TUESDAY, March 31, 2026 (NewsDay News) — For pediatric patients with drug-resistant focal epilepsy, radiofrequency stereoelectroencephalography thermocoagulation (SEEG-RFTC) is safe and has favorable outcomes for most patients, according to a study published online March 26. Annals of Clinical and Translational Neurology.
Weitao Chen, from Fuzhou Children’s Hospital in China, and colleagues conducted a retrospective observational study at two epilepsy centers involving 111 children with drug-resistant epilepsy who underwent SEEG-RFTC to evaluate seizure outcomes. After the operation, the patients were observed for at least one year.
The researchers found that 73 patients (65.8 percent) achieved seizure freedom. Among 46 patients with focal cortical dysplasia, the seizure rate was 80.4%. Six of 10 patients with hippocampal sclerosis were seizure-free at final follow-up. Significant predictors of seizure freedom were disease course and positron emission tomography (PET) findings, with shorter duration of epilepsy and positivity of PET showing a significant association with favorable seizure outcomes.
“SEEG-guided RFTC is a safe and effective minimally invasive treatment for drug-resistant focal epilepsy, with approximately 60 percent of patients achieving long-term seizure freedom,” they write. “This approach offers a valuable treatment option for children who are not ideal candidates for resective surgery.”
