For certain patients with medically intractable epilepsy ( epilepsy that is not controlled by medication), surgery can be highly effective in abolishing or at least ameliorating seizures. Dr Heppner is involved with the epilepsy surgery programme at Auckland City and Starship Hospitals. Typically patients are worked up and investigated by a neurologist with an interest in epilepsy. If a lesion or area of the brain is identified from which the seizures are emanating, and if the area is amenable to resection at an acceptable risk, these patients are often cured of their epilepsy by surgical resection. Dr Heppner routinely performs operations such as temporal lobectomy and lesionectomy (resection of cavernomas, cortical dysplasia, tumors, etc) for epilepsy control.