Pediatric Epilepsy Care by Experts at Mayo Clinic
Choose Mayo Clinic for an expert team in diagnosing and treating children for epilepsy. We offer the most advanced imaging technologies, medicines, surgeries and therapies available to provide each child with the right diagnosis and precise treatment.
Care is provided at Mayo Clinic Children's by experts with deep experience in caring for children. Your care team will include a child life specialist to help guide your child and family through diagnosis and treatment.
Advanced diagnostic imaging technologies
Mayo Clinic uses the latest in imaging technologies for accurate diagnosis and treatment, including:
Electrodes are attached to the scalp with an adhesive or cap and record brain electrical activity. With high-density EEG, electrodes are placed closer together.
This measures changes in blood flow when specific parts of the brain are working. It may be used to pinpoint locations of critical functions, such as speech and movement, so surgeons can avoid those areas.
Using X-rays, cross-sectional images of the brain are created to detect possible causes such as tumors, bleeding or cysts.
A small amount of low-dose radioactive material is injected into a vein to help visualize metabolic activity of the brain and detect changes. Areas with low metabolism may indicate places where seizures occur.
This test uses a small amount of low-dose radioactive material injected into a vein to create a detailed, 3D map of blood flow during seizures to indicate areas where seizures occur. Subtraction ictal SPECT coregistered to MRI (SISCOM) overlaps the SPECT with brain MRI and may provide more detailed results.
These tests assess thinking, memory and speech skills. The test results help determine which areas of the brain are affected by seizures.
SPM looks at the areas of the brain with increased blood flow during seizures to provide information about where seizures begin.
This projects EEG data onto an MRI of the brain to show areas where seizures are occurring in more detail than EEG alone.
Magnetoencephalography (MEG). MEG measures the magnetic fields produced by brain activity. This helps our experts find potential areas where seizures start. MEG can be more accurate than EEG because the skull and tissue surrounding the brain interfere less with magnetic fields. MEG and MRI together provide images that show areas of the brain both affected by seizures and not affected by seizures.
7 Tesla MRI 7. This imaging system uses a stronger magnetic field to produce more detailed brain scans that help Mayo Clinic care teams diagnose and provide treatment for brain tumors. This advanced imaging technology is key to ensuring an accurate diagnosis to guide treatment.
Find out what makes our epilepsy care different.
Advanced treatment options
Mayo Clinic experts are skilled in the most advanced treatments for children for epilepsy, including medicines, therapies that disrupt or prevent seizures, and open and minimally invasive surgical approaches.
Medications to eliminate or reduce seizures. Many children with epilepsy who aren't having epilepsy symptoms can eventually stop taking medicines and live a seizure-free life. At least half the people newly diagnosed with epilepsy become seizure-free with their first medicine.
Deep brain stimulation. This is a therapeutic option when seizures don’t improve with medication. Electrodes are implanted deep within a specific part of the brain to provide timed electrical impulses that may reduce seizures. The amount of stimulation delivered by the electrode is controlled by a device placed under the skin in the chest.
Surgery. This may be an option if seizures start in a small, well-defined area of the brain, and if removing that part of the brain wouldn't affect vital functions such as speech, language, movement, vision or hearing.
MRI-guided stereotactic laser ablation. In this minimally invasive procedure, a thermal laser probe is directed at the area in the brain causing seizures to destroy tissue, which may help with symptoms.
Vagus nerve stimulation. A device is implanted underneath the skin of the chest, similar to a heart pacemaker. Wires from the stimulator are connected to the vagus nerve in the neck.
Responsive neurostimulation. An implantable, pacemaker-like device analyzes brain activity to detect seizures as they start and delivers electrical stimulation to stop them.
Top ranked
Mayo Clinic Children's Center in Rochester is ranked the No. 1 hospital in Minnesota, and the five-state region of Iowa, Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin, according to U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 "Best Children's Hospitals" rankings.
Mayo Clinic is top ranked in more specialties than any other hospital and has been recognized as an Honor Roll member according to the U.S. News & World Report's 2024-2025 "Best Hospitals" rankings.
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