[Indications for surgery].

Epilepsy is the fourth most common disorder that affects the nervous system, with only migraine, cerebrovascular incidents and Alzheimer’s disease being more common. Epilepsy affects ~50 million people worldwide.[1] In Africa, epilepsy affects ~10 million people.[2] Global statistics show that about one-third of patients with epilepsy are refractory to anti-epileptic medication.[3] This translates into ~2.5 million people in Africa with devastating epilepsy, who may require alternative treatment to control or cure their epilepsy. Since 1886, neurosurgeons such as Horsley, Penfield and Krause have been interested in the surgical treatment of epilepsy in both adults and children.[4] From these early days, doctors understood that epilepsy is caused by abnormal electrical discharges in a specific part of the brain. This led to the premise that if that abnormal part of the brain can be resected, the epilepsy will be controlled.