Hi, robynabc:
Allow me express my sympathy for your son and to welcome you to the website and this forum, where no one really wants to be, but where you can receive support and practical information not generally available elsewhere.
I cannot offer any specific information about Dr. Jenkins, although he seems well educated and has held a lot of notable teaching positions in his career. The important point in choosing a surgeon is not necessarily their education or awards, which always reassure us, as they should, but their hands-on experience in doing AN microsurgery. Teaching something and actually
doing it are entirely different, as we all know.This is a very complicated surgery that requires both mental and physical ability to perform successfully. The general 'rule' is that a doctor who has performed anything
less than 400 AN surgeries is still learning. Yes, thats a high standard but we're talking about brain surgery here and if certain nerves are disturbed, bad things can happen. You don't want to take that chance with your son. Why should you? Please do not be hasty in choosing a surgeon to remove your sons acoustic neuroma tumor. I would also advise you not to allow yourself to be intimidated by
any doctor. They are not gods. You have to make a decision based on what's best for your son. That is your right - and your responsibility.
My neurosurgeon was a Yale medical school grad and taught medicine at Yale university. More importantly, he had 35 years of experience removing acoustic neuroma tumors. He admitted he had not always seen good outcomes over the years, but modern techniques had made that much less common, today. The plan was for my surgeon to surgically 'hollow out' the tumor, cutting off it's blood supply, then I was to receive radiation treatments - 4 months later - on the remaining tumor. I was especially concerned about nerve damage and my doctor respected that. He brought in a specialist from out of town to monitor my nerve functions during the surgery. My medical insurance company wasn't too happy, but they paid his fee, too, and I came out of a 9 hour surgery with no complications and no nerve damage aside from what I had already developed prior to the surgery, which was minor (but annoying). Within days, my pre-op symptoms disappeared. I was driving again within 2 weeks of the operation. According to plan, I underwent 26 FSR (radiation) treatments a few months later, which were uneventful. On my last MRI scan (April 30th) the remaining tumor showed clear signs of necrosis (cell death). I had an excellent surgeon (with a great team in the OR), a very supportive family and circle of friends, faith in God's grace and a positive attitude to help me through this medical challenge successfully.
Yours son's youth will likely help him heal fairly quickly from any surgery he requires. Your support and encouragement will certainly help him emotionally, which is more important than you may imagine, especially where ANs are concerned. I wish you and your son all the best as you begin this journey so many of us here have been through. I bet you'll both do just fine.
Jim