Comprehensive Adult and Pediatric Epilepsy Program
About Us
The Comprehensive Adult and Pediatric Epilepsy Program at the American University of Beirut Medical Center is a multidisciplinary program that brings together a multidisciplinary team of health care providers to deliver a state-of-the-art continuum of care including diagnostic evaluation, testing, and treatment for patients of all ages living with epilepsy and seizure disorders.
A team of dedicated physicians and health care professionals – including epileptologists, neurosurgeons, neuroradiologists, neuropsychologists, and nutritionists – in addition to other faculty and staff members work closely to deliver the highest level of epilepsy care.
Our goal is to accurately diagnose and provide optimum treatment (medical or surgical) for each patient to significantly improve each patient’s quality of life.
Patients from across Lebanon and other countries in the region come to our epilepsy program seeking expert, comprehensive and compassionate care.
Services/Procedures
Our program receives referrals for:
· Diagnostic evaluation: to differentiate epileptic seizures from non-epileptic spells
· Seizure classification: to classify seizure type to determine the appropriate medical management
· Presurgical evaluation: to determine patient’s eligibility for surgical intervention
Diagnostic services provided include:
· Complete seizure history
· Comprehensive neurological exam
· Neuophysiologic assessment including:
o Routine awake and sleep video-EEG
o Outpatient prolonged sleep deprived video-EEG
o Inpatient continuous long-term video-EEG monitoring (non-invasive LTM)
o Invasive (intracranial) continuous LTM
· Neuroimaging including:
o Brain MRI Seizure protocol
o PET scan
o Ictal and interictal SPECT scans
· Neuro-psychological assessment
· Metabolic Work-up
· Speech evaluation
· Wada test
· Functional brain mapping
Treatment options include:
· Medical treatment by antiepileptic medications
· Psychological counseling
· Dietary therapy- ketogenic diet
· Surgical intervention for medically refractory epilepsy:
o
Focal Resection
This is done when seizures are found to originate consistently from one single focus/area in the brain that can be safely resected and it involves removal of that part of the brain.
o
Hemispherectomy
This is performed when most of one of the cerebral hemispheres is affected due to a hemispheric lesion like birth defect, stroke, Sturge-Weber syndrome or Rasmussen’s syndrome.
o
Corpus Callosotomy
This surgery is performed when seizures start on both sides of the brain at the same time. It is performed to interrupt the pathway by which seizures spread and does not involve removal of parts of the brain where seizures originate.
o
Vagal Nerve Stimulation (VNS)
This is performed when Video-Long Term EEG Monitoring reveals that seizures cannot be isolated to one resectable focus. The surgery involves implanting a small device under the skin on the upper chest. The device delivers electrical current to the vagus nerve in the neck, sending impulses to the brainstem and consequently decreasing the tendency for seizures and helping achieve seizure control.
Faculty
Name |
Title |
Specialty |
Email Address |
Clinic Extension |
Ahmad Beydoun, MD |
Program Director, Professor of Neurology |
Neurology, epilepsy | |
7550 |
Marwan Najjar, MD |
Associate Professor |
Neurosurgery | |
7550 |
Wassim Nasreddine, MD |
Associate Professor |
Neurology, epilepsy | | 7550 |
Maya Dirani, MD |
Instructor of clinical specialty |
Diagnostic Radiology | |
7550 |
Roula Hourany, MD |
Associate Professor |
Diagnostic Radiology | |
5020/60 |
Rolla Shbarou, MD |
Associate Professor |
Epilepsy | |
7818 |
Makram Obeid |
Associate Professor |
Epilepsy | |
7818 |
Mukbil Hourani, MD |
Professor |
Diagnostic Radiology | |
5020/60 |
Pascale Karam, MD |
Associate Professor |
Inborn errors of metabolism | |
7950 |
Fadi Maalouf, MD |
Associate Professor |
Psychiatry (child & adolescent) | |
5650/1 |
Abir Noureddine Barhoumi, M.S.LD. |
Legislated Dietitian |
| |
5861 |
Staff
Name |
Title |
Email Address |
Extension |
Ghina Hijazi |
Administrative Officer | |
5510 |
Mohammad Kanso |
EEG and Sleep Technician Supervisor | |
5541/2 7231/2 |
Kawthar Yazbeck |
Secretary | |
6903 |
Hussein Hasan |
Registered Nurse; EEG and Sleep Technician | |
5541/2 7231/2 |
Hasan Fawaz |
Registered Nurse; EEG and Sleep Technician | |
5541/2 7231/2 |
Sara Kahil |
Registered Nurse; EEG and Sleep Technician | |
7231/2 |
Khodr Jamal |
EEG and Sleep Technician | |
8212 |
Ali Awada |
EEG and Sleep Technician | |
8212 |
Hussein Jaafar |
EEG and Sleep Technician | |
7232 |
Bassam Salam |
EEG and Sleep Technician | |
7232 |
Research
Over the years since its establishment in 1995, our epilepsy program has been the leading epilepsy research center in the region. Research projects conducted by the program involved evaluation for drug therapy and experimental medications, basic science research, and epidemiologic and clinical studies.
Currently, a multi–center research project entitled: “Prospective Evaluation of Patients with Newly Diagnosed Epilepsy: A Multi-Center Study” is being conducted. This research project is the largest prospective study so far in patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy. In its eighth year, more than 3700 patients were screened and enrolled in this study from all different governorates of Lebanon.
Educational Programs
Neurophysiology fellowship program
The objectives of the clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy fellowship program are to graduate specialists for Lebanon and the Middle East region, with expertise in the management of patients suffering from epilepsy including the presurgical evaluation of patients suffering from medically refractory epilepsy. In addition, graduates of this program will have expertise in the interpretation of various neurophysiological tests including EEG, evoked potentials, sleep studies, and/or EMG. Participation in research is considered a mandatory part of the training. This clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy fellowship was started in June 2005. It is important to stress that this is the first fellowship in clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy available in the Middle East.
The clinical neurophysiology and epilepsy fellowship is a one or two years program. Candidates must have completed a three years residency training in adult or pediatric neurology in Lebanon or abroad. The one year program is aimed at physicians interested in becoming proficient in the interpretation of a variety of neurophysiological tests and in developing expertise in the medical management of patients with epilepsy. The two-year program is geared at physicians interested in developing expertise in the presurgical evaluation and management of patients with medically refractory epilepsy. The program will only accommodate two fellows per calendar year. If a fellow is enrolled for a two-year fellowship, no fellow will be recruited during the second year.
The program includes supervised clinical training in epilepsy, clinical neurophysiology, and video-EEG monitoring. The training consists of participation in the outpatient neurology clinics, OPD epilepsy clinics, inpatient admissions, and consultations, inpatient admitted to the epilepsy monitoring units for CCTV/EEG monitoring, and review of a variety of clinical neurophysiological studies including EEG, evoked potential studies, EMG and polysomnograms.
Participation in at least one research project under the supervision of a faculty member is considered obligatory for fellows enrolled in the two-year program. Participation of the fellows in the undergraduate as well as the post-graduate teaching activities of the Division of Neurology is mandatory. The fellows are active participants in the weekly Neurology conferences and the fellow is encouraged to participate in regional and international epilepsy meetings.
Location
The Epilepsy Monitoring Unit (EMU) is divided into two separated units under one supervision:
-
“Pediatric Epilepsy Monitoring Unit”: located on the 6th floor of the main Hospital building, where pediatrics undergo EEG as outpatients (from 60 minutes-6 hours) and Long Term Monitoring (LTM) CCTV-EEG as inpatients.
-
“Adult Epilepsy Monitoring Unit”: located on the 4th floor of the main hospital building, where adults undergo EEGs as outpatients (60 minutes-6 hours) and Long Term Monitoring (LTM) CCTV-EEG as inpatients.
Contact Us
To schedule an EEG appointment for a Pediatric patient, please call the outpatient Pediatric Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at +961 1 350000 extensions 5541/2 or 6903.
To refer a patient or to schedule an admission for a long-term monitoring LTM (CCTV-EEG) or to reserve a polysomnography test, please call the Epilepsy Program Administrator Ms. Ghina Hijazi at +961 1 350000 extension 5510 or Mr. Mohammad Kanso on +961 1 350000 extension 7231
