Mri's post surgery

[stephSF]

Hi.  After surgery, how often do the dc recommend mri's?  Mine will be translab if that makes any difference.  Thanks , steph

[CHD63]

Hi Steph .....

Recommended follow-up MRIs seem to vary a great deal from patient to patient and doctor to doctor.  My first surgery was retrosigmoid approach ..... first follow-up MRI was in six months, then each year on the anniversary of surgery was supposed to be for I think five years (did not get that far because I never had a "clear" MRI post-op).  After my second surgery (translab approach) last May, I was told first MRI in one year, if clear then next one in four years, if clear no further needed.

Clarice

[leapyrtwins]

Surgical approach makes no difference.

Frequency of MRIs post op depends on the doctor and his/her protocol.

My doc (neurotologist) believes in annual MRIs for the first 5 years.  If they are all clean, he lets his patients change to MRIs every 2-3 years til they hit their 10 year anniversary.  After that, I'm not sure.

Jan

[Jim Scott]

Hi.  After surgery, how often do the dc recommend mri's?  Mine will be translab if that makes any difference.

The definitive answer to your question is: it varies.

I underwent an MRI immediately following my debulking surgery then another 90 days later as I was 'mapped' for FSR treatment.  I had an MRI at 1 year post-op and another six months later.  My next MRI was at 2 years post-op.  It was 'clear', as were all the post-op MRI/FSR scans, and my next will likely be scheduled in 2013.   Obviously, should symptoms re-appear, I would schedule an MRI sooner but so far, so good.

Jim 

[schmidtkat]

Hi Stephanie,
I'll chime in here too. Just from the posts I've read so far I'd have to agree that the frequency of MRIs post-op varies. The message I was given was to have an MRI done at 1 year post-op. If it is clear, then a repeat at 5 years. If that is clear, I'm a closed book. Whew, how I'm hoping to close that final chapter and put the book on the shelf!
Kathy

[Syl]

Steph:

My Dr's plan was for me to get post-op MRIs the first 2 anniversaries, then another at the 5 year point. A tiny speck of the tumor was left behind because it was too close to the facial nerve. Although she was certain that it would die off, she wanted the follow-ups.

I ended up getting an extra  MRI around my 3rd anniversary, too. My face was acting up & I requested that one. I'm coming up on my 4th anniversary. So far I'm clean. No plans for an MRI this year.

Syl

[LakeErie]

Just had a three month surgical follow up Monday, the 16Th. I had a large tumor and the MRI done
the day after surgery showed approximately 90% of the tumor removed. There is residual tumor because the tumor was very adherent to the brainstem and nerves involved. The surgeon told me Monday there is a good chance I will need further treatment for regrowth, but nobody knows for sure, so he wants to wait until Oct 2012 for a one year MRI instead of Gamma Knife now.
My point is that, as others have already stated, the MRI schedule depends on a lot of factors, mainly your surgeon's opinion and experience. My surgeon has over 600 AN's done and said he cannot predict which patients will experience regrowth from residual tumor and which will not. He added, "nobody can."