Clinical and anatomical analysis of the epileptogenic spread patterns in focal cortical dysplasia patients

BACKGROUND: Focal cortical dysplasia (FCD) is one of the main causes of intractable epilepsy, which is amendable by surgery. During the surgical management of FCD, the understanding of its epileptogenic foci, interconnections, and spreading pathways is crucial for attaining a good postoperative seizure free outcome. METHODS: We retrospectively evaluated 54 FCD patients operated in Federal Center of Neurosurgery, Tyumen, Russia. The electroencephalogram findings were correlated to the involved brain anatomical areas. Subsequently, we analyzed the main white matter tracts implicated during the epileptogenic spreading in some representative cases. We prepared 10 human hemispheres using Klinger’s method and dissected them through the fiber dissection technique. RESULTS: The clinical results were displayed and the main white matter tracts implicated in the seizure spread were described in 10 patients. Respective FCD foci, interconnections, and ectopic epileptogenic areas in each patient were discussed. CONCLUSION: A strong understanding of the main implicated tracts in epileptogenic spread in FCD patient remains cardinal for neurosurgeons dealing with epilepsy. To achieve meaningful seizure freedom, despite the focal lesion resection, the interconnections and tracts should be understood and somehow disconnected to stop the spreading.