Epilepsy Center

Evaluation, Diagnosis & Treatment for Epilepsy

The Children’s Hospital New Orleans Epilepsy Center provides expert care to children and adolescents with epilepsy including comprehensive evaluation, treatment, and counseling. The program offers patients the most cutting-edge treatments and procedures in a unique, child-friendly atmosphere. Children’s Hospital offers a full range of outpatient and inpatient management of epilepsy.
Our specialty services include:
• Long-term video electroencephalogram (EEG)
• Medical, neuropsychological and psychosocial treatment
• Implementation of a ketogenic diet to manage seizures
• Surgical placement and medical management of vagus nerve stimulators
• Intracranial electrodes and resective epilepsy surgery including single surgery resection, two-stage intracranial monitoring and resection, corpus callosotomy, and hemispherectomy

We’re here for your family

The Neurology Department understands the challenges that seizures pose to children and their families, and the team is committed to helping patients live fulfilling, seizure-free lives. The multidisciplinary center is the only one in the region able to provide all current treatment options for children with epilepsy. All patients undergo a comprehensive evaluation that includes digital monitoring and neuroimaging studies. Specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, neurophysiology, neuroradiology and neuropsychology work together to determine the best treatment plan for each child. The Children’s Hospital Epilepsy Center is affiliated with the LSU Health New Orleans Epilepsy Center of Excellence and is recognized as a Level 4 Center by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers.
Our multidisciplinary epilepsy team includes:

• Neurologists (epileptologists)
• Neurosurgeons
• Neuropsychologists
• Neuroradiologists
• Neuropathologists
• EEG monitoring specialists
• Pediatric anesthesiologists
• Pediatric pharmacists
• Neurology nurse navigators
• Nutritionists
• Social workers
• Child life specialists
• Physical, occupational, and speech therapists

Evaluation

Evaluations are done both on an outpatient and inpatient basis depending on the complexity of each patient’s unique situation. A thorough neurologic examination and review of your child’s history and current seizure medications is performed. Further testing is performed as needed and may include EEG, MRI, functional MRI, SPECT or PET scans. By correlating this information, we can best determine what type of seizures your child is having (there are many), and how best to treat them.

Treatment

The Children’s Hospital’s Epilepsy Center offers the most advanced treatment options for our young patients. Our team focuses on:

• Using the most effective anti-seizure medications to control seizures
• Implementing the Ketogenic Diet, a high fat, low carbohydrate diet that enables the body to produce its own natural anticonvulsants (ketones)

ROSA®, robotized surgical assistant

The ROSA® surgical robot is an assistant that uses computer-guided, minimally invasive technology to treat children with severe epilepsy conditions. This new generation of robotic technology helps surgeons identify the source of seizures more precisely, safely and efficiently resulting in reduced surgery and recovery times, and ultimately, improved outcomes and patient experience.

Refer a patient

The child’s evaluation begins with an appointment with an epileptologist. We recommend that patients obtain a referral from a primary care provider for the Epilepsy Center, but it is not required.
Parents/ caregivers may contact the Scheduling Department at 504.896.2888 to schedule an appointment with an epileptologist.

Primary care providers and referring providers may send a referral including the patient demographic information, recent clinic notes, and any recent diagnostic testing to the Scheduling Department at the numbers below.

Scheduling
Phone: 504.896.2888
Fax: 504.896.2889