How to administer medication after surgery for refractory epilepsy

  Epilepsy, commonly known as “goat’s horn”, is a chronic brain dysfunction syndrome caused by a variety of etiologies, and the prevalence of epilepsy is about 6-7 per 1,000 in China. The prevalence of epilepsy in China is about 6-7%. About 80% of these patients can have their seizures controlled or remitted after regular medical treatment, while the remaining 20% are refractory epilepsy and require surgical intervention.  Modern epilepsy surgical treatment is mainly based on the use of high-tech means to precisely locate the epileptogenic foci, surgically remove the causes of intractable epilepsy such as brain tumors, vascular malformations and other lesions and abnormal discharges, and block the conduction pathways of abnormal nerve cell discharges to eradicate or reduce seizures. With surgical treatment, more than 70-90% of refractory epilepsies can be expected to be seizure-free or have few seizures.  However, after surgical treatment, patients with epilepsy must still take medication for more than two years. First, because of the prolonged recurrent seizures, abnormal discharges are more diffuse, and after removal of the primary foci, there may still be abnormal discharges in other parts of the body; second, after surgical treatment, brain function is temporarily out of balance. After two years of medication, if there are no seizures, the medication can be slowly reduced to stop taking medication.  Commonly used antiepileptic drugs include sodium phenytoin, phenobarbital, carbamazepine, and sodium valproate. The application should be based on the type of seizure and selected by the doctor, patients should not self-medicate to avoid adverse consequences. The long-term application of these drugs can produce certain toxic side effects, but in different preparations can improve the efficacy and reduce the toxic side effects, such as Dexedrine, which causes a significant reduction in the side effects of rash compared to ordinary carbamazepine tablets, while the effect of seizure control is significantly improved.  In recent years, some new drugs have been used in clinical practice, such as oxcarbazepine, lamotrigine, and dutasteride, etc. Although these drugs have many advantages, with a wide anti-seizure spectrum, high safety, and few adverse effects, further observation is needed for long-term efficacy and long-term toxic and side effects. However, the new antiepileptic drugs are still far away from the ideal antiepileptic drugs.  The following points should be noted in the use of drugs after epilepsy surgery: (1) The choice of drugs should be based on the drugs used before surgery, and common and safe drugs should be used. (2) If there are postoperative seizures, if a single drug is ineffective, a combination of drugs can be used, and attention should be paid to the synergistic or antagonistic effects between drugs. (4) Increase or decrease the dose of drugs or change the drugs gradually, not to stop them suddenly, but under the guidance of physicians.