What the receiving team needs to know about your seizures and other conditions
The first question is not whether you are 'eligible' in the abstract. It is whether the information you send lets the receiving clinicians understand your epilepsy and your overall health well enough to decide what to assess next. Epilepsy surgery can be considered for selected people whose seizures are not controlled by medicines, and assessment examines potential benefits and risks. That assessment depends on accurate history, not on a single document.
A useful summary separates four strands. First, the seizure history: when seizures began, what they look like, how often they occur, what triggers or patterns you have noticed, and which medicines you have taken and are taking now. Second, the diagnostic studies already performed, with the actual reports and images where available. Third, other health conditions and treatments, including heart, lung, kidney, metabolic, psychiatric or cognitive diagnoses, previous surgery and any implanted devices. Fourth, current function and safety: driving, work, supervision at home, falls, injuries and pregnancy plans if relevant.
The reason to separate these strands is that each one raises different questions for the team. Seizure history informs whether presurgical evaluation is worth pursuing. Other conditions inform whether tests and any potential procedure would be safe for you specifically. Neither strand can be judged from a short message, and neither should be hidden to make a case look simpler.
Which records to send first, and what to leave for later
You do not need to assemble a complete archive before making contact. A short initial summary is enough to start. After first contact, the team can tell you which documents matter most for your situation. Sending everything at once often slows review because key findings are buried.
Start with a one-page timeline: year of first seizure, treatments tried, current medicines with doses, other diagnoses, and the main question you want answered. Then attach the most recent relevant reports: EEG reports, MRI reports and, if available, the image files themselves; clinic letters that describe seizure type and frequency; and discharge summaries from any previous hospital admissions. For other health conditions, include recent clinic letters and test results that describe current control and treatment.
Keep original files. If a report is in another language, a short summary in English or Chinese helps, but do not replace the original document. If you do not have a study, say so rather than describing what you think it showed. The receiving clinician needs to know what is missing as much as what is present.
A practical administrative example: label each file with the date and type, for example '2024-03 MRI brain report' or '2025-01 EEG report'. This is not a clinical requirement, but it reduces confusion when several specialties review the same folder.
How other health conditions change the questions, not just the paperwork
Other diagnoses matter because they affect how the team interprets your seizure history and what they need to check before recommending any procedure. For example, a history of heart or lung disease may prompt questions about anaesthesia tolerance. Kidney or liver conditions may affect how medicines are handled around tests. Cognitive, psychiatric or behavioural conditions may affect how you tolerate a prolonged assessment and what support you need.
This does not mean those conditions exclude you. It means the team needs to know about them early, so that any assessment plan is built around your actual health rather than a generic pathway. If you have an implanted device, a recent infection, a bleeding disorder or a history of reactions to contrast dye or anaesthesia, state it clearly in your summary.
Ask the team directly: 'Given my other conditions, which presurgical assessments would you need, and are there any you would avoid or modify?' That question is more useful than asking whether you are a candidate, because candidacy is a conclusion the clinicians reach after review, not a label you can confirm in advance.
Continuing neurological care after the visit: what to arrange before you travel
An assessment visit is a point in time. Whatever the outcome, you will still need ongoing neurological care, and that care may continue in your home country, in China, or in both. Before travelling, ask how the receiving team would communicate with your current neurologist and who would manage your medicines during and after the visit.
The reason this matters is that an assessment can end in several ways. The team may recommend surgery, may ask for further tests, may suggest a different treatment route, or may conclude that surgery is not the right option for you. Each of those outcomes leads to a different follow-up plan, and none of them means your epilepsy care stops. If you arrive without a clear picture of who prescribes your medicines at home, a short visit can leave a gap in routine care that is harder to close later.
Specific questions to confirm with the named provider: Will the assessment team provide a written summary you can share with your local neurologist? Who is responsible for medicine changes during the visit, and how are those communicated? If surgery is not recommended, what follow-up plan would be suggested? If further tests are needed, can some be arranged locally before you travel? These are administrative and clinical-coordination questions, and the answers depend on the hospital and your case.
It also helps to ask who to contact if a question comes up after you return home. A named route for follow-up questions, whether through the hospital's international office or your local neurologist, prevents you from having to restart the process from the beginning. If you take several medicines, ask how a written medicine list would be shared between the two teams so that both see the same information.
Do not stop or change any medicine on your own before or during travel. Seizure control and medicine management are decisions for your treating clinicians. If seizures worsen or you have new symptoms, seek local urgent care rather than waiting for an overseas appointment.
What an initial enquiry can and cannot do
An initial enquiry is a non-clinical intake step. It checks the available diagnosis, records and your main question, identifies missing information and suggests the relevant next step. It is not a diagnosis, a second opinion or a promise of hospital acceptance. A records-based specialist opinion is a separate, optional step: a doctor takes your records to a relevant hospital specialist for an opinion while you remain at home. It can clarify how your epilepsy and other conditions are likely to be viewed, but it does not establish final eligibility, order tests for you or guarantee that surgery will follow.
The hospital decides suitability after reviewing your records and, where needed, seeing you in person. No coordination service can promise a named surgeon, a specific outcome or acceptance. What you can do is present your history clearly, ask which assessments are needed, and confirm how continuing care would be coordinated. A folder of scans without a covering summary may leave those two questions unanswered, so state clearly what you need the team to review.
It also helps to be explicit about what you want from the contact. Some patients want to know whether travelling is worth considering at all. Others already have a surgical opinion at home and want a second review of the same records. Others want help arranging a specific appointment. These are different requests, and the records that matter, the questions asked and the next step differ for each. Saying which one applies to you prevents a generic reply.
If you are considering care in China, the practical next step is to send a brief summary of your seizure history, current medicines, other health conditions and your main question. The team can then tell you what additional records would be useful and what to confirm with the hospital before any travel planning. Keep the first message short; the detailed file can follow once you know which documents the team actually needs.
Sources & scope of this guide
References and official service information relevant to this guide.
This is general planning information and has not been individually reviewed by a doctor. Medical decisions and personal treatment advice come from your treating clinicians.