Faculty Collaboration Database

Magnetic resonance imaging-guided stereotactic laser ablation therapy for the treatment of pediatric epilepsy: a retrospective multiinstitutional study. J Neurosurg Pediatr 2023 Mar 03:1-14

Date

03/09/2023

Pubmed ID

36883640

Pubmed Central ID

PMC10193482

DOI

10.3171/2022.12.PEDS22282

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-85164495860 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   5 Citations

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The authors of this study evaluated the safety and efficacy of stereotactic laser ablation (SLA) for the treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy (DRE) in children.

METHODS: Seventeen North American centers were enrolled in the study. Data for pediatric patients with DRE who had been treated with SLA between 2008 and 2018 were retrospectively reviewed.

RESULTS: A total of 225 patients, mean age 12.8 ± 5.8 years, were identified. Target-of-interest (TOI) locations included extratemporal (44.4%), temporal neocortical (8.4%), mesiotemporal (23.1%), hypothalamic (14.2%), and callosal (9.8%). Visualase and NeuroBlate SLA systems were used in 199 and 26 cases, respectively. Procedure goals included ablation (149 cases), disconnection (63), or both (13). The mean follow-up was 27 ± 20.4 months. Improvement in targeted seizure type (TST) was seen in 179 (84.0%) patients. Engel classification was reported for 167 (74.2%) patients; excluding the palliative cases, 74 (49.7%), 35 (23.5%), 10 (6.7%), and 30 (20.1%) patients had Engel class I, II, III, and IV outcomes, respectively. For patients with a follow-up ≥ 12 months, 25 (51.0%), 18 (36.7%), 3 (6.1%), and 3 (6.1%) had Engel class I, II, III, and IV outcomes, respectively. Patients with a history of pre-SLA surgery related to the TOI, a pathology of malformation of cortical development, and 2+ trajectories per TOI were more likely to experience no improvement in seizure frequency and/or to have an unfavorable outcome. A greater number of smaller thermal lesions was associated with greater improvement in TST. Thirty (13.3%) patients experienced 51 short-term complications including malpositioned catheter (3 cases), intracranial hemorrhage (2), transient neurological deficit (19), permanent neurological deficit (3), symptomatic perilesional edema (6), hydrocephalus (1), CSF leakage (1), wound infection (2), unplanned ICU stay (5), and unplanned 30-day readmission (9). The relative incidence of complications was higher in the hypothalamic target location. Target volume, number of laser trajectories, number or size of thermal lesions, or use of perioperative steroids did not have a significant effect on short-term complications.

CONCLUSIONS: SLA appears to be an effective and well-tolerated treatment option for children with DRE. Large-volume prospective studies are needed to better understand the indications for treatment and demonstrate the long-term efficacy of SLA in this population.

Author List

Arocho-Quinones EV, Lew SM, Handler MH, Tovar-Spinoza Z, Smyth MD, Bollo RJ, Donahue D, Perry MS, Levy M, Gonda D, Mangano FT, Kennedy BC, Storm PB, Price AV, Couture DE, Oluigbo C, Duhaime AC, Barnett GH, Muh CR, Sather MD, Fallah A, Wang AC, Bhatia S, Eastwood D, Tarima S, Graber S, Huckins S, Hafez D, Rumalla K, Bailey L, Shandley S, Roach A, Alexander E, Jenkins W, Tsering D, Price G, Meola A, Evanoff W, Thompson EM, Brandmeir N, Pediatric Stereotactic Laser Ablation Workgroup

Authors

Elsa V. Arocho-Quinones MD Assistant Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Sean Lew MD Chief, Professor in the Neurosurgery department at Medical College of Wisconsin
Sergey S. Tarima PhD Associate Professor in the Institute for Health and Equity department at Medical College of Wisconsin