The Tri-Service General Hospital has established an epilepsy medical team to provide high-quality medical services for patients.
Update Date：2024/10/07，
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Epilepsy is a condition characterized by recurrent spontaneous abnormal discharges of neurons in the brain, with a prevalence of approximately 5-10 per 1,000 people. It is estimated that there are around 200,000 to 300,000 patients in Taiwan, making it relatively common. However, because epilepsy often presents with symptoms like convulsions and foaming at the mouth, patients frequently face stigma and labeling, which can lead to a low willingness to seek medical help among both patients and their families, ultimately resulting in delayed treatment.
Currently, the first-line treatment for epilepsy remains medication, with approximately 70% of patients achieving good control of their seizures through appropriate diagnosis and prescription. However, there are times when medications may be ineffective. About 30% of epilepsy patients may develop drug-resistant epilepsy, at which point surgical intervention may become a viable option.
Because surgery is an invasive procedure, patients undergoing epilepsy surgery require a comprehensive evaluation beforehand. This includes a re-assessment of their diagnosis and medications, analysis of EEG patterns, imaging results, and neuropsychological test outcomes. These evaluations help determine the patient's suitability for surgery, the appropriate surgical technique to use, and a multidisciplinary team meeting is held to gather treatment recommendations from various specialists for the patient.
With the support of the hospital director and various departments, the Tri-Service General Hospital has established an "Epilepsy Team," modeled after the multidisciplinary care approach at Taipei Veterans General Hospital. Dr. Tsai Ming-jen from the Department of Neurology was sent to undergo training in the Epilepsy Division at Taipei Veterans General Hospital and has passed the international EEG certification exam from the Asian Epilepsy Association (ASEPA). Our epilepsy team integrates experts and resources from the Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery, Pediatrics, Radiology, Nuclear Medicine, Anesthesiology, Pathology, Nutrition, and Nursing, providing surgical treatment options for epilepsy for both military personnel and the general public.
On September 11, 2024, our hospital held a medical achievement presentation titled "Successful Cases of Epilepsy Team Surgery." The surgical patient was a 19-year-old male who began experiencing seizures at the age of 2. After ineffective treatment with multiple medications, he underwent an epilepsy surgery evaluation at our hospital. On July 2024, a collaborative effort by neurologist Dr. Tseng Kuan-ying and neurosurgeon Dr. Yang Yun-ru, along with intraoperative EEG monitoring, successfully targeted and removed the seizure focus. Currently, two months post-surgery, the patient has not experienced any seizures, resulting in a significant improvement in his quality of life.
During the preparation process, our treatment team engaged in academic exchanges with the epilepsy team at Taipei Veterans General Hospital to discuss surgical planning. We would like to extend our special thanks to Dr. Li Chia-ying and her research team from the Brain and Language Laboratory at the Institute of Linguistics, Academia Sinica, as well as Professor Lin Ching-po and his team from the Department of Teaching and Research at Taipei City Hospital, for their expertise and technical support in language function assessment and advanced brain imaging. Their contributions were instrumental in ensuring the smooth progression of the surgery.
