Hi everyone. I'm new to the group. My husband has chiari. He had his decompression surgery at the New York chiari clinic in 2004. The surgery improved his overall symptoms by about 80 percent. He has never quite overcome the headaches. They are not nearly as bad, but they are still persistent and he is constantly on over the counter pain killers. I'm beginning to worry about his liver giving out.
For those of you that are past surgery for a few years, at what point do you decide it's time to go back in for a follow up? We're in Utah and I have little to no faith in the neurologists in this area. For his condition I just figure we need to make the trip to New York or Denver.
At the time of his surgery, it was still cutting edge treatment. I've been out of the look for a while and I'm guessing treatment has changed a lot in the last 8 years or so. What have been your experience with recurring symptoms. How do you tell if it is tonsillar herniation again or scar tissue problems? I read something about a new MRI that can show scar tissue. How common is that? What is it called so I know what to ask for?
Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Marie