Expectations and Life Changes Associated with Surgery for Intractable Epilepsy

This longitudinal study examined the impact of epilepsy surgery on 32 patients and 17 of their significant others. Subjects were assessed prior to surgery and 1 year postsurgery with a semistructured interview that assessed subjects’ presurgery expectations and postsurgery reports of relationship changes, positive life changes, and negative life changes associated with seizure elimination and reduction. Prior to surgery, subjects anticipated that patients would experience a number of changes, including more friendships (49%), greater independence (47%), and the ability to engage in activities such as driving (71%) and working (65%). Most subjects (61%) did not anticipate that the patient would experience any difficulties associated with seizure elimination or reduction. Following surgery, subjects in the seizure-free group were more likely than subjects in the continued seizures group to report relationship changes and positive life changes. Some positive changes, such as reduction in anxiety and fatigue, that were reported at follow-up had not been predicted prior to surgery. It is possible that these benefits of seizure elimination become apparent only once the symptoms are eliminated. Few subjects reported negative changes associated with seizure elimination. The clinical implications of these findings are presented.