If you have read my previous article on Trigeminal Neuralgia, you know how devastating this disease can be to the sufferer. It has been described as the worst kind of pain, even worse than childbirth. It is also known as the “suicide-disease” because the pain is so excruciating that people actually welcome death and some have committed suicide as a result.
As stated in my previous article, my sister Josie’s mother-in-law Betty has been suffering from this horrible disease for close to 3 years now. She has gone to a handful of physicians where she lives in Northern California. Unfortunately, she only went to pain management specialists and not qualified neurosurgeons or neurologists. After some research here in San Diego, I was able to find a well-known specialist at the University of California. Dr.Alksne is a highly distinguished and published neurosurgeon at UCSD Medical Center and also a professor at the UC San Diego School of Medicine. Fortunately, Josie was able to make an appointment with Dr.Alksne, for Betty. Last week, she flew Betty down here to see him. During the consultation, he determined that Gamma Knife Surgery would be the best type of treatment for her.
Pre-Op Procedure
Fortunately, Dr.Alksne scheduled Betty for an appointment quickly. Just yesterday, she went in for her pre-op appointment.
1. She watched a video explaining the procedure and what it would do for her
2. She was given an explanation of what she would feel and exactly what side effects she may encounter. Side effects include: headaches and nausea.
Day of Procedure
Today is the BIG day for Betty. From 11:00- 3:00 PM Betty will be prepped for her procedure and ready to hopefully rid herself of this terrible ailment. Here is a general overview of what is going to happen.
- Gamma Knife Head Frame is fitted: Gamma Knife Surgery is non-invasive, which means, they aren’t going to open her up! The only “invasive” part would be to fit the head frame. Betty will be given a local anesthetic and they will screw some pins on the side of her head to keep the frame in place. It looks scary, as they’ll give her shots in her temples. However, it should be quick and painless.
- Image Test – Then, they will give Betty and MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging). Other imaging tests your doctor might give would include: CT or Angiography depending on what your diagnosis. Then, 4 doctors will review the results and determine the best way on how to attack the nerve that is causing the pain. This might take a little while, because they want to make sure that they get it right on cue.
- Procedure- Finally, Betty will be wheeled into the Gamma Ray Knife Machine and she’ll lay down and her headframe will be attached to a collimator which will distribute the gamma rays precisely.
- Afterwards, Betty will recover for a short period. They will remove her headframe, put some bandaids on the sides of her head and she should be ready to go home later today.
credit:mybiomedical.blogspot.comOur fingers are crossed! I will post an update on how it went tommorrow.
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