I had a 2.8cm AN that was removed by retrosigmoid surgery on Jan 11, 2007. Fortunately, no obvious facial paralysis (doctors can see some slight weakness when closing my right eye). I did lose all hearing in my right ear. The tumor had pretty much destroyed the nerve before they had scheduled surgery to remove it, so I was fairly certain that deafness on that side was likely. All in all, after 2 days the doctors removed the pressure bandage and my recovery has been uneventful. I have site/incision pain, limited neck mobility and mild dizziness that is triggered by quick motion of the head, which is to be expected. I also have quite a bit of scalp tenderness separate from the operative location. Some described it as having your hair pulled into tight pigtails for a period of time. I would say that is 100% correct.
So, everything has been going pretty well for me thus far. Are there any surprises that one should expect further down the road? My surgeon said to expect some post-op facial paralysis due to tissue swelling around the nerve. I haven't had that yet, should I expect it, or anything else for that matter? Or if it hasn't happened yet, it won't?
This is my first post to these forums. I appreciate you guys sharing your experiences with everyone. It helps the healing process for those of us just coming to terms with the post-op effects of the tumor removal.