The Epilepsy Program at AdventHealth Brain and Spine Institute
Whether you’re an adult living with epilepsy or have a child who faces this condition, you deserve specialized care, and you want a relationship with doctors you can trust for life.
The AdventHealth Brain and Spine Institute’s Epilepsy Program includes a designated Level 3 Epilepsy Center delivering innovative monitoring and epilepsy treatment options, so you can rest assured that you or your child will be in the best of hands.
Epilepsy Expertise You Can Count On
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Our Level 3 Epilepsy Center
We feature a Level 3 Epilepsy Center that serves both adults and children. We’re dedicated to providing patients with the highest level of quality care.
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Specialized Care for Adults and Children
Our epilepsy patients benefit from a continuum of care through every phase of life. Our team represents more than 30 subspecialties, each committed to excellent care.
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Epilepsy Treatments That Work for You
Our epilepsy specialists will work with you to understand your needs and build a treatment plan to best meet your needs, from non-surgical care to minimally invasive procedures.
A Multidisciplinary Team, Dedicated to You
Epilepsy can affect so many aspects of your life. Our multidisciplinary approach brings together experts from a range of medical specialties to ensure we’re addressing your needs. Your care team may include:
- Electroencephalogram (EEG) technologists
- Neurologists (epileptologists)
- Neuropsychologists
- Neuroradiologists
- Neurosurgeons
- Occupational, physical and speech therapists
- Pathologists
- Patient care attendants
- Pharmacists
- Physician assistants, nurse practitioners and registered nurses
- Social workers
Whole-Person Epilepsy Care for All Ages
Customized Epilepsy Treatment Plans
Our expert team will create a step-by-step treatment plan designed specifically for you. After your initial visit, we will handle your medication needs and seizure control following the initial visit.
Best-in-Class Surgical Care
If you’re preparing for epilepsy surgery, we work with your neurologist before and after the procedure to monitor your health and assist with medication changes and refills, as well as problems with seizure control.
Non-Surgical Epilepsy Treatment Options
If surgery isn’t the right option for you, we’ll work to determine the right treatment options for your specific seizure disorder.
A seizure is a sign that something needs care, and our first step is to determine the cause of the seizure. Whether you’ve lived with epilepsy for years or it’s newly developed, we have the tools and expertise to pinpoint the cause of seizures and determine the best treatment.
We want you to live a seizure-free life. We’re here to help you find the treatment options that work for you, and to help monitor and manage your condition so you can focus on living your best life.
For our adult patients, treatment plans may include:
- Anti-seizure devices like NeuroPace RNS® and CURRY neuroimaging (EEG)
- Dietary changes
- Epilepsy medication
- Epilepsy surgery
Seeing your child experience epilepsy can trigger feelings of helplessness and fear. We seek to empower families by providing answers and guidance, as well as the assurance that comes with state-of-the-art technology and innovative treatment options.
Our all-digital, video electroencephalogram (EEG) makes it possible for our nurses, technicians and pediatric specialists to monitor your child’s seizure activity 24/7, in real time. This leads to a more accurate epilepsy diagnosis and more effective treatment.
Learn more about how we treat childhood epilepsy at AdventHealth for Children.
A 360° Approach to Treating Epilepsy and Seizures
- How We Test for Epilepsy
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Not all seizures are caused by epilepsy. At the AdventHealth Neuroscience Institute, our multidisciplinary approach relies on a variety of perspectives to assess seizures. This gives us a precise understanding of your condition.
To ensure the accuracy of your epilepsy diagnosis, your doctor may recommend more than one type of epilepsy test, including:
- Blood tests, to screen for genetic and metabolic conditions and disorders such as diabetes, infections, anemia and poisoning
- Brain imaging, including computed tomography (CT) scans, magnetic resonance imaging (MRIs) and positron emission tomography (PET) scans
- Cortical mapping to link seizure locations to your key speech, motor and sensory areas
- Electroencephalograms (EEGs) that measure the brain’s electrical activity to reveal abnormalities
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to determine if brain tissue in the area of your seizures can be removed without impacting your ability to move your limbs, speak or use your other senses
- Medical history assessment to see if seizures have occurred before and to assess your symptoms
- Neurological testing to measure your reflexes, intellectual capability, motor skills and behavior
- Single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) to pinpoint areas of increased brain activity (seizures) related to increased blood flow
- WADA testing (also known as the intracarotid sodium amobarbital (ISAP) procedure) provides information regarding seizure focus proximity to key language or memory areas
Your doctor may also recommend additional tests for epilepsy, like kidney and liver function tests and a spinal fluid examination.
- Common Conditions We Treat
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Because epilepsy is a neurological disease that affects different people in different ways — and because there are 300 kinds of epilepsy — it can be difficult to diagnose and treat. However, you can count on our team to find answers for you and the best treatments for your unique needs.
Our experienced team treats a variety of conditions and types of epilepsy, including:
- Arteriovenous malformation (AVM)
- Cavernous hemangioma
- Drug-resistant epilepsy
- Genetic epilepsy
- Lennox-Gastaut syndrome
- New-onset seizures
- Tuberous sclerosis (TSC)
- Tumor-related epilepsy
- Procedures We Offer
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Count on our team to deliver innovative treatments, including:
- Intraoperative MRI: an advanced medical imaging procedure that allows images to be taken while you’re still in the operating room to help improve your surgical outcomes
- Laser surgery or laser interstitial thermal therapy (LITT): a procedure that uses a much smaller incision than typical brain surgery
- Responsive neurostimulator implantation: a treatment that prevents seizures via a neurostimulator that’s connected to tiny wires placed in one or two seizure-onset areas
- Stereotactic EEG: an option for people who have intractable focal epilepsy, where the location of seizure onset is uncertain
- Vagal nerve stimulator (VNS): a surgical device placed around the vagus nerve in the neck that helps control seizures
Our Level 3 Epilepsy Center
AdventHealth West Florida has a Level 3 Epilepsy Center at AdventHealth Tampa designated by The National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC). This is means we have the professional expertise and facilities to provide a high level of medical evaluation, surgical care and epilepsy treatment.
Epilepsy Experts at Your Side
Managing epilepsy can be a challenge. But having the right team in place can make it easier. Our epilepsy specialists offer care that addresses every aspect of your health, ensuring that you can live confidently and feel whole.
Accredited by ABRET
Our EEG Lab at AdventHealth Tampa is accredited by the ABRET Neurodiagnostic Credentialing and Accreditation organization. This organization encourages and promotes quality clinical and technical standards worldwide for neurodiagnostic laboratories through certification and accreditation.
Working Together for You
Find peace of mind knowing that we partner with other leading organizations. We’re working with local, regional and national leaders to reimagine neurological epilepsy treatment to give you even more resources and confidence in your care.
We’re Here to Help You Get Started
Our compassionate and knowledgeable team members are ready to help connect you with the care you need for epilepsy treatment and beyond.