Decision For surgery!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Tina Hager

[jamie]

Hi Ron,

Wow, you had a great surgical outcome, especially considering the size of the tumor. Perhaps you could share where and with whom you had the procedure, so those considering surgery in that area may seek out that team.

[Ron T]

Hi Tina,,,just saw your post on the web site....I had my surgery on May 27 2005...I had Retrosigmoid Approach..my tumor was about on the small side of middle...2.5 cm...My surgery was done by Dr Alan Boulous with the Albany Neuro group at Albany Medical Center College in Albany NY....excellent group,,people come from Boston to have it done...My ENT doctor was Dr Stephen Parnes...my surgery was about 9 hrs long,,which included 2 hrs to set up the Halo...Neuro Dr removed 70% of tumor first, then ENT Dr...removed the tumor from my ear...then the Neuro Dr Boulos PLANEED the rest of the tumor mircroscopically from the nerves..they took some fat from my back, and put that in where the tumor was,,,then glued it...to prevent Any Cerebal Spinal Leakage...the results were remarkable..usually the room spins for a few days,, not in my case..my only ordeal was the headaches which lasted a little over a month...was on Loritab,,2 pills every 4 hrs. AND Fioricet every 4 hrs 2 pills also...I would overlap so I was taking one or the other every 2 hrs...(had to drink warm Prune juice and stool softerners Avery am..) lol...other than that I only lost some taste buds,,not to bad..and not with everthing..on my left side....my first MRI...was great...they usually want you to have another mri in 6 months...and they told me to have it in ONE year..Dr Boulous told me that if I opted for Gamma knife Radiation, which would be ok...but if the tumor Started to regrow again,,then surgery would be VERY difficult because of the Scar Tissue created from the radiation...he would not be able to remove the tumor from the nerves,,so I opted for his advice and had surgery..
I have NO Facial paralysis,my biggest concern was losing the tearing in my eye,,,that didn't happen either,,i put my contacts in 2 days after surgery with no problem at all.. my balance is great,,was back to playing golf in 6 weeks..i only lost some of my taste buds on my left side..but not that bad...good luck....

Any question..
Email me please..
Ron Trischetta
scoop@nycap.rr.com

[littlemissrory]

Tina,

Congrats on doing the research and coming up with the best possible plan for you!  As you will find out from reading all the responses, and then through your own experiences everyone is different- their recovery, recovery time, and outcome.

Positive attitude (which you seem to have mastered) is everything!  I am very active- a skier (that is my profession), whitewater kayaker, runner- anything athletic...and I do all the same activities that I did before.  I remained active until surgery (retrosigmiod May 2004), had full confidence in my amazing surgical team and took very good care of myself.  I think these all played a hand in my positive outcome.  I practiced rolling my kayak on the lake one month after leaving the hospital and two months after surgery I learned to surf.

Also, you mention not wanting to slow down.  Keep in mind we need to slow-through the curve-in order to gain speed on the other side.  Take it easy after surgery, allow your body that time to rest and heal...utilize the help from friends and family, you'll be happier for it in the long run.  Besides...they NEED something to do since they can feel a bit helpless and scared- helping you makes them feel better.

Good luck on your journey...we'll be thinking of you.  Take exceptional care of yourself.

Rory