MRgLITT for hypothalamic hamartomas: surgical outcomes & divergent pathways for seizure prognosis

INTRODUCTION: Hypothalamic hamartoma (HH) causes drug-resistant epilepsy, with gelastic seizures (GS) progressing to non-gelastic seizures (nGS). MRI-guided laser interstitial thermal therapy (MRgLITT) is first-line treatment, but robust prognostic models with external validation are lacking. OBJECTIVES: To evaluate MRgLITT outcomes for HH-related epilepsy and develop externally validated predictive nomograms for GS and nGS recurrence. METHODS: This retrospective study included 169 patients (training: n = 121; validation: n = 48). Multivariate Cox regression identified prognostic factors. Nomograms were developed in the training cohort and externally validated in the independent cohort. RESULTS: Seizure freedom rates were 76.4% (GS) and 81.8% (nGS). GS recurrence correlated with larger HH volume (HR = 4.32), incomplete ablation (HR = 0.268/0.212), and cognitive impairment (HR = 2.51). nGS recurrence associated with bilateral PET hypometabolism (HR = 60.53), nGS duration (HR = 1.14), automatisms (HR = 7.90), and sGTCS (HR = 3.84). External validation confirmed GS and nGS nomogram generalizabilities (C-index = 0.731, 0.844). Complications included transient hyperphagia (26.7%), persistent obesity (12%), and permanent hypothyroidism (1.8%). Caregiver-reported cognitive outcomes were exploratory. CONCLUSION: MRgLITT is safe and effective for HH-related epilepsy, with lesion-centric (GS) versus network-level (nGS) prognostic pathways. Externally validated nomograms offer actionable tools for clinical decision-making.