Comparison of seizure outcomes and ADL recovery period after total or anterior corpus callosotomy in adolescent and young adults with drop attacks and severe mental retardation

•Anterior partial corpus callosotomy (ACC) was insufficient to control drop attacks. •Total corpus callosotomy (TCC) yielded more favorable seizure outcomes.•The maximum period for full ADL recovery was approximately two months after TCC.•TCC is preferred for adolescents and young adults with severe mental retardation. The aim of this study was to evaluate seizure outcomes and postoperative neurologic complications, with an emphasis on the recovery period of activities of daily living (ADL) between anterior partial corpus callosotomy (ACC) and total corpus callosotomy (TCC) in adolescent and young adults with drop attacks and severe mental retardation. We retrospectively reviewed the clinical records of consecutive patients with intractable epilepsy who underwent corpus callosotomy (CC) for drop attacks between 2010 and 2019 in the Department of Neurosurgery, Hiroshima University hospital, with a minimum follow-up of one year. Inclusion criteria of this study were 1) age at surgery: 11–39 years, 2) preoperative intelligence quotient