Epilepsy surgery: guidelines for minimum standard equipment and organization.

These guidelines, developed by the Study Group on Functional Neurosurgery of the Italian Society of Neurosurgery, concern the minimum standard equipment and organization required to a center dealing with the surgical treatment of epilepsy. They include the general criteria for patient selection, the main presurgical diagnostic procedures able to define seizure characteristics and concomitant brain abnormalities, the standard surgical procedures utilized. "Cryptogenetic" as well as "symptomatic" epilepsies are considered. Recommendations are also provided for correct result assessment and follow-up evaluation. Guidelines presented here reflect a multidisciplinary consensus and expert opinion, based on scientific evidence and current clinical experience.