York Hospital Epilepsy Center

(717) 851-5503

Epilepsy impacts the lives of 2.5 million Americans. In south-central Pennsylvania, 25,500 people (nearly 3 percent of the population), will develop epilepsy in their lifetime. Thanks to new drugs and technological breakthroughs, most seizures can now be controlled. At the York Hospital Epilepsy Center, our team conducts patient-centered conferences to discuss individualized treatment plans and to ensure that specific patient and family needs are met.

Led by a fellowship-trained epileptologist, the York Hospital Epilepsy Center provides a full range of diagnostic services. While EEG is the most essential diagnostic procedure and is sufficient for most patients, we also offer long-term video EEG monitoring for patients who suffer uncontrolled seizures. This testing locates the area of the brain where seizures begin and provides an accurate diagnosis and classification of the seizure. A hospital stay of several days is typical. Neuroimaging, usually MRI, also helps to determine the cause of the seizure disorder and often reveals brain abnormalities as well as the location where the seizures begin.

Since most patients will achieve seizure control through medicines, their neurologists work closely with the pharmacy to provide access to the latest antiepileptic drugs. However, about 25 percent of patients are medication resistant, or "refractory" to medical management. For these patients, neurologists work collaboratively with neurosurgeons in exploring all options.

Vagal nerve stimulation, a treatment choice for some patients, is a minimally invasive procedure that involves implanting a small device, similar to a cardiac pacemaker, to deliver intermittent electrical impulses to the vagus nerve in the neck. These impulses then travel to brain centers, which reduce seizures.

For patients being considered for cranial seizure surgery, complex and extensive pre-surgical testing is required. This testing identifies the exact location in the brain that is causing the seizures. Patients who are surgical candidates also undergo an evaluation by a neuropsychologists for speech and memory function.

York Hospital Epilepsy Center offers

• An integrated and proactive plan of comprehensive clinical care
• State of the art electrodiagnostic services and brain mapping to correctly diagnose seizures and underlying causes
• New anti-epileptic drugs
• Neuropsychological evaluation
• Vagal nerve stimulation
• Neurosurgical treatments
• Education counseling and job placement

Our team of epilepsy specialists

• Epileptologist and other local neurologists with special interest in the treatment of epilepsy
• Neurosurgeons
• Neuroradiologists
• Neuropsychologists
• Social worker/vocational specialist 
• Electrodiagnostic technicians
• Neuroscience trained nurse practitioner
• Pharmacists
• Dietitians
• Nurses

Why choose the York Hospital Epilepsy Center?

• For relieving unacceptable adverse reactions to medications
• For accurate diagnosis and to find the cause of the seizure
• To determine candidacy for vagal nerve stimulation
• To determine candidacy for cranial seizure surgery
• For a second opinion
• For children experiencing school or developmental problems
• For assistance with employment or transportation issues