House ear institute/ any done this year?06

[lmurray69]

 I am setting here waiting to hear from the house institute and they will give me surgery dates I hope. My husband and I  if we have time will drive there. as I have many relitives that I could see on the way.. Which will help alot. did you stay at the hospital hotel? how much was the rooms? were they nice? how about the waiting room for surgery. Did your family waite in a room or the motel while surgery was done.. they say 3 to 3 1/2 hrs..how long in IcU?  thanks ..Were you awake for this surgery..did they talk to you.? Thanks for any info..

[Joef]

web site:

http://www.stvincentmedicalcenter.com/patients/seton.htm

its like a Holiday Inn ! but on the hospital grounds only for patient families etc...

at 50$ a night its a bargin .. (It was only 40$ when I stayed in 05) and I will be there in Jan of 07 for a long weekend and checkup ...

there is a waiting room in the hospital .. God NO I was not awake for the surgery ... ICU can be from 2 to 5 days .. normally...

[lmurray69]

Really why so long....? will i be in ICU

[Joef]

I think normally its 2 days ..

if you have a CSF leak you can add another day ..The size of the tumor means more days ..  I had a small stoke,  so I added a couple more days ..

[vcschaub]

I was in ICU for just a little over 24 hours. I think that one day is pretty common as well. My surgery was middle fossa in Nov 06.

[MMV]

I had surgery in June 2006 and my husband and I stayed at Seton Hall on the grounds of St. Vincent's Hospital and it was a very good experience. We were a long way from home (South Carolina) and Seton Hall provided a support group of other acoustic neuroma families. Everyone on our floor was in some stage of pre-op or recovery from acoustic neuroma surgery. My husband had other people to talk with while I was in the hospital for three days (a day and a half in ICU). People at Seton Hall told us where the nearest drug store or grocery store could be found. We all shared stories and compared scars. I was extremely fortunate and had almost no side effects. You'll be in good hands with House Institute.

[lmurray69]

 Amylyn and I  will be there at the same time,,she has surgery the 26th of oct and mine is the 1st of nov
I am so glad that i found this site

[Crystal]

Hello,

I am currently researching options for Surgery.  I had FSR at stanford in April of 2004 and my recent MRI indicates I am one of the few patients that it failed.  My doctor at Stanford is recommending surgery as I am experiencing hemispheric facial spasms, starting in August,  so FSR again is a little risky to my facial nerve. it is 19.1mm x 12mm x something and he says it is small enough to have a good chance for success and removing it should get the pressure off my facial nerve.

Stanford is the best at Cyberknife but I am hearing that house may be the best for surgery.  I live in Seattle.  I have an appt at Seattle Ear Nov 3rd for a consultation but I have heard a number of people from up here chose House.

I have a very sick feeling in the pit of my stomach about this whole thing.  I acctually met the doctor in seattle in 04 and opted for FSR at standford at that time.  He wasn't real supportive of that decision so I don't feel good about going back to him now.  I trust the guys at stanford but am feeling anxious about the flight etc.   It has been very comforting to see the number of successes at house discussed here along with their comprehensive plan for out of town patients.  I lead a very active lifestyle and would like to think I will be able to jog and horseback ride again at some point after recovering from surgery.

Anybody out their look at Seattle Ear vs House vs Stanford?  I'm not sure actually if my insurance, regence blue-shield preferred, will let me go out of the state; they did last time because you could not get cyberknife up here.  I am leaning towards wanting to go to House after reading about all of the wonderful outcomes.  I'm going to call in and send my MRI's to them tomorrow!

Thank you!

[lmarek]

I had middle fossa surgery two weeks ago (to the day), and I'm now back home recovering very well.  I had a 1.2 cm tumor and the surgeons at the House Ear Institute (Dr. Schwartz and Dr. Fayad) were able to remove the entire tumor and preserve my hearing in a 4 hour procedure.  My family and I stayed at the Seton Guest Center unil a week after my surgery; the accomodations were very nice and the cost was only $50/night.  I was able to meet a few people who had also had the surgery and got their experiences, so I was very happy with the surgery outcome and the entire experience.