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For over two years I meticulously captured my epilepsy data whose results were leveraged for the eventual removal of my hippocampus. This data capture is used to discover how it correlates with medication, pre-operative state, and post-operative state. Here's a link to all of the data.

This website is used to help both inform current epileptic patients and provide data and insights for professionals in medicine. Do feel free to contact me via email for further information.

On November 27th 2024 I had a left selective amygdalohippocampectomy interstitial thermal laser ablation (LiTT) surgery to remove the entirety of my left hippocampus through an innovative procedure performed by Dr. Vivek Buch at Stanford Medicine in Palo Alto.

| Causation | | Meningococcal meningitis and encephalitis when I was twenty years old is either the cause itself or the catalyst for pre-existing epilepsy. We will never know due to the lack of MRI scans prior to the meningitis. | | Pre-Surgery | | Deep investigation by Dr. Sharam Amina and Dr. Derek Yecies at Kaiser Permanente in Redwood City, California showed the left hippocampus was already non-functional. Dr. Yecies performed an sEEG surgery whose results showed the left hippocampus was continuously misfiring. A Wada test was performed showing the right hippocampus was compensating for the lack of function in the left hippocampus. Memory tests showed a non-functional left hippocampus, with the right hippocampus compensating adequately. | | Surgery | | Surgery was performed at Stanford Medicine by Dr. Vivek Buch. You can listen to Dr. Buch explaining this surgery via this YouTube video. I was the fifth patient on the planet to have a newer variation of this surgery performed that ablates the entire hippocampus, requiring three re-entries. The procedure took Dr. Buch a total of nine hours followed by an MRI scan. | | Post-Surgery | | No remarkable difference in cognitive function or short-term memory. This result aligns with what both Dr. Sharam Amina and Dr. Derek Yecies expected given their research in addition to the outcome of Dr. Vivek Buch's successful surgery. |

Common Post-Surgery Questions

| Were you awake during the surgery? | | This is the most common question I've been asked. No. I was not awake during the surgery. Brain surgery videos watched online show the patient awake because the patient is awake, making the surgery more interesting. Do you want to watch a nine hour surgery with a patient asleep? I would assume you would not! | | Has your short-term memory been affected? | | Deep study by Kaiser Permanente on multiple fronts showed my short-term memory is being controlled by my right hippocampus. The left hippocampus was non-functional per the Wada test, with the right hippocampus scoring 100% on memory tests. The sEEG showed the left hippocampus was misfiring non-stop both whilst conscious and even more so during sleep.

The results from these tests indicated there would be no impact on short-term memory post-surgery, and studies also show there can be an increase in verbal memory after surgery. The tests revealed techniques being utilized to remember details and a general high IQ. Short-term memory was found to be low-scoring per expectations. | | What post-surgery side effects were there? | | Interestingly there were some side effects which are currently continuing (12/20/24). Naming things and people. I know precisely who/what they are, I just cannot name them. Once I've named them once, or once I've struggled to name them and had a sleep on it, I then recall what they are without issue. | | How long did it take to recover? | | I felt totally back to normal after almost two weeks and went back to work after just one and-a-half weeks. Interestingly, the worst side effect was being on life support for ten hours which causes a sore throat and ulcers on the tongue. | | Where are the incisions/scars? | | Compared to the sEEG, the LiTT surgery to destroy your brain matter requires a tiny hole to insert the device without the need to cut any hair. The noticeable marks on your head are where the frame needs to keep your head completely still requiring tremendous force. Modern science is truly incredible. |

Core Medical Team

List ordered by dates met. This list does not include the very large team of doctors, nurses, and assistants whom all contributed to the successful outcome of both treatment and surgery.

Doctor Title
Dr. Sharam Amina Epileptologist, Kaiser Permanente
Dr. Derek Yecies Neurosurgeon, Kaiser Permanente
Dr. Paul McGeoch Clinical Instructor, Neurosurgery, Stanford
Dr. Vivek Buch Assistant Professor of Neurosurgeory, Stanford

Seizure Medication vs. Seizures

The graph below correlates three data points; time (x-axis), medication dosage (y-axis), and seizure count (also y-axis). The x-axis reprents every single day for more than two years with each entry capturing the types and dosages of medications as well as the number of seizures on that given day. Combining these three data sets directly reflects the efficacy of each medication over time, with Clobazam (a powerful benzodiazepine) being the most effective.

The epilepsy type is refractory LTLE (Left Temporal Lobe Epilepsy) with the graph showing the anticipated 'honeymoon period' of the Clobazam as seizures begun to increase after some time. The primary seizure type is absence seizures with high-impacting aphasia (inability to communicate entirely). Four entries represent tonic clonic seizures, and two out of these hundreds of entries were cluster seizures (unmarked) lasting fifteen minutes.