Hello everyone. I am 1 week post op mad and VERY depressed. I regret this surgery more than I went in just for and MVD and my doctor decided on his own to perform a rhizotomy a be now I am left with heavy pulling numbness. I am in complete despair and don’t know where to turn. I literally can’t even drag myself out of bed. This feeling HAS to go away. I can’t live like this. I’m so angry at my doctor that he just took it upon himself to alter my life like this.
Perhaps you should consult with a lawyer ...
Hello
I had this procedure in July 2015. I felt like a freight train hit me for several weeks. The pain will ease up in a few days...Please watch for vision issues, and jaw weakness with the mandible being compromised with marked weakness. It was very very painful. I believe I reach out to Red in my crises. In my case I had serious side effects that have not gone away. I hope for the best and continue to advocate for yourself !
Peace out...
~E
Oh wow thats terrible! What did he say when you came round? Did they not do the MVD then? Gutted for you, as someone has already stated above contact a lawyer asap. Thats shocking, there was no discussion about rhizotomy beforehand? Id be fuming, id have been tempted to inflict some face pain on him, i cant believe they have done that! im so sorry to hear, i hope you are doing ok, like you havent got enough to deal with at the moment. I have no idea what the recovery from a rhizotomy is like, im sure there are plenty on here to offfer some words of advice about your recovery and what to expect. keep us updated on your progress, my heart goes out to you.
It was discussed. When I asked when the numbness would fade he airily said “it might or it might not! What you have to focus on is that you are pain free. When I went in I decided to perform a slight rhizotomy on top of the MVD!” He seemed quite proud of his split second decision while I was under anesthesia. The whole reason I opted for MVD was bc I point blank wanted NO numbness. I didn’t think I needed to explain to him that he shouldn’t go digging around and doing what he wanted to my head while I was out. I was dead wrong. My parents and fiancé are furious. I’ve dragged myself out of bed yesterday and today. Forced myself to eat. I’ve realized that I’d this is permanent then moping isn’t going to help anything. My fiancé does want to sue! My mom keeps saying just wait and see it’ll get better! I am INFURIATED! I’ve called my Drs office numerous occasions and have yet to actually speak or even have someone speak on my behalf to my doctor. I keep getting brushed off with "well numbness is to be expected with a rhizotomy!"
And “talk to the doctor at your follow up” or placated like a child with “aww well isn’t numbness better than pain!” I even had one nurse get an attitude and tell me most patients were thankful. I am beyond livid.
It's only been a week? I am 50 days post op from mvd and I am still in the healing process. You must give it more time and the nerves and feeling will slowly come back. The body needs way more time to heal, you'll see. You will start feeling better in a few weeks.
Jackie
Thanks jackie. I’m trying to be positive and quit researching all these horror stories online. I’m just not happy that something was done to me without my consent while under anesthesia. It’s distressing to me. I also have my fiancé telling me that he knows I shouldn’t have gotten it done and that makes me feel even worse. I feel like I’ve gone from one awful condition to the next!
There were most definitely pre-op forms and legal papers you had to sign before your MVD surgery. Get copies of those papers. Get copes of all the hospital records regarding the surgery. You went in for an MVD. Unless you underwent some life-threatening crisis during the operation (heart attack, hemorrhage, stroke etc) then it may be the doctor's obligation to perform another surgery other than the one you AND your insurance company agreed upon. If the doctor took it upon himself to perform a surgery without your consent, then you have a high likelihood of a big lawsuit. I would be especially concerned about insurance fraud too. If he charged you for the MVD and then also billed you and your insurance company for the Rhizotomy too, then you should definitely hire a lawyer like cindylou suggested. Your looking at medical malpractice, insurance fraud, patient consent laws, and possibly a HIPPA law in there somewhere! The audacity and unmitigated gall of that doctor alone is enough to fight back! I will pray that God gives you the strength to get up, even in pain, to fight this terrible injustice. I will pray that your added pain subsides as well.
Stephanie said:
It was discussed. When I asked when the numbness would fade he airily said "it might or it might not! What you have to focus on is that you are pain free. When I went in I decided to perform a slight rhizotomy on top of the MVD!" He seemed quite proud of his split second decision while I was under anesthesia. The whole reason I opted for MVD was bc I point blank wanted NO numbness. I didn't think I needed to explain to him that he shouldn't go digging around and doing what he wanted to my head while I was out. I was dead wrong. My parents and fiancé are furious. I've dragged myself out of bed yesterday and today. Forced myself to eat. I've realized that I'd this is permanent then moping isn't going to help anything. My fiancé does want to sue! My mom keeps saying just wait and see it'll get better! I am INFURIATED! I've called my Drs office numerous occasions and have yet to actually speak or even have someone speak on my behalf to my doctor. I keep getting brushed off with "well numbness is to be expected with a rhizotomy!"
And "talk to the doctor at your follow up" or placated like a child with "aww well isn't numbness better than pain!" I even had one nurse get an attitude and tell me most patients were thankful. I am beyond livid.
You need to speak to your doctor and get the facts for YOUR CASE.
From a general standpoint the following is true. It may or may not apply to you
The simple fact is rhizotomy is commonly done as a part of MVD (its not a surgical procedure of its own at this point)
When entering the brain during MVD the surgeon frequently comes intrinsic abnormalities of the myelin at the nerve root entry zone. This requires the addition of what are called "destructive lesions" of course that sounds horrible so they say rhizotomy which is technically true because rhizotomy is, is the destruction of nerve cells. In most cases its necessary for the effective alleviation of pain. leaving them alone and going into just the MVD would cause excruciating and uncontrollable pain post operatively. All they do is simple cautery. It will usually heal in time.
You just had the surgery. One week is really not enough time to know what the long term affects will be.