I had my MRI and neurosurgeon appointments on Fri. He confirmed that I have compression on both my 5th & &7th cranial nerves. My MVD surgery is scheduled in 2 weeks with a highly regarded Neurosurgeion, Dr Patel, in Charleston, SC.
My dad is very strongly advising me to get a second opinion.
My question is, if I can indeed find another NS in my area that can fit me in to look at my MRIs in the next 2 weeks, if they do not do MVD surgery, will they be able to diagnose me?!
I am exhausted looking for doctors and being in pain and dealing with appointments. If there is no need to go to another NS, I certainly don’t want to. What do you think? I trust my doctor, and also know a second opinion would be nice…but just don’t want to waste anyone’s time.
Thanks in advace for any info on this.
Danielle
Hi Danielle, did you make a decision to go ahead with the surgery or get a 2nd opinion? It seems to me that you have done all your homework, seen the doctors you need to see and have a documented diagnosis on MRI - if it was me, unless I had questions about the doctors surgical abilities, I would go ahead with the surgery and quit going around in circles. At some point we have to take a leap of faith.... take care
That is a tough one, but I say go with your gut. I am 16 days post MVD. I did not get a second opinion because I felt that my neurologist was my first opinion. He diagnosed me, treated me the best he could for several years, then recommended I look into surgery. I did my research and found a surgeon that I really I liked and had a good reputation. Once I met him and was able to get on his schedule, as Gail said, you just have to take the leap of faith. Good luck with your decision and keep us posted!
I had MVD surgery at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore in March of this year. I also have hemifacial neuralgia and many other things wrong with me. I had more than one opinion and then was more confused. I had tried meds, etc., but nothing was helping. Here is what sold me on my surgeon at Johns Hopkins. He had done numerous MVD's and is the only one who did a MRI (Fiesta) to confirm that I had TN. So I thoroughly trusted him. If you feel this way, I would go ahead with it. The surgery helped my TN, but because I also have the HN, which my surgeon tried to correct but couldn't, I still have some problems. I had to have a 2nd surgery--nothing to do with TN--two weeks ago. I would still have done the MVD if I had to do it all over. I have done tons of research on this and feel it is the best option. I am 62 years old and with other health problems and that makes recovery more difficult, but the surgery itself should go well for you.
I called a friend that is a neurosurgeon in the Navy and he made a phone call to a friend of his at MUSC (the hospital I had MRIs and will have surgery) and asked him to look over my MRI and give his oppinion. He aggreed with the original diagnosisi of compression on both my 5th & 7th cranial nerve. I will be having MVD surgery on 10/27/14, from Dr Patel at MUSC in Charleston, SC. He is highly regarded, well known, and everyone else refers him to do MVD surgery. I feel like I am in great hands and CAN NOT WAIT to have the surgery, so I can finally be pain free!! Thank you all on this site! Without you all, I would have never known what I had and would not have been able to diagnose myself and get to the correct doctor. This site has helped me so increibley much, I can put it into words. THANK YOU ALL FOR YOUR TIME, SUPPORT, AND HELP!!!