Hi everyone,
I posted once or twice over the last 6 months looking for advice. I promised myself I would provide information post surgery to help others looking for help.
I had Middle Fossa at UCSD (San Diego, California) with Drs. Friedman and Schwartz in September. I’m now 22 days post op and I can report that everything went extremely well. My AN was 1.3cm and the surgeons managed to remove the tumor while saving my facial and hearing nerves. My hearing is a little worse than it was prior to surgery but I can still hear in both ears! The surgeons were absolutely amazing, as well as the whole medical team at UCSD. I have dizziness but I’m walking normally and around 2-3 miles a day. If you are able, and UCSD is in network, I would recommend at least considering UCSD for surgery if you need it. Dr. Friedman is such a nice human being and he genuinely cares about each of his patients. He gave me complete reassurance and support the whole time. I have a four-year old daughter so I asked Dr. Friedman if it would be possible to not shave my hair so I could hide the incision. I woke up with all of my hair and have been able to hide the incision from her the whole time (for reference, I have medium length hair for a male).
I’m recovering well and look forward to returning to work in the coming weeks. I know unfortunate outcomes are a possibility (as with everything in life) but I wanted to share with you that very positive outcomes are possible too (especially with experienced surgeons). I believe Friedman and Schwartz have done about 3000 of these surgeries in their career. They do all three surgery types (Middle Fossa, retrosigmoid, translab) regularly and, unlike many places, are able to pick the best surgery for your particular tumor size and location. I think in general, people post looking for help and because they’re struggling (understandably), but as a result we tend to hear only negative stories. I hope my story helps people! You’ve got this!
By the way, Dr. Friedman at UCSD will do free phone consultations. You’re able to send the MRI information electronically and he’ll call you and talk through your options. I think most places require you to have your consult in person, which isn’t ideal if you don’t live locally.
