Imad Najm, MD: Expanding Use of Epilepsy Surgery

“Despite hundreds, if not thousands of publications showing the success of epilepsy surgery… unfortunately epilepsy surgery is not used to the extent that it should be used.”

According to Imad Najm, MD, director of the Epilepsy Center at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio, one of the biggest misunderstandings about epilepsy surgery is that it is experimental, when in reality it can be a life-changing treatment options for the thousands of patients with epilepsy who do not respond to medication. Ultimately, only about 1% of eligible patients undergo epilepsy surgery each year, despite its high rate of success.

Najm believes it is the responsibility of physicians, to help eliminate the stigma surrounding the procedure and recommend patients to be evaluated for surgery. Although the epilepsy community has been very vocal at medical conferences and other events about the safety and benefits of epilepsy surgery, statistically the rate of procedures performed each year remains low.

In an interview with NeurologyLive, Najm explained why epilepsy surgery should be considered among standard treatments for patients with refractory epilepsy.