Revolutionizing Epilepsy Treatment: Korea University Guro Hospital Pioneers Robotic Surgery for Incurable Cases

Korea University Guro Hospital (Director Jeong Hee-jin) announced on the 5th that it has been selected by the Ministry of Health and Welfare as an ‘epilepsy surgical robot equipment support institution‘ and will begin performing epilepsy robotic surgery.

In order to eliminate blind spots in epilepsy treatment, the Ministry of Health and Welfare has been carrying out the ‘Epilepsy Surgical Robot Equipment Support Project’, which selects hospitals with expertise in epilepsy surgery and provides surgical robot equipment. Korea University Guro Hospital, which has an epilepsy surgery team, was selected as a support institution because it has extensive infrastructure for epilepsy treatment, including more than 15 years of experience in treating intractable epilepsy and a solid multidisciplinary system between various departments.

The number of epilepsy patients in Korea is estimated to be approximately 300,000 to 400,000, and the number of new patients occurring every year amounts to 20,000 to 30,000. Approximately 20-30% of epilepsy patients have difficulty in daily life due to persistent convulsive seizures despite receiving two or more appropriate medications, and the financial burden is high due to frequent hospitalization as well as medication costs.

If surgery is performed using an epilepsy surgery robot, electrode insertion surgery to identify the epilepsy site can be performed safely and accurately, enabling safe treatment without side effects. However, there are only a small number of specialized medical staff in Korea who can perform epilepsy surgery, and there are only a handful of hospitals in the country that can perform epilepsy robotic surgery because they must be supported by precise diagnostic equipment.

Professor Kim Jong-hyun of the Department of Neurosurgery at Korea University Guro Hospital, who performs robot surgery for epilepsy, said, “If epilepsy surgery is performed under a precise plan through multidisciplinary treatment, a complete cure can be expected in about half of the cases, and even if not completely cured, the symptoms will significantly improve and the patient can return to daily life. “Return is possible,” he said, adding, “We hope to improve the quality of life of patients with intractable epilepsy who could not be treated with existing surgical methods by using epilepsy robotic surgery equipment.”

Reporter information Jang Ha-eun lamen910@ajunews.com