Nerve resection surgery by Dr. Ducic

[TomBVA]

I have seen some older posts on occipital nerve resection surgery performed by Dr. Ducic (formerly of Georgetown), I am wondering how any of those patients have fared over the long term?   

I met with Dr. Ducic this week and he recommends the surgery for me to provide a likely solution to the root cause of my daily headaches.   I am hopeful but a bit nervous and trying to learn more from fellow patients.

I had retrosigmoid on 7/31/13 at HEI.  Headaches began daily at approx 4 months post-op.

Thanks for any feedback on Dr. Ducic and long term success of nerve resection surgery.

[staypoz]

Search for Lizard and Janet, who have both posted about their very positive post-surgery experiences.   

I understand your hesitation.  I saw Dr. Ducic about 7 years ago and decided I didn't want to undergo yet another surgery.  I got an occipital nerve stimulator implanted and it, and time, have helped tremendously. 

Good luck with your decision and I hope you find some relief from your head pain soon.

staypoz

[TomBVA]

Thanks, staypoz!  I have connected with Lizard and Janet.  They were so kind to share their experience and knowledge of this subject with me.

I will be pursuing surgery with Dr. Ducic.   I will repost later.   In the meantime, please keep your positive vibes coming my way and to all other AN'ers that are suffering from occipital headaches.

Best,
Tom

[Zinnia]

As a fellow daily headache sufferer I hope you find relief soon, Tom. If you don't mind me asking, did you need to try Botox or occipital nerve blocks first in order to see if you were a good candidate for surgery? Wishing you all the best.

Edie

[TomBVA]

Edie,

I asked Dr. Ducic that very same question.  He said it would be unnecessary to try Botox or nerve blocks because he knew exactly what I (the patient) was presenting with.  This was a damaged nerve as a result of retrosigmoid surgery for AN removal.    There was no need to fiddle around with botox or nerve blocks to diagnose what he already knows is going on with me.

He recommended the nerve surgery as the way to provide relief from the nerve related headaches.  I plan to get the surgery at some point in June.  Will post again later.  Ask questions at any time.

Best to you,
Tom

[Zinnia]

Tom,

Thank you for your reply. That's very good to know. I'm feeling pretty desperate at this point and I'm considering sending my information off to Dr. Ducic for consideration. I'm in WA so I don't know if it's common for people to travel for the surgery or not but I'm certainly willing. I just started with a headache neurologist that has me in the initial stages of Topamax and I should probably see it through although it doesn't seem to be helping much yet. Would you mind describing your symptoms a bit? I feel like my headaches have been a mixed bag of sorts so I'm a little unsure if I fit an occipital neuralgia diagnosis. My neurologist may try a nerve block at my next appt. and that should help us to know more but the appointment isn't for some time.

Thanks and feel free to PM me if you'd rather. Best wishes to you.

Take care,
Edie

[TomBVA]

Edie,

A fellow forumite, Janet from Seattle, WA traveled to see Dr. Ducic.  You should speak with her as well.  She gave me great information and is a medical professional herself.  You can search for her posts and send her a PM. 

In terms of my symptoms, my headaches are daily occurrences and always originate in the the same area.  They begin around the skull base on the AN surgical side and travel up to the top of my head along the path of the occipital nerve.  If I don't take Advil the headaches will radiate around the front of my head above my eyes.  Usually Advil will temporarily slow this down, but this is a daily battle.

Definitely talk to Janet your fellow WA state AN patient.   I will also post more, it looks like my surgery date will be June 9th with Dr. Ducic.   Feel free to ask more questions.
Tom

[Zinnia]

Tom,

Thanks for your reply, Tom. Yes, that is exactly some of the pain I'm experiencing. It's pretty constant and can end up with pressure behind my forehead and eyes. I also have a major headache about twice a week that is completely debilitating and excruciatingly painful. I'm not sure if it's also related to ON or not. I also have a lot of pressure in my head and it hurts when I cough or sneeze. Do you relate to that at all?

I will contact Janet. I'm just north of Seattle so that's very encouraging.

June 9th is very close. Sending lots of positive thoughts your way.

Edie

[TomBVA]

Thanks for your positive thoughts, Edie!   

I don't know about the pressure feeling, but I am sure that when you get bad headaches you feel it every which way.  I can relate to hurting after sneezing, that does shake things up in a bad way.   Sounds like your occipital nerve is injured and angry and letting you know about it through a lot of pain.

I recommend that you hear what Dr. Ducic has to say, and you can see how things turn out for me, next week.  I will probably not re post for a week or so after surgery so I can heal up, but as soon as I think about it I will post an update.

Please keep the positive thoughts for my surgery and I of course am pulling for you to find relief.
Best, Tom

[Zinnia]

Tom,

Thinking of you today and wishing you a speedy healing and recovery!

Best,
Edie

[TomBVA]

Edie,

Thank you for your good wishes!   I am one week post-op from the occipital nerve resection.   I am still sore from the surgical procedure, which will last 2-3 weeks.  I have some pain meds that are helping with the soreness. 

I am cautiously optimistic that once I heal from the surgery that the headaches will be greatly reduced.  I won't know for sure until this healing process runs its natural course.

I have the sutures in for 2 more weeks, so I will use that date as a time to make any declarations of progress, but I am hopeful.

Please keep me in your thoughts, as I do for you and all of our fellow AN'ers dealing with headaches.
Best,
Tom

[Zinnia]

Thanks for posting how you are doing, Tom. I sincerely hope that you are recovering well and that your headaches are lessening. I know it's probably a slow process, though. I will be anxious to hear how you are doing. Hopeful for you.

I have made contact with Dr. Ducic and heard back this week that he thinks he can help me. Now I need to find out about all the logistical matters like insurance, travel, etc.

Please keep us posted on your progress.

All the best to you,

Edie

[TomBVA]

I sent Edie a PM with an update, but for those that may be following on the forum and may be wondering here is a brief version:

I had the sutures removed on Monday (3 weeks post op).  The area is still very sore/tender, which is to be expected.  I am off the post-surgical painkillers and just using some advil a couple of times a day.  This is a good progression, though you do need the painkillers for the first couple of weeks after.

The most encouraging news is that the occipital headaches have faded away.  The nerves that go around to the front of the head (the trigeminal nerve, I believe) are a bit active as it is wondering what is going on but an advil a couple of times a day calms that down.  (Dr. Ducic says this is normal as the nerves are accustomed to communicating with each other and that this will settle down with a little more time).

I am pleased with the results so far and will be going to see Dr. Ducic for a three month follow-up in late September.   I must say that I am very pleased and once the soreness subsides, I will be beyond pleased.

Anyway, I will post more later over the next few weeks so anyone interested can follow along.  I encourage anyone who had retrosigmoid AN surgery and has developed headaches that they can't solve to contact Dr. Ducic.  Don't let convenience of where you are located deter you, he is an expert in treating this and is worth the travel to the DC area.

Best wishes and recovery to all.

[staypoz]

Congratulations, Tom, and I hope you continue to be headache free. 

staypoz 

[shull]

Hi Tom,

Sorry to bring up an old thread but considering the nature of chronic headache I was curious as to how you are fairing this long after your operation.

I had AN retrosigmoid surgery Sept 2014 and have been suffering from constant headpain that varies in intensity from mild to the worst pain of my life pretty much ever since. I'd elaborate but it sounds very similar to what I've been reading from so many others on this forum.

Thanks,
Steve