Epilepsy treatment abroad

Epilepsy is a common neurological disorder characterized by a tendency to recurrent, unexpected seizures. According to WHO, 83 out of 100,000 people fall ill with epilepsy every year, in some regions the figure reaches 1%.

Patients with this diagnosis receive first aid at their place of residence. If there is no improvement as a result of the prescribed drug therapy, it is reasonable to consider the possibility of treating epilepsy abroad. According to the general statistics of medical centers, up to 70% of people with epilepsy can achieve a stable remission, subject to high-quality diagnostics and the right treatment.

The disease not only reduces the quality of life, but can also cause serious injuries with a fatal outcome. Of 1,000 patients, 1 dies as a result of trauma during an attack.

Over the past decades, foreign experts have made significant progress in the field of epilepsy therapy. With the help of new generation drugs and advanced surgical technologies, they manage to achieve a complete recovery or stable remission in the patient.

Among the leading countries in the treatment of epilepsy abroad, it is worth highlighting Israel, Turkey, Germany, Spain, and South Korea.

Many patients from Central Asia and Eastern Europe choose foreign clinics for the treatment of epilepsy. This is due to the fact that local medical institutions do not always have the necessary conditions for successful therapy.

Thanks to advances in the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy, this disease is now considered curable. Up to 70% of patients get rid of seizures or note a significant reduction in their frequency and severity.

The best clinics in the world for the treatment of epilepsy enable patients to undergo high-precision diagnostics and receive qualified medical care. In the complex, this gives a chance to return to a full life.

According to Experts Medical patients, the main advantages of epilepsy treatment abroad include:

1. Access to modern technologies that are not available in many countries.
2. Opportunity to receive advice from recognized experts in the field of epilepsy treatment.
3. Reducing waiting times to receive treatment and diagnostic tests.
4. Treatment in hospitals equipped with modern equipment.
5. Possibility to combine therapy with travel or tourism.
6. Some clinics offer rehabilitation and support programs after discharge from the hospital.

It is worth noting that in the clinics of Turkey and Israel, there are Russian-speaking specialists among the medical staff. This makes it possible to receive high-quality medical care and avoid the language barrier.

Diagnosis of epilepsy is an important point on which the choice of therapeutic methods depends. The complex of diagnostic examinations in the case of epilepsy is strictly individual. Patients of clinics for the treatment of epilepsy have access to examinations on modern devices. They allow doctors to accurately diagnose and develop an individual treatment plan.

The complex of diagnostic procedures may include:

1. Determination of the patient’s neurological status.
2. Careful collection of anamnesis of life and features of the disease.
3. MRI study, which allows you to identify pathological foci of the disease that provoke seizures.
4. Electroencephalography (EGG) – to record the electrical activity of the brain.
5. The WADA test, which prevents possible complications after surgical interventions and determines which of the patient’s brain hemispheres is responsible for speech and memory functions.
6. Video EGG monitoring – to determine the localization of the focus of the disease and its variety.

Doctors also prescribe various blood tests to the patient to study the level of electrolytes, lipids, biochemical parameters, thyroid hormones.

Despite the widespread use of new anticonvulsants, 30% of patients can be offered surgical treatment.

Neurosurgical treatment of epilepsy abroad is a complex type of operation that should be performed only in specialized departments.

The best medical centers are equipped with the necessary equipment. Doctors who specialize in the treatment of this pathology work in clinics abroad. In this case, the patient has a guarantee that the operation will take place without complications and the treatment will be effective.

Depending on the patient’s condition, neurosurgeons perform various types of manipulations during the treatment process:

• remove the affected part of the brain, which is responsible for the occurrence of seizures;
• change the nerve pathways that carry convulsive impulses through the brain;
• implanting a device for the treatment of epilepsy.

To choose a surgical method for the treatment of epilepsy abroad, a thorough diagnosis is carried out, after which an optimal plan is drawn up.

For the surgical treatment of epilepsy, various types of resections are often performed, during which the pathological foci of the brain responsible for the occurrence of seizures are removed.

Given the goals, patients undergo the following types of operations for epilepsy:

1. Focal or focal resection. This is an operation in which the doctor removes the area of the brain that causes seizures in the patient. Most often carried out:

• temporal lobectomy – in 85% of patients a significant improvement is recorded;
• frontal lobectomy – allows you to get rid of seizures up to 50% of patients.

2. Pathological resection. During the intervention, the doctor performs the removal of the part of the brain where the deformed blood vessel, tumor is located. Seizures usually disappear after the removal of the abnormal area of the brain.
3. Multiple subpial incisions (MST). It is carried out in the case when the epileptogenic focus is fixed in that area of the brain that cannot be removed without complications. The essence of the procedure: the doctor performs a series of shallow incisions in the brain tissue, thereby interrupting the flow of convulsive impulses. Brain activity continues unchanged, so various neurological consequences are excluded.
4. Callosotomy. The procedure is recommended for patients with complex forms of uncontrolled epilepsy, characterized by intense seizures that can lead the patient to falls and serious injury. During the intervention, the doctor dissects a group of fibers that connect the hemispheres of the brain. Thus, it interrupts their connection and the possible spread of seizures from one hemisphere of the brain to another.
5. Laser surgery for epilepsy (laser ablation). This type of surgery is prescribed for patients with small foci of drug-resistant epilepsy. The doctor selects a pathological focus of the brain and acts on it with a laser. The procedure is performed under MRI control. Over 50% of patients after ablation managed to completely get rid of seizures.

In addition, stereotactic radiosurgery is used. It is carried out using the Gamma Knife and Cyber Knife systems. During the intervention, specialists create a three-dimensional model of the brain and carefully calculate the pathological focus to which the radiation is directed.

The length of a patient’s recovery after epilepsy surgery abroad depends on many factors, including the type of procedure. According to the observations of specialists, on average, patients return to their usual way of life within 4-6 weeks. However, at first they can still fix attacks that are caused by a reaction to stress. Within a month, their number will decrease, ideally completely disappear.

Foreign patients often choose epilepsy treatment abroad for stimulation therapy:

1. Deep brain stimulation (DBS). A method for treating seizures was approved by the FDA in 2018. The procedure is carried out in several stages. The surgeon implants electrodes in the affected areas of the brain, and a neurostimulator in the area of the collarbone. This device is connected to the electrodes using thin wires and programmed. This blocks the signals in the brain that cause seizures. According to the observations of neurosurgeons, over time, the quality of life has significantly improved in most patients, and the need to take large doses of medication has disappeared.
2. Stimulation of the vagus nerve VNS. The technology is approved by neurosurgeons in the USA and Europe. Applied to patients suffering from focal epilepsy, in which the operation is impossible or ineffective. Vagus nerve stimulation helps to significantly reduce the number and severity of seizures in patients. The procedure is effective in more than 50% of people who have undergone it.
3. Reactive neurostimulation. The procedure also involves the implantation of a device for relieving seizures – the RNS system. Outwardly, it resembles a pacemaker. The device monitors the activity of brain waves in milliseconds, thanks to which it effectively prevents an attack. A device for neurostimulation is implanted in the cranium, and electrodes are placed on epileptogenic areas of the brain.

The best clinics in the world use only certified neurostimulators from leading medical manufacturers, for example, Percept PC from Medtronic.

In epilepsy clinics, small patients are given a special approach. Doctors establish an accurate diagnosis, select the best methods, adjust the prescribed therapy, if necessary. Surgical intervention is carried out only with the ineffectiveness of drug treatment.

One of the world’s best epileptologists, Israeli specialist Uri Kramer, has developed a special bracelet that helps parents take care of children with this diagnosis. This is a device that monitors the activity of the child’s brain and signals to parents about an impending seizure.

Also, contacts of parents or other relatives can be added to the memory of the device: if necessary, they will receive an alert and will be able to help the child in time.

The device is also in demand to help adult patients with epilepsy.

Prices for the treatment of epilepsy abroad in different clinics and countries may vary. For each patient, the final cost is determined individually and depends on various factors, including:

• the amount of research completed;
• recommended medicines;
• surgical procedures;
• length of stay in the hospital;
• fame of the attending physician;
• the cost of rehabilitation after surgery;
• additional non-medical services, which may include accommodation in superior rooms, a restaurant menu, personal interpreter services.

It is possible to find out the final price of epilepsy treatment abroad after undergoing diagnostics and receiving a treatment plan.

For example, the price of surgical treatment of epilepsy in Turkish hospitals is $15,000-25,000, in Spanish hospitals – from $20,000, in Israeli ones – from $30,000.

The cost of deep brain stimulation in clinics in Turkey starts at $28,000, in Spain – from $52,000, in Israel – from $42,000, and in South Korea – from $50,000.

Not every medical center has the opportunity to undergo effective surgical treatment of epilepsy. Experts Medical has prepared a TOP list of partner clinics where complex brain interventions are performed at a high level in neurosurgery departments:

1. Teknon Medical Center in Barcelona. It uses the latest technologies for diagnosing and treating the disease, including intracranial analysis using electrodes. Treatment options include antiepileptic drugs, resection surgery, palliative surgery, neurostimulation, and the ketogenic diet. The hospital is also involved in clinical trials of new antiepileptic drugs. The well-known specialist in the field of neurology, epileptologist Antonio Russi Tintore, practices in the clinic. He is the current President of the Spanish Epilepsy Bureau. The doctor has more than 2,000 fully cured patients.
2. Yeditepe University Hospital in Istanbul. The clinic has technologically advanced equipment for the diagnosis and treatment of epilepsy. Here they use the same technologies as in the most prestigious clinics in the USA and Europe, while the cost of therapy is significantly lower. Professor Ugur Thure, President of the European Association of Neurosurgeons, works at the hospital.
3. The neuropsychiatric clinic NP Brain Hospital in Istanbul is one of the best clinics for the treatment of epilepsy. The hospital has the status of “the world’s 1st accredited brain clinic.” Among the medical staff is an outstanding neurosurgeon, Dr. Mustafa Bozbuga.
4. The Sant Joan de Deu Children’s Hospital in Barcelona is the best clinic for the treatment of epilepsy in children abroad. The hospital provides care for even the most severe cases of drug-resistant epilepsy. The most demanded specialist is the neurosurgeon Jordi Rumia, who effectively performs operations on the brain.
5. Sourasky Medical Center in Tel Aviv. Patients have access to the whole range of modern epilepsy treatment: from the selection of drugs to high-quality rehabilitation. Children’s epilepsy is treated by Professor Uri Kramer, the creator of a unique medical bracelet that warns of an attack.

This is not a complete list of foreign medical centers where foreign patients can receive modern medical care. You can learn more about where epilepsy is best treated on the website or during a free consultation with the company’s coordinating doctors. Reviews of Experts Medical patients about the treatment of epilepsy abroad are extremely positive.

Patients from Eastern Europe and Central Asia have access to high-quality epilepsy treatment abroad in leading clinics. Experts Medical coordinating doctors will help you quickly and reliably organize your trip. To do this, you need to call the numbers listed on the site, or leave a request.

Coordinating doctors will consult the patient for free, help you choose a medical center and an attending physician, with whom they will organize a preliminary online consultation. Also, the patient will receive assistance in obtaining the necessary medical documentation for the trip and preliminary examination by the doctor.

If necessary, Experts Medical provides services for booking air tickets and hotel rooms, transfer, escort for the treatment of epilepsy abroad.