JLE

Epileptic Disorders

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Wada testing and fMRI in a polyglot evaluated for epilepsy surgery Volume 22, numéro 2, April 2020

Illustrations


  • Figure 1

  • Figure 2
Auteurs
1 Department of Neurology,
2 Department of Neuropsychology,
3 Department of Neurosurgery,
4 Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, USA
* Correspondence: William O. Tatum IV, DO Mayo Clinic College of Medicine Mangurian Bldg., Fourth Floor Jacksonville, FL 32224, USA

Despite advancements in the neurophysiology of language and presurgical evaluation for epilepsy surgery, there is a paucity of information in the literature regarding presurgical evaluation of multilingual patients. We present a case of a 52-year-old right-handed woman with refractory epilepsy who was fluent in six languages and underwent subsequent trilingual presurgical evaluation which included neuropsychological testing, Wada testing, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), and electrocortical stimulation. These studies suggested a seizure focus in the left temporal lobe and language localization that was predominantly right-hemispheric; she subsequently underwent left temporal laser interstitial thermal therapy without clinical disturbance in language function while remaining seizure-free. A multidisciplinary effort was integral in providing an optimal outcome for this patient.