"We do know when there is scarring on one side, and the seizures are coming from that side, if we remove that brain area we have a very high likelihood of completely eliminating someone's seizures," Mehta said.

To treat Defeo, Mehta performed a new minimally-invasive procedure known as interstitial thermal therapy, which uses MRI-guided imaging and laser technology to lesion the area of the brain causing the seizures.  The procedure involves drilling a small hole in the back of the skull and uses one simple pass of a heated wire to cut the area out.  

"By lesioning it, we're essentially doing the same thing as taking it out," Mehta explained.  "But the advantage is, we're not disrupting anything else."

According to Mehta, patients who undergo this procedure have a faster recovery period than those who have traditional open-brain surgery.