Program and Registration

Registration and poster mounting (Jeanne Timmins Foyer)

10:00 – 10:15

Welcome & Introductory remarks
Dr A. Bernasconi, MD (5min)/Dr A. Olivier (10min; role-future outlook)
The role of epilepsy surgery, forward-looking perspective

10:15 – 12:30

PEDIATRIC EPILEPSY SURGERY

Chairs: Dr A. Lortie and Dr A. Weil (CHU St Justine, Université de Montréal)

The context of pediatric epilepsy surgery – Dr A. Lortie, MD (CHU St Justine, Université de Montréal)

Review-Discuss: Emphasis will be put on drug-resistant epilepsies; Current concepts on drug-resistance; provincial trends on usage of surgery; indications for surgery across the age spectrum; factors modulating decision to perform surgery (e.g., cognition, social and behavioral development); value of referring patients to specialized centers; overall post-surgical seizure outcome results; referral patterns/barriers (e.g., education, geography).

Focal syndromes – Dr R.W. Dudley, MD (Montreal Children’s Hospital, McGill)

Review-Discuss: Traditional techniques, including intra-cranial recording in children; new approaches, including neuro-modulation and minimally-invasive techniques (laser interstitial thermotherapy, neuroendoscopy); intra-operative MRI; seizure outcomes; morbidity/mortality; techniques on the horizon.

Hemispheric syndromes – Dr E. Simard-Tremblay, MD (Montreal Children’s Hospital, McGill)

Review-Discuss: Specific etiologies (e.g., hemimegalencephaly, Rasmussen’s encephalitis); callosotomy, hemispheric resections and disconnections; morbidity/mortality.

Surgical decision-making and genetics – Dr L. Carmant, MD (CHU St Justine, Université de Montréal)

Review-Discuss: Real-world utility and impact on decision-making of genetics in surgical candidates.

12:30 - 13:30

Lunch (Jeanne Timmins Foyer)
Poster session (Authors present)

13:30 - 15:30

ADULT EPILEPSY SURGERY

Chairs: M. Veilleux (MNI), A. Bouthillier (CHUM, Université de Montréal)

The context of adult epilepsy surgery – Dr D.K. Nguyen (CHUM, Université de Montréal)

Review-Discuss: Emphasis will be put on drug-resistant epilepsy; definition of drug-resistance in adults; provincial trends on usage of surgery; surgery >55 years; advanced diagnostics; overall post-surgical seizure outcome results; referral patterns and barriers.

Malformations of cortical development – Dr F. Dubeau, MD (MNI, McGill)

Review-Discuss: Pre-surgical investigations, including invasive recordings and imaging, particularly in hard-to-treat cases; new approaches, including thermo-coagulation (e.g., nodular heterotopias).

Temporal lobe epilepsy – Dr J. Hall, MD (Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill)

Review-Discuss: Traditional approaches; neuro-navigation; new surgical approaches, including minimally-invasive techniques (laser interstitial thermotherapy); morbidity/mortality.

The impact of surgery on cognition across the lifespan – Dr M Jones-Gotman, PhD (Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill)

Review-Discuss: Impact of surgery on cognitive, behavioral, neuro-psychiatric, and socio-economic outcomes; modulatory effect of co-morbidities on outcomes.

15:30 – 16:00

Coffee break (Jeanne Timmins Foyer)
Poster session (Authors present - continued)

16:00 – 17:00

Pierre Gloor Lecture – Introduction: Dr J. Gotman, PhD

Epilepsy surgery: most effective, yet underutilized
O.C. Snead III, MD
Professor of Medicine, Pediatrics and Pharmacology
Sick Kids Research Institute University of Toronto (Toronto, ON, Canada)

Discuss the importance of epilepsy surgery in patients with drug-resistant seizures, the “communication” gap between neurologists and epilepsy surgery centers (“knowledge gap”), the feasibility gap (temporal and physical barriers), and the Ontario proposal

Cocktail Reception (Jeanne Timmins Foyer)