How Much Does Epilepsy Surgery Cost?

  • Epilepsy surgery cost in India used to treat focal seizures usually range between USD 5,000 (INR 367,000) and USD 7500 (INR 550,000).
  • Deep brain stimulation cost in India for the treatment of extreme epilepsy starts from USD 16000 (INR 11,89,000) in India and may go as high as USD 20000 (INR 14,86,000) in some of the best hospitals for epilepsy treatment in India.
  • Whereas the same treatment if availed in the US, will cost much more. For instance, the cost of epilepsy surgery in US ranges from $25000 to $40000 and the cost of DBS in US is estimated to be around $70000, more than three times of its cost in India.
Epilepsy Treatment
  • Epilepsy is a long-term (chronic) neurological illness in which brain activity becomes abnormal, resulting in seizures or episodes of disturbed behavior, feelings, and, in rare cases, loss of awareness.
  • Epilepsy is also called a seizure disorder.
  • A hereditary disorder or an acquired brain lesion, such as a stroke or trauma, can both lead to epilepsy.
  • During a seizure, a person exhibits abnormal behavior, signs, and feelings, which may include losing consciousness. Few symptoms exist between seizures.
  • The brain’s electrical activity is unpredictable, which causes these seizures. Although it can appear at any age, it is more frequently seen in children or in people over sixty.
  • In some cases, dietary changes or surgery may also be used to treat epilepsy, which is typically treated with medication.
  • Although there is currently no treatment for epilepsy, it is a lifelong condition whose symptoms can be managed well. Thus, anyone, of any age, race, or sex, can develop epilepsy.
  • Worldwide, about 65 million people have epilepsy.

Causes of Epilepsy

There are several seizure types brought on by epilepsy, but they can be broadly classified into two groups—

  • Grand mal seizures, which include the entire brain, are referred to as generalized seizures.
  • Focal seizures, which only impact a certain area of the brain.
  • More severe seizures can last anywhere from a few seconds to many minutes and cause muscle spasms and uncontrollable twitching.
  • After a stronger seizure, some sufferers lose consciousness or become disoriented. One might not remember what happened after that.
  • A seizure could happen for a number of reasons. Epilepsy results because of such seizures.

The most common causes resulting in epileptic episodes include the following:

  • Traumatic injury to the brain
  • Stroke or transient ischemic attack
  • Loss of brain function and dementia
  • Congenital brain disorders
  • Brain tumors
  • Cerebral infections including meningitis, encephalitis, and brain abscess
  • Abnormal blood vessels in the brain
  • Metabolic disorders such as phenylketonuria
  • Bleeding or haemorrhage of the brain

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Symptoms

  • Since epilepsy is brought on by abnormal brain activity, seizures can harm any process that your brain regulates.
  • Depending on the type of seizure, the severity of the symptoms varies. Most of the time, a person with epilepsy will have the same kind of seizure, therefore the symptoms will be the same from incident to incident.

Some of the warning signs and symptoms of epilepsy include the following:

  • Temporary uncertainty
  • A staring spell
  • Muscle spasms
  • Jerking movements of the arms and legs that are uncontrollable
  • Consciousness or awareness loss
  • Fear and anxiety are psychological symptoms

Diagnosis

Epilepsy is a form of brain disorder that is often identified through a multi-step process. Usually, this approach involves the following steps:

  • Medical history, blood tests, and other clinical tests and neurological exams such as EEG, CT scan, functional MRI, SPECT, and PET imaging are used to confirm epileptic seizures in patients.
  • The type of seizure that the patient is having is determined by the results of the tests.
  • To determine the cause of epilepsy, a clinical examination is performed.
  • On the basis of the foregoing findings, the most appropriate therapy is chosen.

Epilepsy Treatment Cost

  • The price range for epilepsy surgery, including all tests and hospitalization, is between US$5000 and US$7500.
  • Overall, epilepsy surgery has a very high probability of success, with a possibility of freedom from seizures in the region of 80% and a chance of freedom from drug use in 60% of patients.
  • The cost of epilepsy care amongst other developing nations, the cost of surgery in India ranks as the lowest in the world.
  • In fact, one of the reasons both insured and uninsured people prefer to travel to India for specialized treatment of this ailment is the country’s low cost of epilepsy therapy.
  • Epilepsy surgery cost in India is five to six times cheaper as compared to some of the developed countries, including the US, UK, and Canada. The low cost of epilepsy treatment in India does not mean the quality of treatment offered.
  • The cost of Epilepsy Surgery in developing nations like India is USD 5000 to USD 7500 as compared to USD 25000 to USD 40000 in ace players like the US.
  • Epilepsy surgery costs used to treat focal seizures, in developing nations like India, usually range between USD 5,000 and USD 7500.
  • Deep brain stimulation cost in such nations (India) for the treatment of extreme epilepsy starts from USD 16000 and may go as high as USD 20000 in some of the best hospitals for epilepsy treatment in India, in comparison to the cost of DBS in the US, which is estimated to be around $70000.

Therefore, the cost may also depend on the choice of location/nation.

Treatment Options for Epilepsy

Only when the patient has a second seizure within 24 hours is epilepsy treatment started. Individuals may experience just one seizure in their lifetime, in which case they are not treated. The following are some epilepsy treatment options:

Medication:

  • Anti-epileptic drugs are used as the first line of treatment against seizures to prevent recurrence.
  • Over 70% of patients suffering from epilepsy either experience a great reduction in seizure episodes or become seizure-free with medications.

Vagus nerve stimulation

  • During vagus nerve stimulation surgery, a pacemaker known as a vagus nerve stimulator is implanted underneath the chest.
  • Vagus nerve stimulation is used for the treatment of epilepsy when:
  • Medicines are unable to control epileptic seizures
    The patient experiences certain side effects after taking medications
  • The patient is rendered unfit to undergo any other surgical treatment

Deep brain stimulation

  • This procedure involves the stereo-tactical implantation of a medical device known as a neurostimulator.
  • This device sends electrical impulses to specific targets in the brain through electrodes.
  • Stimulation of specific targets reduces the frequency of seizures.

Hemispherectomy

  • It is a neurosurgical procedure in which one-half of the brain hemisphere causing epilepsy is removed or disabled.
  • Hemispherectomy surgery is reserved for the most complex cases of seizure episodes which cannot be controlled with the help of medications or any other less invasive surgery.

Ketogenic diet

  • The ketogenic diet is usually preferred for the treatment of epilepsy in children as it involves eating a diet rich in fats but low in proteins and carbohydrates.
  • This is done to alter the chemical balance of the brain to reduce seizure episodes.

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Lyfboat is a free advisory platform; we do not charge any fees from patients. In fact, we negotiate the price that Indian hospitals offer. In some cases we are able to reduce the cost by negotiating upto 20% of what Hospitals generally offer. We advise the best treatment from the top hospital/surgeon at best price.

Epilepsy Surgery

  • Numerous brain operations aimed at lessening epileptic seizures are together referred to as epilepsy surgery. Some treatments may be able to fully stop seizures for years.
  • Depending on the patient’s particular seizure type and the particular surgical treatment, the surgery’s precise effectiveness varies. The Epilepsy Society reports that after temporal lobe surgery, 70% of patients are seizure-free, with 50% still seizure-free after ten years.
  • Surgery is often only an option for patients who have not responded to AEDs (Anti-epileptic drugs).

Types

  • Neuronal activity that is abnormally biased causes epileptic seizures.
  • The type of surgery needed depends on the patient’s age and the location of the neurons that trigger seizures.
  • The experience of epilepsy brain surgery varies greatly from person to person. It may be treated with a variety of surgical procedures, including:

Resective surgery:

  • The most frequent epilepsy surgery is the removal of a small piece of brain tissue.
  • The surgeon takes brain tissue out of the region of the brain that is causing the seizures, which are frequently brought on by a tumor, brain injury, or abnormalities.
  • The most frequent locations for such surgery are the temporal lobes, which regulate emotions, language comprehension, and visual memory.

Laser interstitial thermal treatment, or LITT:

  • It is a minimally invasive technique that uses a laser to locate and eliminate a small portion of brain tissue.
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used by the surgeon to guide the laser.

Hemispherectomy:

  • It is a procedure in which the folded grey matter of the cerebral cortex on one side of the brain is removed.
  • This procedure is typically only performed on kids who have seizures that come from multiple locations in one hemisphere, which is frequently caused by a condition present at birth or in the first few years of life.

Corpus callosotomy:

  • The corpus callosum, which connects the nerves on the right and left sides of the brain, is removed entirely or in part during a corpus callosotomy.
  • This treatment is most frequently used on children who exhibit abnormal brain activity that spreads from one side to the other.

Success Rate

  • The success rates for this kind of surgery are often very high.
  • The majority of patients who undergo temporal lobe surgery—roughly 70% (7 in 10 patients)—discover that the procedure ends their seizures and renders them seizure-free, whereas 20% (1 in 5) of patients see reduced seizures as a result of the procedure.

Surgery for epilepsy may help people whose seizures originate in a particular region of the brain and do not improve with medication. Numerous procedures might be helpful, and a neurologist can recommend the best options based on the patient’s requirements.

In order to better control your seizures, one can contribute by getting enough rest, keeping alcohol use to a minimum, maintaining a balanced diet, staying away from things that cause seizures, and taking your medications exactly as prescribed by the doctor.

Dr. Surbhi Suden

Verified By Dr. Surbhi Suden

Dr. Surbhi Suden is one of the founders of Lyfboat and a doctor with a renowned name in the Medical tourism industry. She has been working with international patients since 2008 and is a deeply committed professional with a long term vision of transforming the current healthcare scenarios.

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Dr. Surbhi Suden is one of the founders of Lyfboat and a doctor with a renowned name in the Medical tourism industry. She has been working with international patients since 2008 and is a deeply committed professional with a long term vision of transforming the current healthcare scenarios.
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