I had MVD on June 1st of 2012. On June 11th, 2012 I woke up in horrible pain, they went back in on the 14th to fix it. They said some of the teflon felt had moved. The left side of my face is still very numb, but I've started having pain again. The pain isn't terrible...yet. I decided to change neurosurgeons, found out on Friday that my vessel has moved back and is directly on the nerve again. The dr (when I am ready) would like to go in and see if he can help fix it. If he gets in there and it looks too risky he will close me up and try the radiation therapy. Any thoughts on this? Has anyone ever had this problem?
May I ask who your Surgeon. is?--- not to blame -- but maybe a fresh new second opinion needed.....
How prominent in the TN community is your surgeon?
Lots of MVDs done?
I’ve had two mvd’s (my last one was 4.5 weeks ago) but they were spaces much further apart than yours. I had my first one July 18, 2012 and had this last one on February 21, 2013. Do they have imaging that shows the blood vessel is back on the nerve or are they just guessing bc of your pain? It seems with as much as your nerve has gone through with two surgeries so close together, it may be really inflamed and need some time to settle down. I’m not a doctor, so obviously I can only relate your story to my own situation. It really all comes down to whether or not you have total confidence in this new surgeon or not. I hope allege best for you. I am still in pain after two mvd’s also, but so far my surgeon says to give it time to heal because he was really aggressive with the nerve. They apparently expected my attacks to be more frequent and intense for awhile after the surgery. It’s so hard to be patient though. I’m going for a second opinion myself just to make sure. I hope all the best for you. I feel for you so much. Let us know how everything progresses.
My first surgeon was Dr. John Dickerson. After seeing my new surgeon I learned many new things that I didn’t know. I feel like my first surgeon just hurried to do what he thought he needed to and didn’t really take the time to figure everything out. Dr. Hylton (my new surgeon) seems very caring and has really taken his time with me about options. He showed the MRI to me and you can clearly see the vessel on the nerve. Thinking about having a 3rd surgery makes me sick to my stomach. I can not take the medicines though, so I have to do something. I just hope that having a 3rd surgery would help. He has been very clear that if he gets in there and it doesn’t look safe to proceed because It would cause more damage he will stop and close me back up.
Happy Birthday Leah!
If it were me, I would get another consultation with a neurosurgeon just to help you make a decision. Sorry you’re having to deal with this!
(( hugs)) Mimi <3
Thank you Mimi!