Congrats on blitzing the 'little bugger' Sue...also I was very interested to learn that your neuro recommends radiosurgery over microsurgery...did he say why?
Regards
Derek
Hi Derek,
My first appointment with a neurosurgeon was on a Monday and he said that actually my doctor would be a different doctor and I would see him on Friday and he would go over my treatment plan. So, I waited until Friday and then my husband and I met with Dr. Modha. He is a neurosurgeon but he does radiosurgery also. He told me that the treatment of AN's varies across the country depending on the area and the doctors. He said that for him, there were too many surgical patients who ended up with permanent paralysis of the face (across the country, not specifically his patients!) and he listed the risk factors for me, such as stroke. Perhaps he thought that with my medical history of diabetes and my age (I'd just turned 60), that microsurgery was too risky. He said "Microsurgery is a very big deal." Having said that, my newest ENT thought that neurosurgeons were not so fond of acoustic neruomas and that I should have seen the ear surgical specialist that I can never remember the name of. He said "They LOVE AN's". Then he kind of shrugged and said, "well, this will take care of it too" or words to that effect. But he seemed disappointed that I hadn't opted for microsurgery instead. And I thought...Hey, YOU get an An and have them open YOU up, if you like surgery so much, buddy" Or words to that effect!
Anyway, I think my doctor likes to play with big machines! Obviously, if my AN had been much bigger, I'd be telling a different story.
Thanks everyone for the cheers. Always nice to hear, even if it's mostly in my right ear!
Love ya,
Sue in Vancouver USA
