Hospital set for special role in epilepsy surgery

A BRISTOL hospital has become one of only four centres in the country to carry out specialist epilepsy surgery on children

Frenchay Hospital below will become a specialist centre from November providing complex paediatric surgery to about a quarter of the population treating children from across the South West as well as seeing those from other parts of the UK

The service will transfer to Bristol Childrens Hospital in 2014 as part of the centralisation of paediatric services

Young people selected for surgery will be looked after by specialist paediatric anaesthetists theatre nurses and technicians and will receive support from neurophysiology technicians radiographers ward nurses ward teachers play leaders speech and occupational therapists

Frenchay currently assesses about 40 patients per year on its paediatric epilepsy surgical programme and performs epilepsy surgical procedures on just over half These numbers are expected to rise after November

Mike Carter neurosurgeon and surgical lead for the service said This is fantastic news for Frenchay and indeed for Bristol Epilepsy surgery is increasingly recognised as beneficial in certain children There is evidence that the earlier children are treated the better the likely outcomes in terms of the effect of ongoing seizures on their brain development There are significant advantages in carrying out surgery in children under 5 The aim of the service is to improve uptake and access to epilepsy surgery for children whose epilepsy is drug resistant

It will result in Bristol becoming a major national and international resource for education and training of doctors and other medical professionals interested in the field of paediatric epilepsy surgery

Date : 16 May, 2012
Reference : http://www.thisisbristol.co.uk/Hospital-set-special-role-epilepsy-surgery/story-16086356-detail/stor

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