Epilepsy & Seizures Program
Advanced, comprehensive care for epilepsy and seizures—including minimally invasive brain surgery and inpatient and outpatient treatment—that surrounds you with support throughout your healthcare journey. Wellstar is one of only a small number of health systems in Georgia to offer minimally invasive surgical options for epilepsy.
Care for Epilepsy & Seizures
The Epilepsy and Seizures Program at Wellstar, one of only a few programs of its kind in Georgia, provides comprehensive care to help people manage several types of seizures, including absence, tonic, atonic, clonic, myoclonic and tonic-clonic seizures. The expert team surrounds patients with support throughout their entire care journey, providing specialized outpatient and inpatient treatment. Our in-hospital epilepsy monitoring units use advanced technology to diagnose and treat seizures. Care options include surgery, laser interstitial thermal therapy, robotic-assisted stereotactic EEG and responsive neurostimulation.
Our epilepsy program cares for patients at Wellstar Children's Hospital of Georgia, Wellstar Kennestone, Wellstar MCG Health and Wellstar North Fulton Medical Centers.
- Wellstar Children's Hospital and Wellstar MCG Health in Augusta have a longstanding legacy of being one of only two Level 4 Comprehensive Epilepsy Centers in Georgia, the highest designation for an epilepsy care facility.
- Wellstar Kennestone Medical Center is a Level 3 Adult Epilepsy Center.
- These accreditations are awarded by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC).
Highly skilled epilepsy care team
What makes the Wellstar program unique is that patients benefit from having holistic care from a team of epilepsy and seizure care experts, including epileptologists, board-certified neurologists with advanced training, board-certified functional neurosurgeons, epilepsy nurse navigators or neuroscience nurses, and EEG technologists.Surgery & streamlined eligibility determination path
There are only a few functional neurosurgeons offering deep brain stimulation and other types of movement disorder surgery in the Southeast—patients can visit these hard-to-find specialists at Wellstar. These procedures are performed at Wellstar Kennestone and Wellstar MCG Health. Our program offers a streamlined pathway to determine if a patient is a candidate. Schedule an appointment with one of our movement disorder specialists to learn more.
Seizure types & symptoms we treat
Properly diagnosing your seizure type can help you and your epilepsy care team determine which treatments will help you have the best outcomes.What is a seizure?
A seizure is an electrical interruption in the brain that changes the way brain cells send messages. This can cause spontaneous changes in body movement, function, feeling, action or awareness. Some seizures are caused by epilepsy and others can be caused by different things such as brain injury or genetic disposition. Seizures can be focal, meaning they are in one area or side of the brain. Or they can be generalized, affecting both sides of the brain.Seizure symptoms affecting movement
- Jerking movements
- Weak or limp muscles
- Rigid or tense muscles
- Brief muscle twitching
- Repeated body spasms
- Clapping or hand rubbing
- Lip smacking or chewing
- Running
Non-movement seizure symptoms
- Stillness
- Shifting thoughts and understanding
- Changes in GI sensations
- Waves of hot and cold
- Goosebumps
- Racing heartbeat
Seizure types
- Absence seizures
- Tonic seizures
- Atonic seizures
- Clonic seizures
- Myoclonic seizures
- Tonic-clonic seizures
Epilepsy & seizure diagnosis
Not all seizures are the same. It’s important to work with an epilepsy expert to identify the type of seizure and the cause. This information helps you and your care team choose the best treatment for you. Testing at Wellstar includes:
- Medical history
- Neurological exam
- Electroencephalogram (EEG)
- Brain imaging such as an MRI and PET brain scans
- Neuropsychological testing
- Advanced testing in an epilepsy monitoring unit
Epilepsy monitoring units
Wellstar has inpatient epilepsy monitoring units (EMU) so you can have advanced testing closer to home:
- Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center in Marietta
- Wellstar North Fulton Medical Center in Roswell
- Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center in Augusta
In the EMU, our neurophysiology team works with you to gather information for the diagnosis or the management of your seizure disorder. The results help your care team create a personalized plan so you can manage your seizures in the best possible way.
Before entering the EMU, you will typically start with an outpatient consultation with a Wellstar neurologist. You and your doctor will discuss what to expect, whether you need to stop taking any medications before the test, how to prepare and any questions you may have.
Once in the EMU, you’ll work with a team made up of epileptologists, electroencephalography technologists and nurses who are trained in epilepsy care.
Electrodes will be placed on your scalp. You will be recorded on video and by computer-based monitoring technology. We will gather data and evaluate a seizure before it starts, while it occurs and throughout your recovery. This stay can last a few hours or a few days depending on a variety of factors, including how long your seizures last and what your tests reveal.
Pediatric EEG Lab
The Pediatric EEG Lab at Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia is uniquely designed and staffed by physicians, nurses and technologists trained to care for kids.EEG is a painless test that records the brain's electrical activity through electrodes attached to the head. EEG helps doctors determine if the brain's electrical activity is causing seizures.
We understand that children and teens are still growing and need appropriate care. That’s why we stay on the cutting edge of safe EEG technology to help diagnose childhood seizures and neurological disorders. A board-certified pediatric neurologist reads each EEG test. Plus, our experts work hand-in-hand with the Neuroscience Center of Excellence at Wellstar MCG Health to determine the best treatment and care plan.
As part of our commitment to patient- and family-centered care, parents are encouraged to accompany their child to their test. Our team members will explain each step of the procedure and answer any questions.
Epilepsy & seizure treatment
If you’re diagnosed with epilepsy, there are many different nonsurgical and surgical options to help you manage your symptoms and have the best quality of life. While different people respond to these treatments in different ways, your Wellstar care team is dedicated to personalizing your plan for your unique needs. Your epilepsy plan may include medication and dietary therapies, surgery or a neurostimulation implant.Brain surgery & eligibility determination path
When a patient’s medications or other therapies don’t work, Wellstar offers neuromodulation through seizure devices and minimally invasive brain procedures. Some types of epilepsy surgery may lead to seizure freedom and an improved quality of life in up to 80% of people with drug-resistant epilepsy, according to the Epilepsy Foundation.Wellstar is one of only a few programs in the state that use advanced methods to help our patients, including minimally invasive surgery such as deep brain stimulation, laser interstitial thermal therapy, robotic-assisted stereotactic EEG and responsive neurostimulation.
These functional neurosurgery procedures are performed at Wellstar Kennestone and Wellstar MCG Health. Our program offers a direct path to determining eligibility for surgery. Schedule an appointment with one of our epileptologists to learn more.
A range of epilepsy procedures, including deep brain stimulation and vagus nerve stimulation, are performed at these locations:
- Wellstar Children’s Hospital of Georgia in Augusta
- Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center in Marietta
- Wellstar MCG Health Medical Center in Augusta
Clinical trials
Wellstar participates in clinical research. Here, you get the high-quality care and innovation of an academic medical center with the convenience of multiple locations across the region. When available, we offer patient access to the latest clinical trials for epilepsy treatments.Your epilepsy support team
Our multidisciplinary teams go above and beyond to assist patients every step of the way.
Wellstar patients benefit from having comprehensive care for seizures from a team of people specially trained in epilepsy. Depending on your personalized care plan and treatment location, your team may include these expert team members:
- Epileptologist, a board-certified neurologist with epilepsy-specific medical training
- Board-certified functional neurosurgeon
- Epilepsy nurse navigator or a neuroscience nurse
- Neurophysiologist
- Neuropsychologist
- Electroencephalography technologist
- Pharmacist
- Social worker
How your nurse can help
Your epilepsy nurse navigator or neuroscience nurse is an important part of your epilepsy care team. They are here to help you navigate through your diagnosis and treatment. They can help with:
- Scheduling appointments, including your time in the epilepsy monitoring unit
- Getting answers to your questions
- Teaching you about your diagnosis, condition and treatment, such as device use
- Helping you complete needed steps through the pathway to surgery and adhere to your care plan
- Advocating for you
- Helping you connect with various community resources