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06/08/2007: "The Nail Meets the Hammer"
Yesterday Jeanette and I met with another Neurosurgeon. Near the beginning of this search I had called Dr. Michael Wynn in San Ramon. He had performed my colon and port surgeries and his work was so impressive that I thought he might know the top neurosurgeons in the area. He didn’t hesitate to recommend the Dr. Randall and Dr. Dickinson at Pacific Brain and Spine - www.pacbrain.com. Thursday Jeanette and I got a chance to meet with Dr. Dickinson and go over my condition.
The doctor took his time to learn some of my medical history and then looked at the films that we had brought. There was no hesitation in his recommendation. Much like our first opinion, his recommendation is to completely replace the C7 vertebrae as soon as possible. He took the time to go into detail about his concerns for the surgery and how he would expect the process to take place. Working at the front of the neck initially, he would remove the bone and replace it with a polymer and then attach it to the vertebrae above and below with a plate and screws. If everything went well and there was not too much blood loss, I would be rolled over and a similar process would take the rest of the bone from the back of the neck. Another replacement part and more plates would be put in to reinforce this area as well.
Apparently tumors in the bone area have a tendency to be very bloody during surgery and heavy blood loss is one of the doctor’s major concerns. If this occurs the surgery will be split into two days. Naturally, working around the spinal column, major arteries and nerves that control my arms and legs are a given risk in this procedure as well.
From Dr. Dickinson’s explanations and actions, it was obvious that he is very confident and strong in his work, “specializing in the exotic.” It is good to have a cocky brain surgeon, right? Eden Medical Center in Castro Valley www.edenmedcenter.org has a new high-end neurosurgery facility that is his domain. What was surprising to us was how quickly he worked to set up the surgery. In minutes of the decision to move forward, he had me scheduled that day for blood lab work, x-rays, and a CT scan. And the surgery is now calendared for THIS Monday morning! I will check in at 6am for a procedure to try and block some of the blood flow to the vertebrae tumor and then full on surgery around noon.
Feeling confident that we picked the best surgeon and the best facility, I’m convinced that it is better to do this sooner vs later. Something this scary is not what I want to dwell on for too many days. Though surgery is always a risk, I think I am mostly worried about recovery. It looks like I will be in some pain for a while and laid up for about six weeks. I have spent a week in a hospital on two occasions and those both drove me crazy. I am also not the best of company while on narcotic painkillers. So please pray for my caregivers, and me. Wish us luck and send good energy my way on Monday.
Jeanette has offered to post our status and updates to the blog while I am out of commission.