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Risks
By Mayo Clinic staffYour risks may vary, depending on which variety of epilepsy surgery is used and the portion of your brain involved:
- Memory problems. The temporal lobe handles memory and language functions, so surgery on this part of the brain may cause difficulties with remembering, understanding and speaking.
- Double vision. Temporary double vision sometimes develops after temporal lobe surgery.
- Increased number of seizures. Severing the network of neural connections between the right and left hemispheres of the brain — corpus callosotomy — stops seizure activity from spreading throughout the brain, but it doesn't stop the seizures. In fact, it can sometimes increase the number of seizures you experience, but the seizures should be less severe.
- Reduced visual field. Hemispherectomy, or removing the outer layer of half the brain, usually results in a reduced visual field.
- Partial, one-sided paralysis. After a hemispherectomy, you may have limited ability to move on one side of your body. Intense rehabilitation often brings back nearly normal abilities.
