Psychosoziale Auswirkungen epilepsiechirurgischer Eingriffe bei Kindern und Jugendlichen

Epileptic children and adolescents who cannot reach a satisfactory control of their seizures by pharmacological treatment may benefit from neurosurgery. Surgical treatment provides an alternative that often results in total freedom of seizures or, at least, in a remarkable reduction of their frequency. However, the psychosocial consequences have not been systematically reviewed so far. The present article gives an overview over studies that investigated the psychosocial adjustment of children and adolescents and their families after epilepsy surgery. Indicators of psychosocial adjustment are: satisfaction with the outcome of the operation, behavioral adjustment, integration at school, and health-related quality of life. Even though most studies report positive effects of epilepsy surgery, important questions remain unsolved. Future studies should focus on identifying the predominant areas of life that benefit from an improved control of the seizures, the risks and the protecting factors that influence coping with surgery and the consequences of less successful operations with only little or no improvement regarding the control of seizures.