Surgery Updates

We just got home and Melinda’s in bed resting. She feels very tired and a bit “off”. No travel or lifting for at least a week.

Dr. Nyquist (ENT) just called: all went well, the scar tissue in the pathway was growing inside the cavity where the cyst is and preventing drainage. They removed the extra tissue and put in a permanent stent hoping to prevent this from happening again.

She’s doing well, they’re giving her pain meds. I haven’t seen her yet, but if she’s feeling okay in an hour or two, she should be able to go home today.

She’s out of surgery and awake. No details on the surgery or going home yet. I should get to see her in about a half hour.

The nurse called to tell me surgery is just starting. Everything’s good so far.

They just took her into surgery. They said it could be 1.5 -3 hours depending what they see when they get in there. They will update me every hour.

Arrived at Jefferson at 5:50 and Melinda’s checking in. Not sure what time surgery is yet

She just called and is already feeling better. She’s very happy the surgery was so short and that she’s going home today.

Melinda’s out of surgery already! The nurse said she should be back in her room soon. We’re waiting for a call from the surgeon before we can go see her.

I just spoke to the ENT doc. He said everything looked really good and went well. They didn’t have make the bone opening any larger. They increased the opening a bit by removing some scar tissue and were able to insert a small stent and some steroids. We should get to see her soon.

He said she’s probably going home today!

Just got a call from the nurse. Surgery has started and she’s doing well.

The doctor finally called around 11:00pm to tell us a room would be ready for her in the ICU. I just dropped her off. Surgery is scheduled for 8:00 am but they still need to do CAT scans and blood work first.

The ENT doc was able squeeze us in today—which unfortunately meant we had to leave Anna’s funeral luncheon early and rush to Philly. The doctor confirmed that the “tunnel” has at least partially closed or at least closed enough that fluid may not be able to pass through. After some discussion and a call to the neurosurgeon, he said surgery could be scheduled for Thursday, 5/30.

He’s seen the recent MRI and confirmed that the cyst is back. He’s going to talk to the ENT doc to schedule an appointment so he can check to see if the “tunnel” they added to her sinus cavity has closed.

Melinda’s symptoms are back. Double vision, nearly constant head aches and frequent migraines.

I saw Dr. Farrell Wednesday, 2/28. Even though I look well, both of my surgeons reminded me that I had brain surgery & it’s expected that I have pain & constant headaches for now. It’s hard to be patient some days…

Procedure went well & he provided a helpful description of my cyst. The cause is a lack of ventilation in my skull, the petrous apex, behind my right eye. My recent surgery made a vent or opening that will allow the cyst to drain. I’ve had many questions from concerned family members about the cyst & hopefully this explanation is helpful.

The cyst is expected to return, but it can drain thus alleviating pressure on my optic nerve (double vision), carotid artery, and overall headaches. Yay!

It is expected that I may need a future surgery to maintain the opening.

I am planning to return to school after spring break as long as the double vision doesn’t return. Yay!

Thank you!

Melinda

I has nose & sinus cleaning this morning. I will have it done again in 3 weeks. No exercise, strenuous activities aggressive nose blowing or sneezing. My ENT surgeon said all looks good & he is optimistic about the drain working! He also reminded me that healing after brain surgery takes 6-8 weeks & headaches will likely continue for awhile. I can already breathe better!

I’m grateful for all of the caring support, well wishes, positivity & love. I’m feeling better and vision is beginning to improve. I’ll have follow-up appts in 2 weeks. Until then…

Dan has returned my phone to me, lol. Happy to chat & text as I try to taking it easy, puttzing around the house.

Love ,

Melinda

We just got home. She’s having a bite to eat, then a quick shower, then bed. She’s pretty tired still.

She just called—I’m going to to the hospital around noon today to pick her up! This discharge could be quick, she said they need the beds. That’s good for us at least.

Melinda asked me to try to explain what they did—as best I can, you know, being non-medical personnel :-).

First, because people have asked—no, to our knowledge they did NOT put a shunt in. What they explained was that they were going to go through her nose and deep into her sinus cavity. From there they planned to drill a small hole through the bone in the back of the sinus cavity and into the petrous apex, where the cyst is located.

The plan is to keep the hole open in order to give the fluid a better place to go rather than gathering in the cyst. To keep this hole (or tunnel) open, they planned to use a small piece of tissue and/or cartilage from the incision inside her sinus cavity and kinda push it through the hole so it heals that way and supports the opening. They said they’ve found this method to works better and heals faster since it’s using tissue already present and attached in the area.

They also hoped to remove other “obstacles” in the area to make this tunnel as clear and open as possible but without creating an overly large hole. I think that means removing bits of bone and “stuff”. They did however, warn us that there’s always a chance this tunnel will clog or grow shut.

Melinda will be going back in a couple weeks for a check up and probably more MRIs to see what’s happening up there.

Melinda texted early me this morning and said “Doc came by. Going to send me home…maybe around 11:00am”.

Melinda texted me last night and said she finally got into a room around 7:00pm. She’s eaten a little and said she was tired and her head hurts. They will be checking on her every 4 hours. It looks like she’ll be coming home tomorrow.

She said there’s a chance she could go home tomorrow!

I just saw her. She looks and sounds so much better than last time. She said I just missed the surgeon but he said everything went really well and they were able to open a clear pathway and that it looks good. Her nose bleeds a bit so she has what she called a “nose diaper” on. She thinks her vision is already better!

She has her phone but will likely keep it shut off for the night so please, don’t reach out to her unless she contacts you first.

But, she just called and said to come to recovery for a quick visit. I can see her briefly then I’ll probably be heading home.

That is all.

The nurse just called to tell me that the surgery went well and Melinda’s in recovery. She’s still in pain and they’re giving her some meds. We can’t see her yet…they’re waiting for a bed. They’ll call me again when I can go see her.

She’s still in surgery and everything’s going well.

The nurse just called to tell me surgery has started.

They just wheeled her down. They’ll update me in about an hour or so.

Every doc and their residents explained their part in the procedure and that this is a much more favorable route to get to the cyst. They seem confident that they’ll be able to open a pathway to allow drainage into the sinus cavity. They don’t know how long this pathway will remain open and they don’t know how soon the cyst will come back.

It’s still in a very tricky spot, against the carotid artery so, to be safe, full removal doesn’t seem to be an option.

She’s admitted and “roll away” is scheduled for 7:30am. My mom and I are sitting with her now listening to the nut in the bed next to us. The surgery is expected to take about 4 hours.

We got here a few minutes ago. Admissions opens at 5:30am.

We just found out it’s called an “Endoscopic Endonasal Approach for Resection of Lesion”. Sounds fun, right?

The hospital just called…we have to be at the hospital this coming Monday at 5:30am for admission.

We met with the ENT surgeon who’ll be working with the neurosurgeon on Monday. This time around, the surgery is slightly less invasive and is expected to take about 4 hours. No time has been set yet.