The Surgical Epilepsy Center -- as part of the University of Pittsburgh Epilepsy Center (UPEC) -- provides state-of-the-art surgical techniques as applied to the diagnosis and treatment of adults and children with medically intractable epilepsy. This includes invasive monitoring with indwelling electrodes for diagnosis, and all surgical techniques, including resective, disconnective, and neuro-modulatory procedures for curative and/or palliative treatment.

The Epilepsy Center is the only center in the region able to provide comprehensive evaluation and surgical treatment options for children with intractable epilepsy. The Epilepsy Center has state-of-the-art neuro-imaging resources, including the latest generation MRI scanners, single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), positron emission tomography (PET), magnetic resonance spectroscopy and digital video electroencephalography (EEG) monitoring suites.

With these resources, neurosurgeons can identify the specific site in the brain that is functioning abnormally and causing seizures, determine its relationship to the brain’s cortex and then excise it.