Medical Epilepsy and Surgical Specialties

[SDN]

Hi Experts, bI am an incoming M1 who is interested in a surgical subspecialty. I was diagnosed with epilepsy as a young teen. Since my diagnosis, I have been on low dose medication and have had no seizures for over 8 years. I have made it through high school and a fairly rigorous undergrad with no issues. I had a yearly check-up with my neurologist today and after telling her of my interests, she didn't seem to think that there would be any problems with me pursuing what I want. I was hoping to gather some second opinions, possibly from people who have seen a situation similar to mine. Will there be any roadblocks/legalities that I should be concerned about if I want to pursue surgery once the time to make that decision comes around?

Based on your 8-years of being seizure-free, I think most programs would be comfortable with the history of epilepsy.

One thing to consider is the long hours in surgery and potential for multiple nights with little sleep. Have you found in the past that lack of sleep decreases your seizure threshold?

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[Winged Scapula]

For any well-controlled chronic medical problems at surgical practice is feasible.

The big issue of course is identifying the triggers and trying to avoid those. I suspect work hours are more predictable now than they were back in my day but it is imperative that if your trigger is not taking your medication that you have it with you at all times. Leaving it at home when the time you might get home is unpredictable would be a recipe for disaster. Are used to keep stashes of my migraine medication in the call room “just in case“. Should have done the same thing with my birth control pills LOL