Great news and best wishes!
Loopylooper.....I'll be interested also as I am from Chicago area also.
Please keep us updated on this doctor. If someone on this site has surgery with him and recommends him, I will put him in my spreadsheet. It would be nice to have some more experts on our list.
Hope some of you have found your answer, best wishes to you! Hoping you soon get to live a pain free life.
Surgery in Two Days!......Hey everyone, Sorry I've been gone from this forum after I'd gotten so many good responses. I've mostly been living my life trying to keep my mind of the constant discomfort I'm in. The good news is I had my consult with Dr. Slavin....He has been an excellent communicator with me...both before and after my appointment via email. He's gonna cut my styloid right down to the base of the skull and remove as much of my ossified ligament as possible. I will be back to give details on my results! He did say it's possible for the vagus nerve to be involved, as they follow the same path..
Loopylooper, I will be waiting to hear how everything goes for you. I think you are in good hands and am interested in hearing how Slavin's management of the surgery parallel's or differs from Dr. Samji's of San Jose. I believe best practice when possible is to go to the base of the skull and check for ossification with the ligament as Slavin plans to do - this approach parallels Samji's. Has Slavin given you any idea of what to expect post-surgery in terms of recovery? Has he indicated if you will be hospitalized and if so, for how long?
Alright....I'm two days post OP with doctor Slavin and I must say my recover is going rather quickly. I actually went for a bike ride today! Pain is minimal....I think I lucked out comparatively to others regarding pain levels. So far all the dysphagia and feeling in my throat is gone....and it seems like my other pain is gone as well, but it's difficult to tell with the post op swelling/pain. I think I'll eventually need to have the other side done as well, I may talk to my doc about expediting that process. My symptoms are minimal on the left side, but it seems that the symptoms always follow a trend into worsening. I'll post again further down the road after I've healed a bit more. I can definitely say that my Experience with Dr. Slavin thus far has been nothing but excellent.
Oh I'm so glad to hear you are doing well!!! So tell us about the surgery....external approach?....and did you stay in the hospital and for how many days??? My "migraine" doctor is at U of C, so this may be a good thing that you have introduced Dr Slavin to me/us. Thank you. Please share you details about the surgery when you are feeling up to it.
Loopylooper said:
Alright....I'm two days post OP with doctor Slavin and I must say my recover is going rather quickly. I actually went for a bike ride today! Pain is minimal....I think I lucked out comparatively to others regarding pain levels. So far all the dysphagia and feeling in my throat is gone....and it seems like my other pain is gone as well, but it's difficult to tell with the post op swelling/pain. I think I'll eventually need to have the other side done as well, I may talk to my doc about expediting that process. My symptoms are minimal on the left side, but it seems that the symptoms always follow a trend into worsening. I'll post again further down the road after I've healed a bit more. I can definitely say that my Experience with Dr. Slavin thus far has been nothing but excellent.