Epilepsy is one of the most common neurologic disorders, affecting 0.5%–1.0% of the general population [1,2]. Approximately 35% of patients with epilepsy have medically refractory epilepsy and epilepsy surgery may be the only curative option [3,4]. Despite adequate trials of antiepileptic drugs, the persistence of seizures in refractory cases accounts for more than 75% of the cost of epilepsy care in the United States [5,6]. Although epilepsy surgery for well-selected candidates with medically refractory epilepsy could achieve seizure freedom in 50%–80% of cases and reduce mortality with relatively minor risks, it still remains underutilized with roughly 2000 epilepsy surgeries per year for 100–500 thousand candidates with medically refractory epilepsy in the USA [7–12].
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