Course description

10^th EPODES Advanced II (focused on paediatric and palliative epilepsy surgery) is an interactive course on surgically remediable epilepsies, presurgical evaluation, scalp and intracranial EEG, neuropsychology, imaging and psychiatric issues of surgical patients before and after surgery. EPODES courses are organized in three-year cycles. This year the course will be dedicated to epilepsy surgery focused on paediatric age, palliative surgery and neuromodulation. The program consists of presentations by keynote speakers and case presentations by tutors and students.

The course is organized as part of the European Project of Development of Epilepsy Surgery Programs (EPODES) under aegis and with funding from Commissions of Epilepsy Surgery and with support of ILAE-Europe.

Background

EPODES was initiated in 2006 by Prof. Cigdem Özkara in order to stimulate the development of epilepsy surgery in Central and Eastern Europe, but is now open also for other applicants. The program is organized under the aegis and with funding from the ILAE-Europe and with support of ILAE Commissions of Epilepsy Surgery.

Description

The course will consist of an intensive 5 days program with alternating face to face lectures, video-demonstrations and case presentations by students as well as tutors. Students will be neurologists, paediatric neurologists, neurosurgeons or neurophysiologists from centres where there is an interest to develop a full epilepsy surgery program but where at this moment there still is lack of adequate expertise, technology and/or resources. Tutors, representing all relevant professional fields, are invited from representative epilepsy surgery programs throughout Europe.

The course program will offer advanced information about epilepsy surgery for surgically remediable epilepsies in adults and children. Students will learn about the pre-surgical evaluation with scalp and intracranial video EEG, imaging and neuropsychology, the surgical procedures and the psychosocial and psychiatric issues of surgical patients, before and after surgery.

Although the course cannot substitute for practical experience, great emphasis will be put on practical aspects relating to the identification of suitable patients, the possibilities of performing surgery with only a limited (non-invasive video-EEG, MRI, neuropsychology) evaluation the recognition of potential red flags, the indications for additional studies, including intracranial studies and functional neuroimaging.

For this reason, these subjects will not only be dealt with in plenary theme lectures but notably during group discussions where students will present and discuss patients from their own practice for surgical options and where tutors will present representative cases in a stepwise format, allowing the students to follow the decision-making process.

Both the student and tutor presentations should be interactive with all group members actively participating in the clinical discussion, the tutor acting as moderator. Interaction is also to be stimulated during the plenary lectures and during breaks and meals when students and faculty will sit together and students may discuss clinical problems with the faculty or amongst themselves.

Course language will be exclusively English.
No reader will be provided but the students will receive a handout of all plenary lectures.
Students who finish the full course will receive a certificate of participation.

Organizing Committee