surgery scheduled for June 16

[dave12]

Hello all -this is my first post although I have been lurking for a year or so.  I have surgery scheduled for June 16 for my 3cm+ accoustic neuroma with Drs. Wright and Monfared at Viriginia Hospital Center in Arlington, VA.  I would be grateful for any thoughts on the doctors or hospital.  I am scheduled to have retrosigmoid surgery since, according to the audiologist, I still have useful hearing in my AN ear.  I know the chances of saving my hearing are small but, being a hobbyist musician, I dont want to give up the chance and go for the translab approach which destroys the hearing. It has been my experience from consultations that neurosurgeons recommend retrosigmoid while ENT's recommend translab.  Has that been others' expreience as well?  I have been told by the ENTs that translab has a slightly better chance of not damaging the facial nerve but the neurosurgeons say that is not the case.  Any thoughts on this would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Dave

[Hokiegal]

Hi Dave, sorry to have to welcome you to the "club", but glad you found this site.  My tumor was also 3cm, and I had retro sig two years ago.  I still had pretty good hearing pre-op -- only a 30% loss at that point. 

Sorry, I'm not familiar with your hospital or doctors.  It sounds like you have had multiple consultations, which is good.  Curious, though -- being in Northern Virginia, did you consult with Hopkins?  I was on their site last night looking for research on post-surgical care, and they cite some pretty impressive results with regard to hearing and facial nerve preservation.

Your observation about surgical approach, and whether the recommendation is biased by specialty, is an interesting one.  Certainly the surgeon's training and experience will influence the recommendation, and every doctor has a unique background.  My path to diagnosis started with a neurologist, and the ensuing referrals were all to neurosurgeons.  Maybe that was because I had brain stem compression?  I didn't know enough at the time to ask, or to seek an opinion from another specialty.  I just wanted the darn thing OUT!  Sorry I have no words of wisdom here. It would make for an interesting study, though.  (Sorry - engineer - can't help myself sometimes.)

I play piano, and was worried at first about how the hearing loss would affect my perception of music.  I didn't play at all for the first month or two, then eased back in with Beethoven -- I figured that was appropriate . It was a little strange at first, only hearing from one side, but I actually believe it made me a better musician.  My "touch" became much more sensitive and nuanced. 

I was also concerned that listening to music would somehow be less enjoyable.  If anything, I now enjoy it more. I find myself picking out the different sounds of the instruments, singing the harmony instead of the melody, playing name that chord -- that sort of thing-- I think I'm just happy that I still can.  Always took it for granted with normal hearing.

One piece of advice -- if you don't ready have a theme song -- something inspiring that you can listen to in your head when you need encouragement -- go ahead and pick one.  Mine was Switchfoot's Dare You To Move.  It took on a very literal meaning as I went through physical therapy.

Best wishes to you as you begin the next phase of your journey.

[dave12]

Thanks Hokie Gal.  Your thoughts on music are encouraging.

Dave

[v357139]

Dave - My experience was similar to yours.  When hearing was not a consideration, generally (not always), I found that neurosurgeons were more likely to retro, while otolaryngologists were more likely to translab.  I think this is how they were trained.  Some prefer translab because they get a great lateral view of the tumor and also get to see the facial nerve quickly.  Some do not like this because they say it keeps the facial nerve exposed too long and subject to damage, and so they prefer retro.  They seem to propose what they are best at, most comfortable with, which seems understandable.  Most important is that they are very experienced with great track records.  Best of luck and keep us posted.