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Programs and research
Level 4 Epilepsy Center
At UW Health Kids, we use a team-based approach and focus on both your child's emotional and physical health. Our pediatric epilepsy team helps children live active, healthy, happy lives.
Our adult and pediatric epilepsy services earned the highest rating from the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC). As a Level 4 Epilepsy Center, we provide the highest level of medical and surgical evaluation and care for you.
Our services include:
Evaluation for epilepsy surgery
Medical treatment
Neurodiagnostic monitoring
Neuropsychological treatment
Psychosocial treatment
The NAEC recommends treatment at a Level 4 epilepsy center when:
Your seizures are not under control after three months of care from a primary care doctor
Your seizures are not under control after 12 months of care with a general neurologist
Advancing epilepsy care through research
Our epilepsy doctors and scientists work to improve epilepsy care for you. We study the causes of epilepsy and test new treatments. Learn more
Meet our team
An expert team by your side
The UW Health Kids pediatric epilepsy team includes experts in epilepsy, neurology, neuropsychology, neuroradiology, neurosurgery and nutrition.
Pediatric neurology
Pediatric neuropsychology
Pediatric neurosurgery
Conditions and treatments
Assessing seizures to find the best treatments
UW Health Kids experts diagnose and treat children and teens with seizures and epilepsy.
A seizure is an "electrical storm" in the brain, and epilepsy is a condition where children continue to have seizures. Not every seizure is a sign of epilepsy. Some seizures are due to a passing cause, such as a fever or low blood sugar, and some seizures have no obvious cause.
There are many causes of epilepsy. These include brain injuries, brain tumors, changes in the body’s instructions for making the brain (genetic changes), infections and autoimmune conditions. If you child has a seizure, they might have tests to determine if they have epilepsy. If your child is diagnosed with epilepsy, their doctor usually will prescribe anti-seizure medicine.
A range of care options
Many children diagnosed with epilepsy outgrow their condition. Others need treatment. Epilepsy treatments include:
Anti-seizure medicines
Medicine trials, to find the right medicine or the right combination of medicines
If your child does not respond to anti-seizure medicines, there are other treatment options, including:
Epilepsy monitoring unit to evaluate your child’s seizures
Vagus nerve stimulation
If surgery is recommended, your child will have extensive testing first. This can include:
Comprehensive epilepsy surgery pre-evaluation
Intracranial EEG
ROSA (robotic stereotactic assistance)
For patients
Success stories and resources
Meet our patients
Special diet turns Parker's life around
Parker's seizures from Doose syndrome significantly dropped after he started the ketogenic diet.
"A better outlook on life"
Kaden started having facial twitch seizures at age 5. Nine years later, they turned into grand mal seizures occurring up to 10 times a day. A neurotransmitter device helped get his condition under control.
"I never expected so much improvement"
Brandi reduced her seizures from Rett syndrome with the ketogenic diet — so much so that it amazed her mother, Heidi.
"We cried tears of joy"
When baby Milena's seizures wouldn't stop, her family began to lose hope. Once UW Health Kids doctors discovered the problem, surgery stopped the seizures right away.
Read more patient stories
Patient resources
You can learn more about epilepsy from these resources:
Locations
Where to find us
We offer specialized epilepsy care at our clinic in Madison, Wis.