Lymphatic and Skin problems post treatment

[nattyc21]

Hello fellow ANA warriors.  My name is Natalie.  I found out I had an AN tumor (2.7cm) back in 2023.  I had surgery (10/23) that was done with the translabyrinthine approach. I lost all hearing on that side, among many other things that I know many of you are also experiencing. My tumor is now 1.7 cm. so, I underwent gamma knife in April 2024.  A few months after having gamma knife, I started having issues with my scalp (dry scaly itchy etc). Shortly after the scalp problems/infections started I had abnormally swollen lymph nodes on the side of my treatment. I am 38 years old and have never had either of the issues before.  I was wondering if anyone else has experienced similar issues after gamma knife.  I have talked with my PCP, dermatologist, and Neurosurgeon.  I am getting conflicting information about whether or not this could be related to the gamma knife or not. So I guess I just want to know if there is anyone else out there with a similar story.  Thanks for listening!   

[donjehle]

Hi nattyc21,

I'm sorry for all you have had to go through in your treatments for your acoustic neuroma.

I understand from reading a few of the posts on the Forums that radiation can dry out the skin for some patients and cause flaky or scaling skin.  This does not appear to be a common result, but it does seem to happen occasionally.  I am not a physician; I have just read a few posts on the forum whereby some patients state this, but there are not a lot of posts which makes me think it is not very common.

[mwatto]

This sounds like it could be thyroid related. Might be an idea to get your thyroid tested. I have exceptionally dry skin and low thyroid. Was told no medication but to eat two brazil nuts a day for the selenium (my endo and doc). For very dry skin especially on legs I use emu oil or jojoba  then a cream or even vaseline. I moisturise twice a day. I also in winter used a bath oil which made a big difference too. I also take biotin 3mg now and again and fucoidan. This has improved it. I live in Australia so easy to buy. I also recommend you check your Vitamin D3 status. If you have had covid this might also be a reason for the dryness.