MVD Diary - Carol Eaton

Surgery performed by:   Drs. Daniel Pieper & Dennis Bojrab
Surgical Location:         Providence Hospital, Southfield, MI (USA)
Surgery Date:                May 12, 2006

Diary prepared by:        Carol Eaton
Date diary finalized:      August 26,2006

 

HISTORY

In 1986 I was 34 years old when the spasms started and for 20 years I have suffered with this horrible spasm without any hope of it ever stopping. My only limited relief was the Botox injections and even that relief was inconsistent, sometimes it didn’t work as well as other times. During my last year using Botox injections it would only provide me with about 6 weeks of relief.

In December of 2005 the last series of Botox injections I had taken didn’t provide any relief at all. Then I decided to look into the Internet for answers. I located this website and through this organization learned for the first time that there is a surgical procedure to correct HFS called MVD. Also for the first time learned that HFS is related to a real physical problem. My husband is supportive of the surgical procedure like I am.

 

Wednesday, February 8, 2006:

 We make an appointment to interview my neurologist to talk about the MVD surgery. My neurologist finally did admit that he knew about MVD but did not support the procedure suggesting there was not enough evidence to prove it was worth the risk. He still recommended Botox injections as the best solution. We don’t agree. He did recommend another MRI/MRA and suggested we talk to Dr. Daniel Pieper a neurosurgeon working out of the same hospital (Providence) to see if I qualify for this surgical procedure.

 

Wednesday, March 8, 2006 MVD Consultation #1:

We made an appointment to interview Dr. Daniel Pieper at Providence Hospital in Southfield Michigan and brought with us the latest MRI/MRA films. Within minutes during the interview Dr. Daniel Pieper places one of the films on the wall viewer and points out to us the exact problem. We could clearly see a blood vessel lying on the facial nerve. This was amazing because it was the first time anyone has found the problem and indicated that it was a classic case of HFS. At long last something was visible, although not all HFS problems can be seen on the MRI, mine clearly was. Dr. Pieper indicated that he can perform the MVD surgery and expected to have excellent result. Dr. Pieper could see my face twitching and thought I would make a good candidate for the MVD surgery. He requested that I make an appointment to visit his associate Dr. Dennis Bojrab, Otology; Neurotology a base of the skull surgeon to confirm this diagnosis. Also requesting that Dr. Dennis Bojrab perform a base line hearing test and an ENOG test.

 

Thursday, March 23, 2006 MVD Consultation #2:

During the consultation with Dr. Bojrab, he agrees with Dr. Pieper that the MVD surgery should be a success and the spasm will fade away in time with minimal hearing loss. Dr. Bojrab will monitor the facial nerve activity and hearing feedback. Because the 8th cranial nerve is next to the facial nerve care must be taken in order not to affect hearing.

 

Friday, May 12, 2006 - "MVD-Day":

I am to arrive at the hospital at 12:00. Surgery is set for 1:30 PM but it is 2:30 before I am wheeled into the operating room. I am told it will take about half an hour to prep me for surgery. Around 3:00 my husband is told the surgery is underway. At about 5:00 my husband is told that the surgery went well and I am being closed up. At about 5:30 Dr. Bojrab comes out to see my husband and shows the surgical pictures he took of my surgery.

A hole about the size of a nickel is made in the back of the head near the ear. The surgeons using the endoscope to locate the offending blood vessel(s) and insert the Teflon pad(s) (see 3 photos below).



The surgery was a complete success. As soon as I recover from the surgery it becomes apparent, to my husband and I, that the twitching is completely gone, and I'm "SPASM FREE".

 

Saturday, May 13, 2006 - The Day After:

I am in ICU Friday and most of Saturday. My HFS did not fade away in time, as expected, but instantly stopped completely. Fortunately there was no post-surgical hearing loss. The only post surgery issue was vertigo and dizziness. Immediately after the surgery the vertigo and dizziness were quite severe, enough to effect my appetite. I was even having trouble just looking steady at a clock on the wall in the hospital room without getting nauseous. I could not sit up without a feeling of wanting to throw up. The worst was waking up in the recovery room and seeing that my bed is vertical and thinking that I might side off while the attending people are standing on the wall. This was extreme vertigo but that didn’t last long, after a few blinks of my eyes the vision appeared normal. Dizziness and vertigo were my side affects, which have slowed my recovery. Late Saturday afternoon I was moved into a regular room. I was put into a wheel chair and it was all I could do to sit there and not fall over I was so dizzy. I was on a catheter and could have had it removed but I said no I wasn’t ready to walk yet.

 

Sunday, May 14, 2006 - 2 Days Post-Op:

I am trying to sit up in bed and eat something. I’ve just wanted to eat yogurt, or fruit, Jell-O anything cool and fruity. Finally in the afternoon I have the catheter removed and with help I walk a few feet to the bathroom. My husband has been with me during visiting hours and is a big help with getting me up and helping me try to eat something. I do have some dinner that night. My neck on the left side is stiff and sore and I have a big cotton ball wrapped near my left ear so I can’t lie on that side. I do have some soreness at the incision area but pain meds do the trick and it is not severe. While in the hospital there are a few short term incidences were my eyelid flutters for a couple of days before I’m discharged but after being discharge and ever since there has been no flutters at all.

 

Monday, May 15, 2006 - 3 Days Post-Op:

Dr. Pieper pays me a visit today and removes my cotton bandage head wrap. A physical therapist comes in to help me with my vision problems. She has me move my eyes left and right and watch her finger and tells me to practice these exercises and of course the big one—walk down the hall outside my room. She goes with me and glides me lightly. It’s not easy but I do it. I know I can’t go home till I can walk some and eat. Everyone working at the hospital tells me the dizziness will go away soon but I’m not so sure. When my husband comes later in the day we practice walking the hallways. I eat a better dinner.

 

Tuesday, May 16, 2006 - 4 Days Post-Op:

I eat all my breakfast and I am walking with help. My husband is taking the rest of the week off work to help me at home, so the doctors release me. Hurray! My husband has the nurse give me a shot for nausea; he doesn’t want me getting sick in the car. I have my pillow to help me with the ride home, which takes about 50 minutes.

For the rest of the week I am a bit worried about the dizziness but I keep walking and trying to do things. I’m thrilled the twitching is gone. Can’t believe it after all these years.

The photo below shows the incision 5 days post-op.


 

Thursday, May 25, 2006 - 12 Days Post-Op:

I see Dr. Bojrab and he removes my stitches and tells me everything is looking good and has me smile which I gladly do. He tells me I can drive whenever I’m up to it. He wants to see me back in a few weeks and wants me to take the ABR and ENG test for balance disorders.

 

Saturday, May 27, 2006 - 2 Weeks Post-Op:

I take my first short drive with my husband to see my horse, which is boarded five miles away. I’m able to do it as long as I don’t move my head too fast. Now I’m happy. I did mention that I'm "SPASM FREE" didn't I?


 

Saturday, June 3, 2006 - 3 Weeks Post-Op:

Today I take a short bike ride but I don’t go as far as I usually do. My husband rides with me and after about two miles the bike feels unsteady at times so we go back home.

In the next few weeks I keep steadily improving, more driving, riding the bike and taking care of things at home.

 

Thursday, July 13, 2006 - 9 Weeks Post-Op:

It’s back to Dr. Bojrab and the ABR and ENG tests. The tests are not bad. With the ENG you wear special goggles that are attached to a computer for read out and you watch a red dot. Then you lie on a table and have hot and cold air blown into your ears. Since my left one wasn’t responding correctly some warm water was flushed into my ear. Once again Dr. Bojrab had me smile and was please with my recovery. He said the balance in my left ear was not responding but my right ear balance is taking over. He said my left ear balance may or may not recover fully. So I’m very please to hear all this. Dr. Bojrab told me I could ride my horse again. Hurray!

It has been a long 20 years of various stages of twitching. I’m 54 now and thanks to Dr. Bojrab and Dr. Pieper I have my face and my life back.

 

FOOTNOTE

I’m getting some major dental work done and my dentist mentioned doing a tensing procedure. This is a process that relaxes your jaw muscles electronically and makes your face TWITCH. Dr. Bojrab said that was not a good idea because that could reactivate the twitch. Therefore I recommend not having that done just wanted to let my friends know.