Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42219511›Full record

ArticleActa epileptologica2026

First corpus callosotomy for medically refractory epilepsy in The Gambia: an international cooperation case report and historical review.

Zsombor T Gal, Ebrima K Manneh, Saksham Gupta, Gabrielle A Luiselli, Makumba Cham, Ancha Ceesay, Mai Nyassi, Yusupha Jobe, Richard Oguocha, Musa Barry and 20 more

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Article in Acta epileptologica, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

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3 · Its place in the literature

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4 · The record

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5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

30 authors.

Zsombor T GalDepartment of Neurosurgery, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Ebrima K MannehNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Saksham GuptaDepartment of Neurosurgery, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Gabrielle A LuiselliDepartment of Neurosurgery, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
Makumba ChamNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Ancha CeesayNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Mai NyassiNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Yusupha JobeNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Richard OguochaNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Musa BarryNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Mary F GomezNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Malick JammehNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Oley BojangNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Tida JagneNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Fatoumata JallowNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Adama NjieNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Cherno S JallowNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Mustapha BittayeNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Mariam JoofNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Kebba S MarenahNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Yohana C SanchezNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Maguette MbayeService de Neurochirurgie, Centre Hospitalier National Universitaire de Fann, BP 5035, Dakar, Senegal.
Nantenin DoumbiaService de Neurochirurgie, Centre Hospitalier National Universitaire de Fann, BP 5035, Dakar, Senegal.
Sabina KangakanDepartment of Anesthesia, Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Pokua SarpongDepartment of Anesthesia, Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Mhd A AlkhateebDepartment of Anesthesia, Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Eduardo R CobasDepartment of Anesthesia, Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
Lamin JannehNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia.
John D RolstonDepartment of Neurosurgery, Mass General Brigham, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA.
John N JabangNeurosurgery Unit of the Department of Surgery of Edward Francis Small Teaching Hospital, University of The Gambia, Banjul, 00000, The Gambia. jjabang@utg.edu.gm.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEpilepsy affects over 50 million people worldwide, with the majority residing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where access to specialized care is often constrained. Surgical intervention represents a crucial therapeutic modality for patients with medically refractory epilepsy, yet epilepsy surgery remains markedly underutilized in sub-Saharan Africa. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 10-year-old boy in The Gambia with medically refractory epilepsy characterized by daily drop attacks. Despite optimized and adequately trialed therapy with carbamazepine and sodium valproate, he continued to experience disabling seizures, leading to recurrent head trauma. Computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) did not reveal an identifiable structural lesion. Given the intractability of seizures and significant associated morbidity, he underwent a corpus callosotomy. The procedure was performed via a standard microsurgical approach and concurrently addressed the resection of traumatic calcified scalp hematomas. The patient's postoperative recovery was uneventful, and he was discharged on postoperative day 13 and remained seizure-free. At the six-month postoperative follow-up, the patient achieved complete freedom from drop attacks, with generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) occurring only during periods of antiseizure medication (ASM) interruption.

conclusionsThis case highlights the feasibility and therapeutic potential of epilepsy surgery in the context of a surgical program within a resource-limited setting. Scaling up access to epilepsy surgery in comparable environments could contribute to mitigating the global epilepsy treatment gap.

Indexed as

Corpus callosotomyDrop attacksEpilepsy surgeryGlobal neurosurgeryThe Gambia

Identifiers

PMID42219511
PMCPMC13224592

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