Hi. I was thinking that upon my consult with my neurosurgeon that we would do another Gammaknife procedure when the suggested best way was to do MVD. (See my blog)
At that time I totally forgot to ask what approximately is the length of time for this operation. I would appreciate hearing from you who have had this done Thanks
Chippy
Its different depending on what they find but I would say somewhere around 5 hours...Good Luck!!
Ed. Thanks. I had been guessing around 3 to 4 but as you say everyone is different. I will consider being “out” as a gained few hours sleep I have been missing lately LOL
Chippy
I had two compressions…less than two hours!
There is no average…your anatomy…when exposed…is when the clock starts!
Nothing like 12 hours or such i believe!
I had 3 compressions, my MVD was 3.5 hours.
I spent 3.5 days in hospital and flew home 2 days later.
Mimi 
Good way to look at it...That last month before my surgery I spent 30 days and nights on a lounge chair in my liuving room because I couldnt sleep with the pain. Realize mine was 30+ yrs ago so I am sure they are quicker and more proficient now. Good luck I am sure you will do just great!!
Chippy said:
Ed. Thanks. I had been guessing around 3 to 4 but as you say everyone is different. I will consider being "out" as a gained few hours sleep I have been missing lately LOL
Chippy
I had two compressions.....less than two hours!
There is no average....your anatomy.....when exposed....is when the clock starts!
Nothing like 12 hours or such i believe!
Many thanks to Mimi and KC Dancer. This site has so many good people who have answers to questions which need answering. When I had my consult even though we were with the doctors for two hours neither hubby or I had even considered the “how long” question.
As I am a great worrier (ha-ha - not warrior), I do like to be prepared. I know things will be okay but I have now got to psyche myself up. I have already been guesstimating date of surgery to see which hotels are available and where nearest restaurants are.
Thank you again for your input and I will advise of surgery date and when I do I would hope you will wish me well well in thought and prayers
Chippy
Wow! I'm on the waiting list for an MVD (and getting grumpier by the day, I was seen start of April and the list is supposed to be within 5 months) and my surgeon said all craniotomies are kept in for a week. He's right, I'm an agency nurse and have had a look at their care plan on the neurosurgery ward. A week will drive me insane! I have heard that you need at least a month off work possibly two?
Mimi said:
I had 3 compressions, my MVD was 3.5 hours.
I spent 3.5 days in hospital and flew home 2 days later.
Mimi :)
Poison ivy
Wow! I'm on the waiting list for an MVD (and getting grumpier by the day, I was seen start of April and the list is supposed to be within 5 months) and my surgeon said all craniotomies are kept in for a week. He's right, I'm an agency nurse and have had a look at their care plan on the neurosurgery ward. A week will drive me insane! I have heard that you need at least a month off work possibly two?
Mimi said:I had 3 compressions, my MVD was 3.5 hours.
I spent 3.5 days in hospital and flew home 2 days later.
Mimi :)
Wow! I'm on the waiting list for an MVD (and getting grumpier by the day, I was seen start of April and the list is supposed to be within 5 months) and my surgeon said all craniotomies are kept in for a week. He's right, I'm an agency nurse and have had a look at their care plan on the neurosurgery ward. A week will drive me insane! I have heard that you need at least a month off work possibly two?
Mimi said:I had 3 compressions, my MVD was 3.5 hours.
I spent 3.5 days in hospital and flew home 2 days later.
Mimi :)
Poison ivy. I am sorry you have to wait that long for your MVD. When I first had my Gamma I was in within 10 days and now for my MVD it is only going to be no more than 6 weeks. I am nervous but excited about the outcome with being able to go out without a scarf (winter white cozy or large red/white with winter design) regardless that I may have shorts and t-shirt
With all meds I find I am getting more zombie like and unfocused. How are you going to spend your time in getting by. I know if I am having a really bad pain day I have 2 classic t-shirts. One has Grumpy of the 7 dwarfs with his grumpy meter and the other is one I got from a TNA conference which says “when I am in pain I am a pain”. It also has a smiling happy face in the middle. Funny t-shirts help.
Good luck and keep us informed -even of your bad days as we all need a friend to vent/talk/complain to who will not judge as we are all going through this together
Chippy
I am also seriously considering and MVD, but haven't been able to see a neurosurgeon yet. If I could just add another question... do you have to wean off meds before the surgery or do you do that after? I sure hope it's after! I can't imagine being med-less...
I’ve had two MVDs- one on each side. The first operation was almost 5 hours and 8 days in hospital. I’m ten weeks out from number two operation- it was about 4 hours and 6 days in hospital
Chippy of course I’ll be sending positive thoughts !! Prior to my MVD I read the MVD group here from beginning to end, helped me feel prepared and get a good idea of all the different scenarios…great tips and tricks included there…((( hugs )))
I was in remission when I went to MVD -- crazy I know
BUT -- 3 months later had to go back on low dose for another 3 months -- then it was gone!
Almost everyone go to MVD on meds and then wean off after
REMEMBER - it can take up to a YEAR for all to settle in your head !!!!
Wow 6 weeks! I am going through our public health system, when I am at work in the hospital on Tuesday I am going to go to the surgical booking clerk and just make sure I haven't been lost in the waiting system. I don't think my private health insurance would cover an MVD here. There's nothing like gamma here, the closest is in Australia (which I would probably have to pay for as they could argue there are other treatment options here). I'll be posting on here when I get my MVD, maybe I should do a little blog which may help people (I'll be bored after all, stuck in there for a week). Yesterday I had to take my glasses off, today I can't wear them at all (thank goodness my vision isn't really bad and I can still drive without glasses). Tramadol takes the edge off but it does make me all woozy after a while. Plus I am on epilim which wears me out too. I can't wait to try and get off the meds!
The 2 funny tee shirts I own say "Keep Calm and Eat Cupcakes" and the one when I am grumpy is "That's Queen Bitch To You" :)
Chippy said:
Poison ivy. I am sorry you have to wait that long for your MVD. When I first had my Gamma I was in within 10 days and now for my MVD it is only going to be no more than 6 weeks. I am nervous but excited about the outcome with being able to go out without a scarf (winter white cozy or large red/white with winter design) regardless that I may have shorts and t-shirt
With all meds I find I am getting more zombie like and unfocused. How are you going to spend your time in getting by. I know if I am having a really bad pain day I have 2 classic t-shirts. One has Grumpy of the 7 dwarfs with his grumpy meter and the other is one I got from a TNA conference which says "when I am in pain I am a pain". It also has a smiling happy face in the middle. Funny t-shirts help.
Good luck and keep us informed -even of your bad days as we all need a friend to vent/talk/complain to who will not judge as we are all going through this together
Chippy
Oh and I have had TN for 2 years now (started March 2012) and only just got to see a neurosurgeon this year :(
I believe my surgery (2 artery compressions and same neurosurgeon as KC Dancer) took about 3 hours. One of the arteries though was twisted around the nerve so that likely took a bit more time to fix. I was on a full dose of Tegretol ER at 1200mg divided into 6 doses a day and stayed on that until about 6 weeks after my surgery. The pain was already breaking through pretty badly at the time of surgery but afterwards, I only felt fleeting sensations. Dr. Casey wanted me to stay on my meds for a few weeks to let the nerve settle down and heal a little. I slowly weaned off over 3 weeks last December and haven't had any pain at all and I'm in my 11th month now since surgery. Occasionally, I feel a very slight "sensation" on just one trigger area of my face but it's just a "touch" with a big ZERO on the pain scale. It's actually become very infrequent now. I think that is just my nerve finishing up its healing or maybe just my tiny "reminder" at how blessed I am now to be out of the pain.
Thank you! Good reminder about full recovery time...
Kc Dancer Kc said:
I was in remission when I went to MVD -- crazy I know
BUT -- 3 months later had to go back on low dose for another 3 months -- then it was gone!
Almost everyone go to MVD on meds and then wean off after
REMEMBER - it can take up to a YEAR for all to settle in your head !!!!