Dr. Micheal Brisman? He is a neurosurgeon in Long Island NY and I have an appt with him July 5th. He does MVD for GPN or TN. I have GPN and have had it for over 7 years now. I am doped up on 3200 mg of Gabapentin and the pain is breaking through that! I had a styloidectomy which was a nightmare and was not the issue 2 years ago. I have been afraid of MVD, but I am now ready to do ANYTHING to stop this insane pain I have daily. I want my life back! So, is anyone familiar with Dr. Michael Brisman? Thanks in advance.
Hi Billie - Brisman performed MVD on me back in Nov. 2007 (can't believe it's almost 5 years). I woke up from the surgery pain free and have been that way ever since. Here's my story in a nutshell. I started with TN in 1998. I googled "Face Pain", read about TN and knew that was my problem. I suffered almost 10 years on and off. Tegretol worked at first but the side effects stink. Periods of remission were great but it always came back. I was scared to death whenever I read about mvd surgery. One day my mother read an article about Brisman and the Gamma Knife. She shared it with me and I thought, "this is my answer, a non-invasive procedure." I went to see Brisman and he recommended MVD. He said, "your young (47 at the time), can handle the surgery, and you'll be done with it." He said the Gamma Knife is for older people who might have issues with the surgery. Also it might cause numbness where you don't want it. He also explained other procedures that damage the nerve. I left his office depressed, as I wanted the Gamma Knife, with no resolution.
A few months later I was miserable with pain. I thought back to Brisman and how he said so flippantly, "you'll be done with the pain." He said it with so much confidence! That was my turning point, finding a doctor I had confidence in. I called his office, asked how many had he performed and wanted to know his success. "He's done hundreds with close to 100% success." I scheduled the operation 2 weeks later. It was a breeze! Took about 4 hours, of course it seemed like 4 seconds. The only bad thing was I felt nauseous for about a day. Oh, and I've gained weight because I have no more pain when I eat.
I had the surgery on a Friday morning, came home the following Monday, was surfing the internet Monday afternoon. Also, prior to my surgery, I watched the procedure on YouTube. Oddly, this gave me comfort. I would see someone before the surgery, watch the surgery, then see them fine afterwards.
Brisman is great...get it done...I'd be happy to speak with you if you want...