Nicklaus Children’s Hospital and Patients Celebrate 40 Years of Epilepsy Surgery Innovation

Published on: 05/02/2024

Nicklaus Children's Hospital's Brain Institute celebrated the 40^th anniversary of its Epilepsy Surgery Program in March with a patient reunion at Zoo Miami. The fun-filled event was attended by nearly 200 former patients and their family members as well as clinical and support staff.

"As a clinician, there is nothing more rewarding than gathering with former patients and their families to celebrate lives made better through the work that we do," said Dr. Trevor Resnick, Director of the Brain Institute's Comprehensive Epilepsy Center. "For patients who have struggled with medically resistant seizures, surgical intervention is often the key to a more normal life and a brighter future. It is an honor to have served these families and help them find a path forward. Our leadership in care of patients with epilepsy is one more reason why Nicklaus Children's is the hospital where children matter most," he said.

Nicklaus Children's Brain Institute is an internationally recognized leader in caring for children and infants with epilepsy. The South Florida-based program offers the latest medical and surgical interventions to help children with epileptic seizures.

After its founding in 1984, the program fast became a pioneer in the diagnosis, monitoring, and treatment of children with seizure disorders, and advancing global acceptance of surgical interventions in children with epileptic regions.

Since its inception, the program has performed over 1,600 surgeries for children with epilepsy. Two years post-surgery, 84.5 percent of patients who underwent surgery for temporal lobe epilepsy remain seizure free while 71.6 percent of patients who received surgery for extra-temporal lobe epilepsy remain seizure free. These outcomes have remained stable for the past 10 years.

Today, the program continues its commitment to providing the latest and most comprehensive care options with the goal of offering patients and families the best chance of achieving seizure freedom. Current techniques include laser and focused beam ultrasound to ablate epileptic areas of the brain that are difficult to reach. Neuromodulation, including Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS), and Responsive Neuro Stimulator (RNS) implants are also utilized to detect and stop seizures.

During the reunion, children and their families, as well as adult patients who underwent care as children, celebrated with food, fun and games as well as shared time to explore the zoo.