801-662-7246Primary Phone801-662-1000After Hours (On-Call Neurologist)
Brain & Spine Center
Pediatric Epilepsy Program
The nationally ranked Complex Epilepsy Center at Primary Children’s Hospital is a premier destination for children diagnosed with epilepsy and seizure disorders in the intermountain west. We treat patients from birth through young adulthood, who may experience various types of epileptic seizures.
Nationally Ranked Care
Primary Children’s Hospital has been ranked among the top 50 hospitals nationwide and is in the top 20 in pediatric Neurology and Neurosurgery by the U.S. News & World Report in their 2022-2023 Best Children’s Hospital rankings report.
As a Level 4 epilepsy center accredited by the National Association of Epilepsy Centers (NAEC), our center is recognized as offering the highest level of medical and surgical evaluation and treatment for patients with complex epilepsy. In addition to our medical expertise and cutting-edge technology, our team belongs to several national epilepsy research consortiums and innovative research projects dedicated to improving care, treatments, and outcomes for patients with epilepsy.
Multidisciplinary Care Team
Our patients are treated by a world-renowned multidisciplinary team specializing in pediatrics and working together to address the complexities of epilepsy including seizures as well as the physical, emotional, and psychosocial impacts it may have.
Our epilepsy care team comprises pediatric specialists who are experts in various aspects of managing childhood epilepsy. This includes neurologists, epileptologists, neurosurgeons, epilepsy advanced practice providers, nurses, neuropsychologists, behavioral health clinicians, neuroradiologists, social workers, dietitians, and genetic counselors. We will guide patients and families through care plans, emergency care, therapeutic side effects, and more. We also offer support and education to you and your family.
Our epilepsy care team comprises pediatric specialists who are experts in various aspects of managing childhood epilepsy. This includes neurologists, epileptologists, neurosurgeons, epilepsy advanced practice providers, nurses, neuropsychologists, behavioral health clinicians, neuroradiologists, social workers, dietitians, and genetic counselors. We will guide patients and families through care plans, emergency care, therapeutic side effects, and more. We also offer support and education to you and your family.
Our Pledge
We are committed to providing a supportive, comprehensive, and effective experience for our epilepsy patients and their families. With our specialized nurse coordinator to guide you and our dedicated multidisciplinary team of experts we carefully consider the diagnosis, work up, testing and best plan of care for each patient. We know that epilepsy and the journey surrounding it is different for every person and family. We want to work for you and with you towards the best possible outcome.
Multidisciplinary complex epilepsy conference: This weekly conference is attended by members of our extensive epilepsy care team including specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, neuropsychology, and neuroradiology. This meeting is critical for our entire team to discuss each patient’s clinical course and collaborate on a care plan with recommendations from various perspectives so we can all be on the same page.
Complex Epilepsy Clinic: The CEC is a hospital based comprehensive clinic that consolidates and facilitates services relating to the care of patients with epilepsy. This might mean you see multiple care team members in one combined clinic visit such as neurosurgery and neurology or have streamlined access to additional support including epilepsy nurse education, behavioral health (psychology, social work), dietary specialists, and genetic counselors as needed. This allows our team to help address more aspects of epilepsy, beyond just seizures and provide more tailored care with better support for patients and families.
To learn more about the Epilepsy Center at Primary Children’s Hospital and to inquire about admissions and patient candidates, please call 66B-RAIN (662-7246).
Multidisciplinary complex epilepsy conference: This weekly conference is attended by members of our extensive epilepsy care team including specialists in neurology, neurosurgery, neuropsychology, and neuroradiology. This meeting is critical for our entire team to discuss each patient’s clinical course and collaborate on a care plan with recommendations from various perspectives so we can all be on the same page.
Complex Epilepsy Clinic: The CEC is a hospital based comprehensive clinic that consolidates and facilitates services relating to the care of patients with epilepsy. This might mean you see multiple care team members in one combined clinic visit such as neurosurgery and neurology or have streamlined access to additional support including epilepsy nurse education, behavioral health (psychology, social work), dietary specialists, and genetic counselors as needed. This allows our team to help address more aspects of epilepsy, beyond just seizures and provide more tailored care with better support for patients and families.
To learn more about the Epilepsy Center at Primary Children’s Hospital and to inquire about admissions and patient candidates, please call 66B-RAIN (662-7246).
Programs & Clinics
Our center treats patients with complex epilepsy and is focused on providing the best care possible. Our doctors and care teams value the input of the child and their family in deciding the best course of treatment for each individual patient. We offer supportive resources to help navigate the challenges involved in complex epilepsy management.
Programs at our Center:
- Complex Epilepsy Surgery Program
- Conventional Epilepsy Surgery
- Minimally Invasive Epilepsy Surgery - Laser Interstitial Thermal Therapy (LITT)
- Neuromodulation (VNS, RNS, DBS)
- Comprehensive Diagnostic and Pre-Surgical Testing Including Stereotactic EEG (SEEG)
- Genetic Epilepsies – Including a Tuberous Sclerosis Complex Clinic
- Dietary Therapies – Including Ketogenic Diet
- Infantile Spasms
- Adolescent Epilepsy, Women with Epilepsy, and Transition of Care
- Anti-seizure Pharmaceutical Trials
- Gene-related Therapies
Conditions We Treat:
- Focal or Multifocal Epilepsy
- Generalized Epilepsy
- Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
- Dravet Syndrome
- Infantile Spasms
- Genetically based Developmental and Epileptic Encephalopathies: Including gene variants in SCNIA, DEPDC5, PCDH19, Rett (MECP2), SCN8A, KCNQ2, among others
- Hypothalamic Hamartoma
Groundbreaking Treatment
Our program is dedicated to being on the frontline of epilepsy treatment, using research, cutting-edge genetic, medical and surgical techniques to provide the best epilepsy management possible for our patients.
Surgical Innovation:
- Robotic Stereotactic Assistance (ROSA) StereoEEG
- Responsive Neurostimulation (RNS) in Pediatric Epilepsy
- Laser Interstitial Thermal Ablation (LITT) with Visualase
Advanced Medical Therapies:
- Pharmacological Trials for New Anti-Seizure Medications
- Gene-related Therapies
- Dietary Therapy (including Ketogenic Diet, Modified Atkins Diet, and Low Glycemic Index)
Comprehensive Diagnostic Testing:
- EEG (including routine, continuous, intracranial, stereo)
- MRI
- Positron Emission Tomography (PET)
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
- WADA (also known as intracarotid sodium amobarbital procedure)
- Functional MRI (fMRI)
- Neuropsychological Testing
- single-photon emission computerized tomography (SPECT)
Family-Centered Care
We understand how important it is to support the entire child, which includes their family and support networks. In addition to focusing on excellent care, we have dedicated significant resources to developing family support services. Our team includes physicians, therapists, child life specialists, teachers, and volunteers to engage patients and their support network with therapeutic activities, positive distraction, and social support.
We also partner closely with Ronald McDonald House Charities to provide family rooms in the hospital and a convenient and affordable place for families to stay nearby the hospital if needed. Primary Children's Hospital offers the largest inpatient Ronald McDonald family room in the United States.
Learn more about our patient and family support services >
Learn more about our Ronald McDonald Family Rooms >
Learn more about Ronald McDonald House Salt Lake City >
Cutting-Edge Research
Primary Children’s Hospital is a key contributor to several national and international groups striving to improve the lives of children, adolescents, young adults, and their families. Our caregivers play key roles within these groups to set the standards for pediatric epilepsy care. When appropriate, we offer our patients the opportunity to participate in state-of-the-art clinical trials with the goal of improving seizure control, identifying underlying causes of epilepsy, and decreasing the effects of seizures and their medical therapies.
