What happens when my child arrives for invasive EEG monitoring?
When you arrive at the neurosurgery unit, a nurse and an anaesthesiologist will assess your child and prepare them for surgery.
Once this is done, they will take your child to the operating room. There, the anaesthesiologist will give your child sleep medicine. Once your child is asleep, the neurosurgeon will expose your child’s brain and place the special grid of embedded electrodes on the brain’s surface. Sometimes the surgeon will also place depth electrodes to monitor deeper parts of the brain.
When all the electrodes are placed, they will be tested to see if they are working and your child's scalp will then be stitched closed. Your child’s head will then be bandaged and your child will be taken to the critical care unit for recovery and the start of invasive EEG monitoring.
What happens during invasive EEG monitoring?
Your child will be in bed for three to five days while invasive EEG monitoring takes place. The electrodes placed on their brain will be connected to a video EEG machine that will continuously record their brain’s electrical activity and capture any seizures on video.