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Epilepsy Epilepsy

Epilepsy

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If you’ve been diagnosed with epilepsy, or find your current epilepsy treatment is no longer working, the specialists at Miami Neuroscience Institute’s Epilepsy Program can help. We are accredited as a Level 4 Epilepsy Center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers, the highest-ranking organization for epilepsy care and management.

Epilepsy is a common neurological condition that causes frequent seizures. Treatment options may include medicine, surgery or brain and nerve stimulation.

At Miami Neuroscience Institute, specially trained physicians called epileptologists work closely with neurophysiologists, neurosurgeons and neuroradiologists to develop personalized epilepsy treatment plans. Ultimately, our goal is to find you an effective treatment that eliminates seizures, so you can live a full and healthy life.

How is epilepsy diagnosed at Miami Neuroscience Institute?

Every individual’s condition is different and choosing the best treatment option begins during a consultation with one of our epileptologists, who will talk with you about your symptoms and any previous treatments you may have had. After this consultation, our team works closely with the neurophysiology department to conduct diagnostic tests, which will help us determine the best treatment for your condition.

Some of the diagnostic tests we use include:

  • EEG, or electroencephalogram – This test, which usually lasts 35 minutes, looks at brain-wave activity to determine brain health and function.
  • Ambulatory monitoring – This test involves wearing a portable EEG monitor at home for 24-72 hours to track brain activity during normal daily routines.
  • Long-term video monitoring, or video EEG – During a long-term test, you will stay in the hospital while we monitor your brain activity for several days. For this, Miami Neuroscience Institute has 12 private rooms in the epilepsy monitoring unit.
  • Wada testing – This test evaluates language and memory function.
  • CT scans
  • MRI
  • Functional MRI – This MRI exam shows blood flow in the brain to measure brain activity.

How is epilepsy treated at Miami Neuroscience Institute?

Miami Neuroscience Institute’s Epilepsy Program offers a wide range of epilepsy treatments, all available under one roof. Whether your condition requires new medicines or surgery, we can provide a treatment that is tailored to your needs.

Many of our patients have used epilepsy medicines that have failed or are no longer working. If that is the case, we will evaluate the medicines and adjust as needed, or recommend a different treatment option.

If medicines are not the best treatment option for you, we may recommend neurosurgery. These procedures can include:

  • Laser ablation – This treatment uses heat to destroy the area of the brain that is causing epilepsy.
  • Resective surgery – This treatment removes brain tissue where the seizures start.

Our team is also highly skilled in the latest functional neurosurgery procedures to treat epilepsy. Some of the procedures we use include:

  • Vagus Nerve Stimulation, or VNS – This treatment uses electrical pulses to stimulate the vagus nerve and reduce seizures.
  • Responsive Neurostimulation System (RNS) –This is a medical device designed to monitor and respond to your brain’s electrical activity to prevent seizures.
  • Deep brain stimulation, or DBS – This treatment uses electrical pulses to regulate brain signals, which can help reduce seizures.

Miami Neuroscience Institute also has one of the only intraoperative monitoring programs in the region. Intraoperative monitoring, also called iMRI or iCT, allows specially trained neurophysiologists to track brain function during surgery. The goal is to identify changes in brain function that may lead to permanent damage and to alert the surgical team, improving patient safety and outcomes. Miami Neuroscience Institute’s intraoperative monitoring program is certified by the American Board of Neurophysiology Monitoring (ABNM).

Conditions & Treatments

Learn more about Epilepsy.

  • Level 4 Epilepsy Center

    Miami Neuroscience Institute’s epilepsy program is accredited by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers as a level 4 epilepsy center—the highest level possible. Our epilepsy program is one of only a few in the nation using the most advanced, integrated technology to evaluate and manage drug-resistant epilepsy.
Our Approach

Our Approach

If you or a loved one comes to Miami Neuroscience Institute for epilepsy treatment, you can expect:

  • A collaborative approach to your treatment, with specialists from all areas of Miami Neuroscience Institute coming together to find the best treatment for you.
  • A team that is dedicated to finding a treatment that will stop your seizures and help improve your overall well-being.
  • Comprehensive epilepsy treatment that includes the most advanced diagnostic tools and treatment technologies, all available under one roof.

Meet the Team

Your epilepsy team is made up of highly skilled epileptologists, neurologists, neurophysiologists, neuroradiologists, neurosurgeons and neuropsychologists, who all specialize in treating epilepsy.
Epilepsy Treatment Clinical Trials

Epilepsy Treatment Clinical Trials

Our team is actively involved with clinical trials that are studying new treatment methods and medicines for epilepsy. To learn more, talk to your doctor or view our list of active trials.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • If we recommend surgery to treat your epilepsy, it is likely because your medicines are no longer working. We typically recommend surgery if two or more epilepsy medications have failed or no longer work.

  • Although your seizures may be infrequent, they can cause injury and sometimes even death. In fact, each seizure can increase your risk of death by nearly 20 percent. With surgery, we will be able to better control your epileptic seizures and reduce your risk of serious side effects from epilepsy.

  • Our team works closely with neurophysiologists on diagnoses and treatment plans. Miami Neuroscience Institute’s neurophysiology team has a nurse epilepsy coordinator to help ensure you are seen, diagnosed and treated as quickly as possible. The neurophysiologists also have access to long-term video EEG monitoring available 24/7 in a 12-bed private epilepsy monitoring unit.

National Association of Epilepsy Centers

National Association of Epilepsy Centers

Miami Neuroscience Institute’s Epilepsy Program ranks as a level 4 epilepsy center - the highest level possible - accredited by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers.

Recent News

Epilepsy and Its Various Treatment Options

Epilepsy and Its Various Treatment Options

When you think about epilepsy, you most likely picture someone having a dramatic seizure, where they collapse to the gro...
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