Pediatric Medically Refractory Epilepsy Clinic
The University of Michigan Pediatric Medically Refractory Epilepsy Clinic, a collaboration between the Departments of Neurosurgery, Neurology and Pediatrics provides evaluation and treatment for children with poorly controlled epilepsy. While most patients with epilepsy respond to medications, children are particularly prone to develop epilepsy that responds only partially to medical therapy. In contrast to adult patients, children often have more widespread areas of brain involvement, but are often more resilient to the challenges of surgical intervention. For children with continued, disabling seizures despite medical therapy, surgery can, in some cases, provide a cure. In other cases, surgical therapy, while not curative, can significantly reduce the frequency of seizures and improve quality of life.
The program provides comprehensive evaluation and treatment. Evaluation includes detailed assessments by a Neurologist specializing in childhood epilepsy to determine whether the clinical epilepsy pattern suggests a particular treatable cause, and to determine whether the current medical management is optimized. Additional diagnostic studies such as Video Electroencephalograms (V-EEG) and brain imaging such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), postron emmision tomography (PET), Magnitoencephalography, (MEG) and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), are often required. This detailed diagnostic information is synthesized by the epilepsy team to determine whether a specific source for the epilepsy can be identified, what surgical procedures are available to treat the specific problem and what the probabilities of success, and possible complications might be. Even when a specific source for the seizure activity cannot be found, or the site of origin cannot be surgically removed, other therapies such as vagal nerve stimulation are available.
Appointment Number: 734-936-9020
Clinic location:
A. Alfred Taubman Health Care Center
1500 East Medical Center Drive
Floor 2 Reception: G
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-5734
Phone: 734-936-9020
Fax: 734-615-3722
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