BOSTON -- There is a cure for certain types of epilepsy, and while it's been around for about a decade, not many know about it.

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NewsCenter 5's Rhonda Mann reported that it is a surgery that actually removes parts of the brain. While it does carry risks, it also carries with it the hope of being epilepsy-free forever.

"Living with epilepsy is like being in jail for a crime you didn't commit," Brianna, who suffers from epilepsy, said.

So dark and deep is the stigma of epilepsy that one woman, we'll call her Brianna, doesn't want you to know her real name. When she was just 6, a bike accident left her brain scarred, and a series of seizures have tormented her for 36 years -- some major, some more like a blanking out.

"Sometimes it could be a stare. It could just last a minute, or 30 seconds, but if you spoke to me, I wouldn't hear what you said," Brianna said.

But this spring, after years of taking medicines that haven't worked, she learned there may be a cure for her epilepsy.

The surgery is for those, like Brianna, who have focal seizures that start in one part of the brain. In an operation that will take four hours, surgeons will carefully remove a half-dollar sized section of the brain tissue that is causing Brianna's seizures -- hopefully curing her of her epilepsy.

"The surgical success rate is somewhere between 75 and 80 percent in carefully selected patients," Massachusetts General Hospital Dr. Rees Cosgrove said.

Despite the success rate, the American Epilepsy Society says surgery is rarely even considered. In fact, of the up to 200,000 people who could benefit, only about 3,000 have it done each year, mostly because doctors are hesitant to suggest something as complex as brain surgery -- when the patient's condition may not appear life-threatening.

"I was told it wasn't an option for me, that my case wasn't severe enough. But I can tell you, I know four other people with epilepsy and two have died from epilepsy related seizures," Brianna said.

For Brianna, who graduated with high honors and now holds two master's degrees, the surgery could be life changing. Her epilepsy prevents her from driving and from a career, as she says many employers are hesitant to hire someone with the condition.

But the surgery carries its own risks --vision loss, memory problems, infection and stroke. And in 10 to 15 percent of cases, it doesn't work at all.

"My hope is to be seizure-free," Brianna said. "I just feel that the sky will be the limit, that I won't be held back and I can do anything, anything I want."

Brianna had her surgery Tuesday and is doing well. She should be out of the hospital by the end of the week. NewsCenter 5 will check back with her in about a month to see if she is seizure-free.