Quantitative gait analysis following hemispherotomy for Rasmussen's encephalitis

Peri-insular hemispherotomy is a form of disconnective hemispherectomy involving complete disconnection of all ascending / descending and commisural connections of one hemisphere. We report a case of a seven and a half year old child with intractable epilepsy due to Rasmussen's encephalitis who underwent peri-insular hemispherotomy and achieved complete freedom from seizures. Quantitative gait analysis was used to describe the changes in the kinematic and kinetic parameters of gait with surface electromyographs 18 months after surgery. The focus of this paper is to highlight the utility of gait analysis following hemispherotomy with a view to directing postsurgical motor training and rehabilitation.