Dear Dr Tumble,
Firstly, please accept my apology for writing so late.After reading=
your post I am really deeply concerned about my daughter, Aneeshas well bei=
ng.I would like to clarify that she does not have Chiari therefore her tonsi=
ls were not touched…secondly it was a duroplasty only …no fusion …p=
rior to this surgery she never complained of balance issues or headaches, or=
anything serious, accept the obvious Scoliosis…
Initially she was having major problems in focussing her sight,headaches,sli=
ght numbness in the hands and a feeling very weak and major swallowing issue=
s…thus we were told that she had developed Hydrocephallus after the surg=
ery…
The doc advised a wait n see approach…and then suggested an MRI after two=
months…which I assume you are suggesting also.
He also said that the brain has ways of adjusting after surgery and that may=
be things would get better afterwards…
Well she no longer has the issues in focussing, has over come the swallowing=
issue ,very few headaches once in a while , and that too at the sight of th=
e surgery ,hardly any numbness her hands…only some in the left fingers an=
d is now walking a bit on her own…though she gets tired very easily…=
But sometime I feel that her speech is a little slurred …that too if I li=
sten closely…She sings well but her voice is not as strong as it used to b=
e while singing before the surgery…we are still waiting to get the MRI d=
one maybe next month…hoping for some good news…I am still not sending=
her to college as I am afraid to…though she wants to go…we will def=
initely question her doc about the odontoid peg and Basilar Invagination…B=
ut do you think that is the head was really sinking in and the odontoid peg w=
as really pinching into her brain…would she have felt better and the sym=
ptoms gone ??..
Will keep you updated with what is going on …please do keep in touch as y=
ou have no idea how much your update helps us and is a great support for us.=
.
Wish you all the best…
Regards,
Ambareen
The MRI is the right test. Anything else is just guess work.
The fact that she is improving reduces the chance that this is basilar invagination.
Dear Dr Tumble,
The las test report of aneesh as MRI shows no change in her Hydrocephallus, though there is a 40 percent change in her syrinx…it says that it is becoming less now after the surgery…though it has not completely disappeared. She no longer has the same issues she was having after the surgery…except for the sleep apnea…her neuro surgeon says that it’s ok to go ahead with the spine surgery for her scoliosis Since the syrinx is becoming less.But I am worried that the sleep apnea or the syrinx which is still there can be life threatening during the surgery? Please to suggest what ever you feel needs to be done for this? And is it really ok to go ahead with this surgery even if these two issues are underlying there?
Anxiously hoping to hear from you…
Regards,
ambareen
Sleep apnea is always a concern but something they can watch while in the hospital.
Sounds like things are going well, with improving symptoms and syrinx.
What you describe(proceeding with surgery) is the same thing we would do in the US.
Thanks for your advice…It is a relief to know that you feel things are a bit better and that it’s ok to go ahead with the surgery…So kind of you to take out time to reply back…Regards
Dear Dr Tumble,
I am again writing to you to update you with my daughters surgery for scoliosis.Aneesha was admitted in the hospital and had to return from the theatre as her surgeon Said that he was not comfortable to go ahead with the surgery as he says that her spinal cord is causing a king in the cervical and that the surgery for spine means traction and that the traction will be fatal as it will give pressure on the odontoid peg and this might poke into the brain .He said that his neuro surgeon pointed this out in the theatre ,amazingly Aneesha had a duroplasty last year…which resulted in the lessening of her syrinx to a 40 degree but caused Hydrocephallus and central sleep apnea…and yet her neurosurgeon gave a go ahead with the scoliosis surgery…the SSEP machine doesn’t seem to give proper signals after the duroplasty surgery …which is also a major requirement for her spine correction surgery…And yet her scoliosis surgeon was ok to go ahead with the surgery until his other surgeon backed out…Now we are helpless and hopeless…we don’t know what should be our next step? Please help us with your sound and valuable advice as you have in the past…Hoping to hear from you,
Regards,
Ambareen