Surgical Treatment of Epilepsies

Josef Zentner received his neurosurgical training at the Department of Neurosurgery, University of Freiburg, Germany. He completed his PhD in neurophysiology with studies on intraoperative motor evoked potential monitoring at the Department of Neurosurgery in Tübingen. A fellowship in the USA and Canada acquainted him with epilepsy surgery. As the vice chairman of the Department of Neurosurgery in Bonn he took over the surgical part of the epilepsy surgical program in 1990 and was appointed to a professorship (C3) 1994. In 1997 he received full professorship (C4) and chair of the Department of Neurosurgery, University of Freiburg. As the surgical treatment of epilepsies was his main focus, Dr. Zentner, in collaboration with the epilepsy center Kehl/Kork, established a grade IV center for epilepsy surgery in Freiburg, which was assigned by the Social Ministry of Stuttgart to provide epilepsy surgery care for the populace of Baden-Württemberg. In 2003 Dr. Zentner was appointed president of the German chapter of the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). In addition, he served as dean of the Medical Faculty of the University of Freiburg from 2003 to 2005. Dr. Zentner was active on several editorial boards and published many articles on various aspects of epilepsy surgery. Among other research foundations, his scientific work was supported by the DFG. Dr. Zentner retired in 2018.

This book fills the gap between the increasing demand for epilepsy surgical experience and limited training facilities in this area. It comprehensively describes surgical techniques, including tricks and pitfalls, based on the author's 30 years of experience, providing optimal and effective training for young neurosurgeons by avoiding learning by trial and error. Moreover, it also includes useful information for epileptologists and other professionals involved in the epilepsy surgical program to allow them to gain a better understanding of possibilities and limitations of epilepsy surgery. 

History of Epilepsy Surgery.- Epilepsy: Clinical, Epidemiological,  and Therapeutical Aspects.- Presurgical Evaluation.- Surgical Tools and Techniques.- Anesthesia.- Temporal Lobe Resections.- Extratemporal  Resections.- Hemispherical Procedures.- Long-Term  Epilepsy-Associated Tumors  (LEATs).- MRI-Negative  Epilepsies.- Pediatric  Epilepsy Surgery.- Reoperations after failed  surgery.- Pathology in Epilepsy Surgery.- Non-Resective Epilepsy Surgery.- Complications.- Cost-Effectiveness of Epilepsy Surgery.- The current Place of Epilepsy Surgery.- A personal view.