Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
AIIMS Guwahati Launches Epilepsy Surgery Services
Marking a historic milestone for epilepsy care in North east region
Posted On:
31 MAY 2026 6:09PM by PIB Guwahati
In a major milestone for neurological healthcare in North-East India, the Comprehensive Epilepsy Program at AIIMS Guwahati has now introduced epilepsy surgery services, offering hope to patients suffering from difficult-to-control epilepsy across the region.
Speaking on the occasion, Prof Ashok Puranik-Executive Director, AIIMS Guwahati and the team at AIIMS Guwahati emphasized that epilepsy is a treatable condition and that patients with uncontrolled seizures should seek timely expert consultation. Early identification of drug-resistant epilepsy and appropriate surgical evaluation can dramatically improve long-term outcomes.
Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological disorders, affecting millions of people worldwide. Despite the availability of effective treatment, a large treatment gap continues to exist in India, particularly in the North-East, where access to specialized epilepsy care remains extremely limited. The newly added epilepsy surgery service to the Epilepsy Program at AIIMS Guwahati aims to bridge this critical gap by providing end-to-end epilepsy care under one roof. The program begins with assessment in the dedicated Epilepsy Clinic, where patients undergo detailed clinical evaluation by trained neurologists and epilepsy specialists.
Patients who continue to experience seizures despite appropriate medications are further evaluated using Long-Term Video EEG Monitoring, a highly specialized investigation that simultaneously records brain electrical activity and patient behavior over prolonged periods. This process helps accurately identify the origin of seizures and determine whether the patient may benefit from epilepsy surgery.
The first successful epilepsy surgery performed at AIIMS Guwahati -a case of drug-refractory temporal lobe epilepsy was conducted one week ago. The surgery marked a historic milestone for neurological care in the region. The introduction of epilepsy surgery services represents a transformative step for healthcare delivery in North-East India. Epilepsy surgery can significantly reduce or even completely eliminate seizures in carefully selected patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, thereby improving quality of life, education, employment opportunities, and psychosocial wellbeing.
Until now, patients from North-East India requiring comprehensive epilepsy evaluation and surgery often had to travel to distant metropolitan centers outside the region, leading to substantial financial, emotional, and logistical burdens for families. AIIMS Guwahati is currently the only center in North-East India providing such comprehensive and integrated epilepsy care, including specialized epilepsy clinics, long-term video EEG monitoring, advanced neuroimaging support, multidisciplinary evaluation, and epilepsy surgery services. The epilepsy program at AIIMS Guwahati follows a multidisciplinary approach involving neurologists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, neuropsychologists, anesthesiologists, and specialized EEG technologists to ensure the highest standards of patient care.
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KSY/SS
(Release ID: 2267269)
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