Abstract  About one third of patients with focal epilepsy experience seizures despite adequate medical treatment. In this population,
successful epilepsy surgery improves life expectancy and health-related quality of life, while reducing health care costs
as a result of reduced hospital admissions, emergency department visits, and use of antiepileptic drugs. The effectiveness
of epilepsy surgery and low incidence of surgical complications have been established by numerous studies over several decades.
The International League Against Epilepsy recently issued a definition of drug-resistant epilepsy for early identification
of patients who are unlikely to be treated successfully with medical therapy alone. Potential surgical candidates are identified
through a detailed seizur...

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