AAN 2022 | The applications of laser ablation in epilepsy

Brett Youngerman, MD, MS, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY, explains that laser ablation can be applied to many different types of epilepsy. This technology was first applied to gelastic seizures caused by hypothalamic hematomas, which are rare but difficult to treat since the target is hard to access with traditional surgery. Additionally, laser ablation has been used for treating malformations of cortical development, lesions like cavernous malformations, and more recently, using multiple fibers for corpus callosotomy for atonic seizures. Currently, research into the combination of laser and robotic surgery to achieve multiple ablation trajectories is opening additional possibilities. Nevertheless, Dr Youngerman warns that the data is still small for each of these indications, necessitating additional investigation. This interview took place at the American Academy of Neurology 2022 Congress in Seattle, WA.