Five left temporal lobectomy school-aged children demonstrated significant language-related cognitive declines on post-operative neuropsychological testing at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, PA. Deficits involved verbal IQ, verbal learning, naming, and reading comprehension. They were clinically evident in 4 of the 5 patients, leading to impaired school performance. They were not identified by IQ testing alone. Three right temporal lobectomy patients showed no cognitive impairment after surgery. [1]
COMMENT. Preoperative and postoperative neuropsychological testing is recommended in children undergoing temporal lobectomy for epilepsy. Left temporal lobectomy may be complicated by language-related cognitive declines.