alert icon Important Updates + Notice of Vendor Data Event

Coming to a Cleveland Clinic location?
Hillcrest Cancer Center check-in changes
Cole Eye entrance closing
Visitation and COVID-19 information

Notice of MedInform data event
Learn more

Department Epilepsy Center
Primary Location Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Type of Doctor Both Adults and Children & Adolescents
Languages English
Surgeon No
Locations
Cleveland Clinic Main Campus
Primary Location

Cleveland Clinic Main Campus

Appointment:
216.636.5860
Desk:
216.636.5860
Fax:
216.445.6813
Specialties & Treatments

Treatment & Services

  • Clinical Trials
  • Cortical Brain Mapping
  • Early Epilepsy Surgery
  • Epilepsy Pharmacotherapy with Call Office
  • Epilepsy Surgery
  • Epilepsy Surgery and Video EEG Evaluation
  • Epilepsy Surgery Evaluation
  • Epilepsy Surgery in Adolescents
  • Epilepsy Surgery in Children
  • Pediatric Neurology
  • Signal Analyses of Subdural Recordings
  • Specialized EEG with Stereotactic Depth Electrodes
  • Specialized EEG with Subdural Grids
  • Surgery in Brain Malformations
  • Vagal Nerve Stimulation
  • Video EEG Monitoring
View all 16 Treatment & Services +

Specialty in Diseases & Conditions

  • Autoimmune Epilepsy
  • Benign Focal Epilepsies and Variants
  • Brain Tumor-Related Epilepsy
  • Clinical Neurophysiology
  • Complex Partial Seizures
  • Developmental Disorders of the Brain
  • Dravet and Doose Syndrome and other Myoclonic Epilepsies
  • Electroencephalogram (EEG)
  • Epilepsy
  • Epilepsy in Adolescents
  • Epilepsy in Children
  • Epilepsy in Infants
  • Epileptic Encephalopathies
  • First Seizure Assessment
  • Focal Cortical Dysplasia
  • Frontal Lobe Epilepsy
  • Genetic and Metabolic Causes of Epilepsy
  • Hemispheric Epilepsy
  • Infantile Spasm
  • Intractable (Drug Resistant) Epilepsy
  • Ketogenic Diet
  • Landau-Kleffner Syndrome (LKS)
  • Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome
  • Lissencephaly
  • Malformations of Cortical Development
  • Medically Refractory Status Epilepticus
  • Mitochondrial Causes of Epilepsy
  • Myoclonic Epilepsy
  • Neurodegenerative Diseases
  • Neurofibromatosis
  • Non-Epileptic Seizure Disorder
  • Post-Traumatic Epilepsy
  • Rasmussen Encephalitis
  • Refractory Epilepsy
  • Seizure Manifestations
  • Seizures
  • Seizures - Febrile
  • Seizures After Traumatic Brain Injury
  • Sleep and Epilepsy Issues
  • Status Epilepticus (continuous Seizures)
  • Stroke Causing Seizures
  • Sturge-Weber Syndrome
  • Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE)
  • Tuberous Sclerosis Complex
  • West Syndrome
View all 45 Specialties +
Insurance

Insurance

Is Cleveland Clinic Part of Your Insurance?

Review a list of accepted insurance plans for our Northeast Ohio locations or learn more about purchasing a contracted managed care plan.

View All Plans
Biography

About Elaine Wyllie, MD

Dr. Elaine Wyllie is Professor of Neurology at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and a world-renowned epilepsy specialist at Cleveland Clinic who provides treatment for children from around the world.   Her honors include the highly competitive Epilepsy Research Award from the American Epilepsy Society, the Jasper Award from the American Clinical Neurophysiology Society, the Cleveland Clinic Award for Master Clinician, and the J. Kiffin Penry Award for Excellence in Epilepsy Care from the American Epilepsy Society.  She is editor of “Wyllie’s Treatment of Epilepsy”, the standard in the field through seven editions, and author of “The Cleveland Clinic Guide to Epilepsy”, an authoritative book for the lay public.

Dr. Wyllie has published over 250 reports on her scientific research.  Throughout her career she has championed offering early surgery to infants and children with uncontrolled seizures, to improve quality of life and maximize developmental potential. Her current research, expanding and redefining key aspects of the selection criteria for epilepsy surgery candidates, is influencing clinical practice at epilepsy centers throughout the world. She lectures extensively and has presented her research at over 500 scientific meetings and visiting professorships worldwide.  You may view the experience of two of her patients in the CNN-produced video Cleveland Clinic: A Culture of Breakthroughs.

Dr. Wyllie has mentored hundreds of epilepsy fellows, many of whom are now leaders of their own programs.  She is also committed to conversation with patients and families, and authors a regular blog on epilepsy for US News & World Report.  She enjoys a balanced life with her husband, Dr. Robert Wyllie, and now that their two sons are grown, their passionate hobby is ballroom dancing.  If you are interested to see another side of her life, you may view some of Dr. Wyllie’s dance videos at TangoWyllieOnVimeo.com, and if you would like to hear an interview with Dr. Wyllie about her life in medicine and how dancing has influenced her work, visit Cleveland Clinic: Insights and Inspiration.

Education & Professional Highlights

Education & Professional Highlights

Appointed
1985

Education & Fellowships

Fellowship - Cleveland Clinic
Epilepsy and Clinical Neurophysiology
Cleveland, OH USA
1985

Residency - Cleveland Clinic
Pediatric Neurology
Cleveland, OH USA
1982

Residency - Case Western Reserve University - University Hospitals of Cleveland
Neurology
Cleveland, OH USA
1981

Residency - Indiana University Medical Center
Pediatrics
Indianapolis, IN USA
1980

Medical Education - Indiana University School of Medicine
MD
Indianapolis, IN USA
1978

Professional Highlights

  • Professor, Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine with Case Western University.
  • Certified by the American Boards of Pediatrics and Psychiatry and Neurology, with Special Competencies in Pediatric Neurology and Epilepsy
  • Editor of the leading medical textbook in the field, Wyllie’s Treatment of Epilepsy, now in its sixth edition.
  • Author of The Cleveland Clinic Guide to Epilepsy, an authoritative book for the lay public.
  • A world renowned thought leader in epilepsy medicine who lectures widely and has published over 250 reports on her research in epilepsy in scientific journals.
  • Recipient of many honors and awards, including the prestigious Career Award for Outstanding Work in Epilepsy Research from the American Epilepsy Society.
  • An active clinician who cares for children with all forms of epilepsy and attracts personal referrals from physicians worldwide for consultation on the most challenging cases.
  • A champion for recognizing opportunities for offering early epilepsy surgery to infants and children with uncontrolled seizures, to reduce suffering and maximize developmental potential.

Certifications

  • Pediatrics
  • Psychiatry and Neurology - Neurology with Special Qualifications in Child Neurology
  • Psychiatry and Neurology - Epilepsy
  • Neurology with Special Qualification in Child Neurology
  • - Pediatrics - General Cert
  • - Neurology with Special Qualifications in Child Neurology - G

Specialty Interests

Children with complex epilepsies, children with epilepsy and Sturge Weber Syndrome, children with first seizure, clinical drug trials, clinical neurophysiology, diagnostic video EEG for pediatric seizure disorders, EEG, Epilepsy, epilepsy and epilepsy surgery in children and adolescents, Epilepsy surgery and medical treatment of epilepsy in children, invasive EEG monitoring for pre-surgical evaluations, Pediatric Epilepsy, pediatric epilepsy and epilepsy surgery, Rasmussen's encephalitis and medically refractory status epilepticus., Seizure disorder treatment and surgery in brain malformations, seizure manifestations, Sturge Weber syndrome, Tuberous Sclerosis Complex, vagus nerve stimulation, Video EEG, brain malformations causing epilepsy

Awards & Honors

  • Epilepsy Association Legacy Award, 2015
  • Cambridge Who's Who Executive and Professional Registry, since 2006
  • Honorary Membership, Canadian Association for Child Neurology, 1999
  • Marquis Who's Who in Science and Engineering, since 1998
  • America’s Top Doctors, Castle Connolly Medical Ltd, since 1998
  • Marquis Who's Who in America, since 1995
  • Marquis Who's Who in the World, since 1995
  • Best Doctors in America, since 1994
  • US News and World Report, Best Doctors in America, since 1994
  • US News and World Report, Best Doctors in Ohio, since 1994
  • Milken Family Foundation / American Epilepsy Society Award for Outstanding Work in Epilepsy Research, 1994

Innovations & Patents

  • Expansion of the pool of pediatric candidates for epilepsy surgery to include carefully selected children and adolescents who have focal lesion seen on MRI, but lack well-localized abnormalities on EEG

Memberships

  • American Academy of Neurology
  • American Epilepsy Society
  • International League Against Epilepsy   
  • Child Neurology Society
Research & Publications

Research & Publications

See publications for Elaine Wyllie, MD.

(Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)

Industry Relationships

Industry Relationships

Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists may collaborate with the pharmaceutical or medical device industries to help develop medical breakthroughs or provide medical expertise or education. Cleveland Clinic strives to make scientific advances that will benefit patient care and support outside relationships that promise public benefit. In order for the discoveries of Cleveland Clinic physicians' and scientists' laboratories and investigations to benefit the public, these discoveries must be commercialized in partnership with industry. As experts in their fields, Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists are often sought after by industry to consult, provide expertise and education.

To assure professional and commercial integrity in such matters, Cleveland Clinic maintains a program that reviews these collaborations and, when appropriate, puts measures in place to minimize bias that may result from ties to industry. Cleveland Clinic publicly discloses the names of companies when (i) its physicians/scientists receive $5,000 or more per year (or, in rare cases, equity or stock options) for speaking and consulting, (ii) its physicians/scientists serve as a fiduciary, (iii) its physicians/scientists receive or have the right to receive royalties or (iv) its physicians/ scientists hold any equity interest for the physician's/scientist's role as inventor, discoverer, developer, founder or consultant.* In publicly disclosing this information, Cleveland Clinic tries to provide information as accurately as possible about its physicians' and scientists' connections with industry.

As of 8/22/2022, Dr. Wyllie has reported no financial relationship with industry that is applicable to this listing. In general, patients should feel free to contact their doctor about any of the relationships and how the relationships are overseen by Cleveland Clinic. To learn more about Cleveland Clinic's policies on collaborations with industry and innovation management, go to our Integrity in Innovation page.

Public Health Service-Reportable Financial Conflicts of Interest. Cleveland Clinic scientists and physicians engage in basic, translational and clinical research activities, working to solve health problems, enhance patient care and improve quality of life for patients. Interactions with industry are essential to bringing the researchers' discoveries to the public, but can present the potential for conflicts of interest related to their research activities. Click here to view a listing of instances where Cleveland Clinic has identified a Public Health Service (PHS)-Reportable Financial Conflict of Interest and has put measures in place to ensure that, to the extent possible, the design, conduct and reporting of the research is free from bias.

* Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists subscribe to the guidance presented in the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals and the AdvaMed Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals. As such, gifts of substantial value are generally prohibited.

Patient Satisfaction Reviews

66 Patient Satisfaction Reviews

The Patient Satisfaction Rating is an average of all responses to the care provider related questions shown below from our nationally-recognized Press Ganey Patient Satisfaction Survey. Patients that are treated in outpatient or hospital environments may receive different surveys, and the volume of responses will vary by question.

Responses are measured on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being the best score.

The comments are submitted by patients and reflect their views and opinions. The comments are not endorsed by and do not necessarily reflect the views of Cleveland Clinic.

Overall Star Ratings
5 out of 5
Explains 4.9
Courtesy, Respect & Concern 5
Patient Rating of Doctor 5

16 Patient Comments

Reviewed on Apr 24, 2023

Dr Wyllie was amazing. She was ontime for the meeting, extremely thorough about our child's history with seizures and next steps towards finding a solution to her health issues.

Reviewed on Feb 24, 2023

Dr. Wyllie is everything we expected and more when we reached out for an appointment. She is professional, kind, pragmatic, positive, and made us as parents feel a sense of security and care.

Reviewed on Feb 9, 2023

Dr. Wyllie is compassionate and competent- I fully trust her professional experience. I'm so grateful for her care.

Reviewed on Feb 9, 2023

Oliver met with Dr Wyllie and has had brain surgery and seizure freedom.all of which occurred in a short time frame. I recommend CC to all friends and family who experience complex medical issues. We've received superb care.

Reviewed on Jan 23, 2023

The doctor was phenomenal. Really addressed every minute concern or thought that I had concerning my daughter or her condition. Overall an amazing experience

Reviewed on Jan 23, 2023

Doctor and her staff are phenomenally dedicated to their kids and their health

Reviewed on Dec 6, 2022

I had a very good experience with Dr.Elaine Wyllie like I always do! I can tell she really cares about me and wants me to succeed.

Reviewed on Nov 3, 2022

Dr. Wylie has been a gift to my daughter. I recommend her to everyone.

Reviewed on Sep 29, 2022

She was very detailed in her assessment

Reviewed on Jul 27, 2022

Dr. Wyllie is the most professional doctor my daughter has had. She answers all our questions clearly and includes us in the treatment decisions.

Reviewed on Jul 20, 2022

Dr Wyllie is fantastic in advocating for her patients and making sure parents are informed enough to do the same

Reviewed on Jul 18, 2022

Dr. Wyllie is a great neurologist. She has been taking care of my daughter for a while now and every time she is punctual, professional, and efficient. She listens, advises, and cares.

Reviewed on Jul 12, 2022

Dr. Wyllie is incomparable.

Reviewed on Jul 12, 2022

Dr. Wyllie's compassion and care are blatant.

Reviewed on Jun 20, 2022

Dr. Wyllie was very kind, welcoming and made me (mother) feel comfortable in sharing something that is very difficult and hard to talk about <\3 <3

Reviewed on May 26, 2022

Best doctor out there, hands down !

Back to Top