lobe epilepsy in children, rendering more favorable seizure-free outcomes in pediatric patients with hippocampal atrophy than in those with nonlesional mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.