Psychiatric Evaluation Prior to Epilepsy Surgery

Abstract

Epilepsy patients who are resistant to medical treatment carry the increased risk of psychiatric comorbidity. There is a bidirectional relationship between epilepsy surgery and psychiatric status. Surgery affects the prognosis of presurgical psychiatric symptoms and psychiatric status affects the postoperative prognosis of epileptic convulsions. Therefore a psychiatrist with experience on patients with epilepsy should be a part of every epilepsy surgery team, to evaluate patients carefully prior to surgery and to follow them accordingly after the operation.