The Epilepsy Center at Northeast Texas Neurology Associates
Specialized epilepsy care. Close to home.
Epilepsy and seizure disorders are an area of expertise at Northeast Texas Neurology Associates.
Dr. Gina Jetter is a fellowship-trained epileptologist who is board certified in Epilepsy, Neurology, and Clinical Neurophysiology and is a Fellow of the American Epilepsy Society.
Our Epilepsy Center provides specialized evaluation and ongoing care for patients with seizures and epilepsy throughout East Texas. Our goal is to provide the expertise of an epilepsy specialist while maintaining the personal, consistent care of a small independent practice.
Comprehensive Epilepsy Care
No two patients with epilepsy are exactly alike. Understanding the type of seizures a patient is experiencing, and whether those events are caused by epilepsy, is an important first step in developing an effective treatment plan.
We care for patients with newly diagnosed epilepsy as well as those who have lived with seizures for many years. We also evaluate patients whose seizures have been difficult to control or whose diagnosis remains uncertain.
Our epilepsy services include
- Evaluation of new-onset seizures
- Routine and prolonged EEG testing
- Anti-seizure medication management
- Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) management
- Evaluation for epilepsy surgery and other advanced treatments
- Women’s epilepsy care, including pregnancy
- Epilepsy in older adults
- Evaluation and treatment of psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES)
When seizures don’t respond to medication
Drug-Resistant Epilepsy
For many patients, seizures can be successfully controlled with medication. For others, seizures continue despite appropriate treatment.
When a patient has continued seizures despite trials of appropriate anti-seizure medications, additional evaluation may be needed. Patients with drug-resistant epilepsy may benefit from specialized testing and consideration of treatments beyond medication.
Dr. Jetter evaluates patients with difficult-to-control seizures and helps determine whether options such as epilepsy surgery, vagus nerve stimulation, or other advanced therapies should be considered.
When evaluation or treatment at a comprehensive epilepsy center is needed, we coordinate with specialized centers while continuing to provide ongoing neurological care close to home.
EEG Testing
Electroencephalography, or EEG, records the electrical activity of the brain and is an important tool in the evaluation of seizures and epilepsy.
NETNA provides routine EEG testing in our office as well as prolonged EEG monitoring that can be performed in a patient’s home. These longer recordings can provide additional information when a routine EEG does not capture the events or abnormalities needed to help establish a diagnosis.
When inpatient video EEG monitoring is needed, Dr. Jetter also monitors patients in the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at CHRISTUS Trinity Mother Frances in Tyler. This allows seizures or other concerning events to be recorded in a monitored hospital setting while the patient’s brain-wave activity and clinical symptoms are evaluated together.
EEG findings are interpreted in combination with a patient’s history, symptoms, examination, and other testing rather than being considered in isolation.
Our team includes an experienced EEG technician who has worked with NETNA since 2012, providing patients with testing from a familiar member of our clinical team.
Women & Epilepsy
Women with epilepsy may have unique treatment considerations related to hormones, contraception, pregnancy, and anti-seizure medications.
For women planning a pregnancy, we encourage preconception planning whenever possible. Dr. Jetter works with patients and their obstetric providers to optimize seizure control and medication management before, during, and after pregnancy.
Vagus Nerve Stimulation
Vagus nerve stimulation, or VNS, is an implanted treatment option for some patients whose seizures are not adequately controlled with medication.
Dr. Jetter evaluates patients who may be candidates for VNS and provides ongoing programming and management for patients who already have a VNS device.
For appropriate patients, VNS can be one component of a broader treatment plan for drug-resistant epilepsy.
Epilepsy Surgery Evaluation
For some patients with drug-resistant epilepsy, surgery may offer the best opportunity for improved seizure control.
Determining whether someone is a candidate requires specialized testing to identify where seizures begin and whether treatment can be performed safely.
Dr. Jetter can help identify patients who should be considered for surgical evaluation and coordinate referral to a comprehensive epilepsy center for advanced testing and treatment when appropriate.
After specialized evaluation or surgery, patients can return to NETNA for much of their ongoing epilepsy care.
Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures
Not every seizure-like event is epilepsy.
Some episodes that look like epileptic seizures are caused by other conditions.
Psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES) are real, involuntary events that can closely resemble epileptic seizures but are not caused by abnormal electrical seizure activity in the brain.
Making the correct diagnosis is important because epilepsy and PNES require very different treatments. Dr. Jetter evaluates patients with seizure-like events and works with patients and other healthcare professionals to establish an appropriate treatment plan when PNES is diagnosed.
Expert epilepsy care, close to home.
Living with epilepsy often means having a relationship with your neurologist for many years.
At NETNA, our goal is to combine specialized epilepsy expertise with the continuity and personal relationships of a small, independent practice.
For patients who need highly specialized testing or procedures elsewhere, we help coordinate that care, and remain here for the long-term management that follows.
Become a Patient
New patients are seen by referral. Learn more about our referral process and how to become a patient at Northeast Texas Neurology Associates.