Magnetic resonance‐guided laser interstitial thermal therapy: Correlations with seizure outcome

Summary Objective This study was undertaken to identify clinical factors associated with seizure freedom after magnetic resonance‐guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLiTT) in temporal lobe epilepsy patients with unilateral mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS). Methods We identified 56 patients with magnetic resonance imaging‐defined MTS who underwent MRgLiTT with at least 1 year of follow‐up. Primary outcome was seizure freedom at 1 year. We examined the association of seizure freedom and the following clinical factors: age at surgery, gender, history of febrile seizures, history of focal to bilateral tonic–clonic seizures, duration of epilepsy at the time of surgery, frequency of interictal epileptiform discharges (IEDs), seizure frequency, and presence of bilateral IEDs. Results Thirty‐five (62.5%) patients were seizure‐free at 1 year. The presence of bilateral IEDs and age at surgery were associated with 1‐year seizure freedom after MRgLiTT. The presence of bilateral IEDS was associated with lower odds of seizure freedom (odds ratio [OR] = .05, 95% confidence interval [CI] = .01–.46, p = .008), whereas increasing age at surgery was associated with increased odds of seizure freedom (OR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.03–1.19, p = .009). Significance This study demonstrates associations between presence of bilateral IEDs and age at surgery and seizure freedom at 1 year after MRgLiTT.