Children’s Hospital’s pediatric
epilepsy program provides expert care to children and young adults with
epilepsy, including comprehensive evaluation, treatment and counseling. We
offer our patients the most cutting-edge treatments and procedures in a unique,
child-friendly atmosphere. Children’s Hospital has a full range of outpatient
and inpatient management of epilepsy.
Our specialty services include:
- Neurodiagnostic
(Video EEG) monitoring
- Medical,
neuropsychological and psychosocial treatment
- Expertise
in implementing a Ketogenic Diet to manage seizures
- Surgical
placement and medical management of Vagus Nerve Stimulators
- Intracranial
electrodes and resective epilepsy surgery, including single surgery resection,
two-stage intracranial monitoring and resection, corpus callosotomy and hemispherectomy.
At Children’s Hospital we understand the challenges that
seizures pose to children and their families. Our team is committed to helping
our patients live fulfilling, seizure-free lives.
Our multidisciplinary center is
the only one in the region able to provide all current treatment options for
children with epilepsy. All patients undergo a comprehensive evaluation that
includes digital monitoring and neuroimaging studies. Specialists in neurology,
neurosurgery, neurophysiology, neuroradiology and neuropsychology work together
to determine the best treatment plan for each child.
Our multidisciplinary
Epilepsy Team includes:
- Neurologists
- Neurosurgeons
- Neurodiagnostics/EEG
- Neuroradiologists
- Neuropsychologists
- Neuropathologists
- Neurology
nurses
- Nutitionists
- Social
Workers
- Child
Life Specialists
- Physical
Therapists, Occupational Therapists and Speech Therapists
- Pediatric
Anesthesiologists
- Pediatric
Pharmacists
The Children’s Hospital Epilepsy Center is a member of the National
Association of Epilepsy Centers and is affiliated with the LSUHSC Epilepsy
Center of Excellence.
Evaluation
Evaluations are done both on an outpatient and inpatient basis depending on
the complexity of each patient’s unique situation. A thorough neurologic
examination and review of your
child’s history and current seizure medications is done. Further testing is
performed as needed and may include EEG, MRI, functional MRI, SPECT or PET
scans. By correlating this information, we can best determine what type of
seizures your child is having (there are many), and how best to treat them.
Treatment
Children’s Hospital’s Epilepsy Center offers the most advanced treatment
options for our young patients. Our team focuses on:
- Using
the most effective anti-seizure medications to control seizures
- Enrolling
interested families in clinical studies of the newest experimental anti-seizure
medications
- Implementing
the Ketogenic Diet, a high fat, low carbohydrate diet that enables the body to produce
its own natural anticonvulsants, ketones.
When medicine alone isn’t enough
In some cases, brain surgery may offer the best seizure control and quality
of life for children with difficult-to-control epilepsy. Selection of cases for
surgery depends on careful localization of the site of seizure onset, which
often requires recording of seizures directly from the brain, and careful
localization of critical brain functions such as memory, language and motor
abilities.
Implantation of a vagus nerve stimulator (VNS), a pacemaker-like device that
delivers signals to the vagus nerve in the neck, may be used to reduce
seizures.
Since 1955,
Children’s Hospital has served the medical and surgical needs of the children
of our region. Our program has a renowned reputation throughout Louisiana and
the Gulf South. Children’s Hospital is an approved provider for most insurance
plans. We are committed to helping families from all economic backgrounds.
To refer a patient or
to obtain information regarding our program, please contact the medical
directors of the Epilepsy Center at (504) 896-9458.
