What to Expect at My SEEG Procedure?

The thought of having a diagnostic epilepsy surgery like the Stereo-Electroencephalography (SEEG) procedure can be daunting. Sometimes, simply knowing what to expect can help calm our nerves. While the procedure can vary from patient to patient, here is a general idea of what to expect when undergoing an SEEG surgical procedure with ROSA One® Brain.²

Before surgery

• Your surgeon will tell you what time to report to the hospital for your surgery. Always follow all pre-operative instructions, including instructions about taking any medications or vitamins.
• You may have a CT or MRI scan taken the morning of your surgery. This is so that your surgeon has the most up to date image of your brain to properly prepare for your surgery.
• An anesthesiologist may come speak with you about any previous experience you have with anesthesia and any concerns you might have. 

During surgery³

• When you enter the operating room, your surgeon will have already created your surgical plan on the ROSA One Brain computer. This plan includes electrode placement in your brain based on pre-operative images. It also may include the location your surgical team thinks your seizures might be originating. The surgical plan is saved on the robot, so that the equipment is ready for the procedure.
• Once you’re under anesthesia, the ROSA One Brain robot performs a “registration” procedure. The registration procedure tells the robot exactly where your head is located in the room. The robot can then map your surgical plan to your head for the procedure.
• Next, the robot guides the surgeon to each location specified in the plan, where your surgeon will insert an electrode into your brain through a small drill-hole in the skull. The robotic arm helps perform this procedure quickly and accurately to minimize the time that your surgery takes.

After surgery

• Following surgery, you’ll be transferred to the epilepsy monitoring unit (EMU) for observation. Here your electrodes will be hooked up to equipment that will monitor the electrical activity of your brain around the clock. 
• Your epilepsy team may try to induce seizures while you are in the EMU, including stopping your epilepsy medication and trying various triggers that may cause a seizure to occur.
• Many patients will stay in the EMU until they’ve had several seizures. The length of stay varies by patient and can last from a few days to weeks. You will remain in the EMU until the epilepsy team has received enough information to determine the origin of your seizures.
• During your EMU stay, your epilepsy team may perform functional mapping of your brain using the SEEG electrodes. This can help them determine where certain functions, such as speech, movement, and vision, are controlled in your brain, so that they can plan how to further treat your epilepsy.¹
• Once your EMU stay is complete, your doctor will remove the electrodes from your brain. This will be done either in the operating room or directly in the EMU.
• Once your epilepsy team determines where your seizures are coming from, you can discuss follow-up treatment options.