JFK Epilepsy Program

Complete Epilepsy Care Delivered by a Team of Experts

The comprehensive Epilepsy Center at JFK University Medical Center is recognized by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers and offers a comprehensive, personalized approach to address the medical, surgical and rehabilitation needs of each patient who is experiencing seizures. Our team includes:

• Neurologists
• Neurosurgeons
• Neuropsychologists
• Neuropathologists
• Registered nurses
• Clinical nurse practitioners
• Neuroradiologists 
• Neurodiagnostic Technicians
• EEG Technologists
• Neurorehabilitation specialists

Offering a Full Range of Diagnostic and Treatment Options

Our specialists will conduct a thorough neurological exam and may order additional diagnostic tests, including electroencephalogram (EEG) exams and neuroimaging, to determine the type of seizure affecting each patient and the cause. Our team offers a full range of nonsurgical and surgical treatment options, including:

• Spells of unknown etiology clinic and first seizure clinic.
• Generalized epilepsy clinic.
• Epileptic encephalopathy clinic for patients with cognitive delay or Lennox Gastaut Syndrome.
• Transition clinic for patients transitioning from pediatric to adult care.
• Clinic for women with epilepsy, geriatric epilepsy clinic, post traumatic epilepsy clinic.
• Follow up after status epilepticus.
• SAFE clinics (Safe Alternatives for Epilepsy Medications) for patients with seizures refractory to medications.
• Neuromodulation clinic (electrical stimulation to treat seizures).
• Evaluation for epilepsy surgery

Nonsurgical Treatment Options

• Anticonvulsant medication and medication management
• Investigational medication through participation in a clinical trial
• Ketogenic diet and hormonal treatment

Surgical Treatment Options

Although medication provides good seizure control for most patients with epilepsy, some patients may

continue to have debilitating seizures that require surgical treatment. Our center offers a variety of advanced surgical procedures, including:

• Focal Resection to remove (resect) the area of brain tissue where the patient's seizures originate including:
• Temporal Lobe Resection
• Extratemporal Resection (frontal, parietal, and occipital)
• Lesionectomy to remove a mass or other lesion causing seizures
• Multiple Subpial Transections to stop seizure impulses by cutting nerve fibers in the outer layers of the brain. 
• Anatomical or Functional Hemispherectomy and Hemispherotomy to surgically remove or disconnect the diseased part of the brain.
• Corpus Callosotomy to limit the spread of abnormal electrical activity between the two halves of the brain.
• Stereotactic Radiosurgery to treat epilepsy using radiation beams focused on the area of the brain where seizures begin. 
• Neurostimulation Device Implantation which uses an implanted device to prevent seizures before they begin, including
• Vagus Nerve Stimulation (VNS)
• Responsive Neurostimulation (RNS)
• Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS)
• Laser Ablation for drug-resistant epilepsy using laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT)to deliver heated energy to the specific brain region causing seizures.

Supportive Services

We understand that an epilepsy diagnosis may cause physical, social and emotional challenges for patients and their families and offer a full range of supportive services, including:

• Psychological counseling for anxiety, depression, and psychosocial challenges
• Rehabilitation
• Social work services
• Patient and family support groups

Meet the Team