We provide pediatric epilepsy care, including evaluation and management services.
Families with children who have difficult-to-treat epilepsy or hard-to-control seizures can turn to our neurologists who specialize in the treatment of epilepsy, a field known as epileptology. In most children, medication can effectively control seizures, but some children and teens with epilepsy experience unacceptable side effects from medication or have seizures that are resistant to medication (intractable seizures). Our pediatric epilepsy program specializes in caring for these patients.
Before we schedule your child's appointment, we will ask you to help us obtain your previous evaluations. We need not only the written records, but the actual MRIs of the brain and the EEG studies (usually on disks).
Our evaluation includes an initial appointment where neurologists and epileptologists will examine your child and go over his or her history. He will then personally review the MRI of the brain and EEGs provided and decide if further evaluation is necessary. Further evaluation may include studies such as video EEG monitoring in our neuromonitoring unit, repeating the MRI of the brain using specialized epilepsy protocols, PET or SPECT scans, or genetic and metabolic testing.
Generally, further testing can be performed at Johns Hopkins All Children's Hospital.
If the evaluation shows that one of these advanced epilepsy therapies would be helpful, these can also be performed at our hospital.