Hemispherectomy

Hemispherectomy is a surgery that is performed by a neurosurgeon where an unhealthy hemisphere of the brain is disconnected or removed. There are two types of hemispherectomy. Functional hemispherectomy refers to when the diseased brain is simply disconnected so that it can no longer send signals to the rest of the brain and body. Anatomical hemispherectomy refers to when not only is there disconnection, but also the diseased brain is physically removed from the skull. This surgery is mostly used as a treatment for medically intractable epilepsy, which is the term used when anti-seizure medications are unable to control seizures.