Epilepsy surgery found safe and cost-effective

Research has shown that surgery can provide important benefits for patients with epilepsy. Now a new study finds that it is also cost-effective.

In a study of 207 patients with epilepsy who were treated at 15 different centers in France, the proportion of patients who were completely seizure-free during the last 12 months was 69 percent among patients who underwent surgery and 12 percent among patients who received continued medical care during the second year, and it was respectively 77 percent and 21 percent during the fifth year.

Direct costs became significantly lower in the surgical group during the third year after surgery, as a result of less antiepileptic drug use. "Surgery became cost-effective between nine and 10 years after surgery and even earlier if indirect costs were taken into account as well," said Dr. Marie-Christine Picot, lead author of the Epilepsia study.