Previous studies showed the efficacy of epilepsy surgery in carefully selected children with epilepsy associated with tuberous sclerosis complex. However, how this selection is conducted, and the characteristics of the patients brought to surgery are still poorly described. By conducting a multicentric retrospective cohort study covering the practice of the last twenty years, we describe the paths leading to epilepsy surgery in children with epilepsy associated with tuberous sclerosis complex.

We identified 84 children diagnosed with tuberous sclerosis complex and epilepsy by matching two exhaustive registries of genetic diseases and subsequent medical records reviews within two French neuropediatric and epilepsy centers. Demographic, clinical, longitudinal, and diagnostic and surgical procedures data were collected.

Forty-six percent of the children were initially drug-resistant and 19% underwent resective surgery, most often before the age of four. Stereotactic electroencephalography was performed prior to surgery in 44% of cases. Fifty-seven and 43% of patients remained seizure-free one and ten years after surgery, respectively. In addition, 52% of initially drug-resistant patients who did not undergo surgery were seizure-free at the last follow-up. The number of anti-seizure medications required decreased in 50% of cases after surgery. Infantile spasms, intellectual disability, autism spectrum disorder or severe behavioral disorders were not contraindications to surgery but were associated with a higher rate of complications and a lower rate of seizure freedom after surgery.

Despite the assumption of complex multifocal epilepsy and practical difficulties in young children with tuberous sclerosis complex, successful surgery results are comparable with other populations of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, and a spontaneous evolution to drug-sensitive epilepsy may occur in non-operated patients.