The Epilepsy Surgery Service at Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery is led by internationally recognized epilepsy surgery expert Theodore Schwartz, M.D. Dr. Schwartz is one of the pioneers in the field of epilepsy surgery, which can actually provide a cure. In fact, in carefully selected patients as many as 80 percent can be cured of seizures entirely. In other cases surgery may reduce the frequency and severity of seizures.
Our Epilepsy Surgery Service treats both adults and children, and we are fortunate to have Dr. Caitlin Hoffman on our team. Dr. Hoffman is a pediatric neurosurgeon with fellowship training focused on children with epilepsy. She collaborates closely with Dr. Schwartz, who treats adult patients and consults on pediatric cases.
Epilepsy surgery is a complex procedure that starts with localizing the seizures to determine the precise spot in the brain where they originate. Localizing is followed by brain mapping to determine what functional areas of the brain may be affected by surgery. The surgery itself is a complex procedure requiring a highly skilled surgeon experienced in epilepsy surgery. Find out more about epilepsy surgery, including our new Laser Surgery Program for Epilepsy and Deep Brain Stimulation for Epilepsy.
Weill Cornell Medicine's Epilepsy Surgery Service also includes a state-of-the-art research laboratory, where investigators are conducting advanced research into how seizures start and progress. Also under Dr. Schwartz’s direction, the epilepsy research laboratory ensures that new treatment options are always in development and new findings about the workings of the brain are always on the horizon. Find out more about the epilepsy laboratory.
For a patient with a seizure disorder that has not responded well to medication, there is nowhere in New York where there is greater hope for a cure than at Weill Cornell Medicine Neurological Surgery.
