Surgery may be used infrequently to treat epilepsy when the condition does not respond to medication or when its cause can be traced to such things as a scar on the brain or a tumor. But surgery will only be used if it can be determined that the scar or tumor is located where it can be safely removed. Sometimes one seizure will immediately follow another and result in continuous seizure activity. In generalized tonic-clonic, myoclonic, and atonic seizures, the person may injure himself or herself by falling against hard or sharp objects. In other seizure forms, such as absence or complex partial seizures, status epilepticus results in prolonged periods of impaired consciousness that prevent the person from behaving normally.
Untreated seizures prevent the patient from carrying out a normal life.
With current treatment, more than 50 percent of persons with epilepsy can achieve complete seizure control and lead a normal life. Another 30 percent can achieve partial control over their seizures and engage in most activities. Seizures may decrease in frequency after a number of years, and drugs can be gradually reduced or withdrawn. Physicians will usually begin reduction if a patient remains seizure-free for several years, but seizures often recur following drug reduction. A patient should never reduce medication without the advice of a physician.