Michelle,
SBI stands for Skull Base Institute. It is located in California and they do minimally invasive surgery where an endoscope is inserted into a small burr hole to remove a tumor. Instead of an electronic microscope, the surgeon peers into a computer screen where the image of what he is doing is highly magnified. The surgery takes much less time than conventional one, so less chance to have complications and less anesthesia are an added bonus. The scar is only 8-9 stitches.
I did lose my hearing in my first surgery but my facial nerve was saved. I had post-steroid facial weakness which completely cleared up after 2 years. The worst part post-op was pain which lasted for 10 years. Anybody who has those headaches knows what I am talking about and how interrupting they can be to one's life. I am not sure what I was afraid more of the second time around - facial paralysis or pain. Potential for no pain was what attracted me to the endoscopic method because if the surgeon goes through the existing metal plate with which my original hole in the head is covered up , then the body does not feel any pain because it is the bone, muscle and nerves hurt, not metal. I was right on that one, thank God! There was no pain whatsoever, I did not take morphine after surgery and not even Tylenol.
The reason I refused radiation is because radiation was not really easier than surgery, just different. No matter what I did, I was a complicated case. I decided to go with surgery this time and save radiation for later if the tumor recurs again many years later.
The tumor regrew because it was not all taken out originally but I was told after the surgery that it was. There was a piece left because, as my original neurosurgeon finally said, "it was hard to reach and extremely friable". No tumor is hard to reach with an endoscope and all neurosurgeons nowadays have access to gels and substances that control bleeding. The remaining piece was treated as a scar tissue when it finally started growing. It was monitored for 9 years and then taken out. You can read my story at
http://thebraingang.wordpress.com/2008/10/01/eve-kotovich/ Scott, a member of this group, created this website to hold the stories from other members in the hopes of helping others.
Good luck to you, Michelle. I hope all your issues resolve. In my case they finally do but they sure take their time.
Eve
