Introduction: Anatomical hemispherectomy is frequently employed in the surgical management of pediatric patients with medically refractory epilepsy.
Materials and methods: In this chapter, we review the historical evolution of this surgical procedure, outline the indications and the criteria for selecting surgical candidates and describe the important pre-operative evaluation of the surgical candidates.
Discussion: We provide a detailed description of our surgical technique, anesthesiological considerations, and post-operative care plan. Ultimately we analyze the most common complications associated with this procedure.
Conclusion: Anatomical hemispherectomy performed in carefully selected pediatric patients with medically intractable epilepsy can be a safe and efficacious surgical procedure.