MVD Diary - Victor Kwan
I ended up getting a MRI and I even went to see a Neurosurgeon here in Toronto (Canada) but I was not confident in him and I remembered through our HFSA support group that there was a Dr. Kaufmann in Winnipeg (Canada) who was very experienced. By the end of 2006 I contacted Dr. Kaufmann's nurse Janice and she arranged for MVD surgery for May 29, 2007. I did all the preliminary tests and filled out all the necessary paperwork, I informed my employer when I would be leaving, my work already knew beforehand what my intentions were, so everything was a go. I booked plane tickets for Winnipeg (Canada) and room reservations at the Lennox Hotel, next to the hospital, for my family and I.
Monday May 28, 2007 - The Day Before:
My brother-in-law Rick drove my family and I and Rick's wife Peggy, who also came along with us, to the airport early in the morning. We said goodbye to Rick and soon we were boarding the plane to fly to Winnipeg, it took about 2 1/2 hrs to get there. We took a taxi to the Lennox Hotel and went to our rooms to unload our suitcase and then headed towards the hospital. The hotel is connected to the hospital by an underground tunnel and when I arrived at the hospital I registered and then went to the neurologist station and met Andrea the receptionist and Dr. Kaufmann. Dr Kaufmann is a very kind and understanding man and I immediately felt comfortable with him as he describes what he sees on the MRI and what he was going to do regarding the surgery. We talked for about an hour, he answered all my questions and I remembered I was thinking how I made the right choice to come here.Went to have lunch and then later met one of the registered nurse, who as me, had a lot of questions. Finally I met the anesthesiologist and he told me what he would be doing during the operation.
Went back to hotel and later had dinner at a Chinese restaurant. Then went back to the hotel. I had to fast from midnight on; I slept well that night.
Tuesday May 29, 2007 - "MVD-Day":
Woke up early and took a shower and got ready to head to the hospital as I had to be there by 9:30 AM. I went to register again and then went from one station to the other and finally was brought to the 3rd floor. Once there I was told to undress and put on a hospital gown and the tight stocking for my legs. I was wheeled to the pre-op room by 11:00 AM and waited there with my wife. Nurses would come to put an IV in and ask me questions. Next Dr. Kaufmann, his assistant and the Anesthesiologist came to talk to me. By 12:00 PM they were ready to wheel me into the operating room and I said "see you later" to my wife Daisy. I took a look around me, I noticed some people in there and I notice how small the room was. The nurse put another IV in and told me to breath into the gas mask, next thing I know I was in la la land.The nurse woke me up in the recovery room, I noticed the clock indicated 4:00 PM. Looks like I've been knocked out for 4 hours and I remembered thinking I made it. I also noticed that I still had spasms. I rested and slept there for the next 4 hours and at 6:00 PM I was wheeled to the ICU unit where I would be staying. I couldn't eat the dinner that was brought to me and I noticed my head hurt a lot and I felt nauseous. The nurse gave me something for the pain and nausea. I was awakened about every hour or so and the nurse would ask me who I was, where I am and the date, so I didn't sleep very well that night. Once in a while I would ask for pain killers, my throat was sore from the tube they had placed in me during the surgery, I asked the nurse for ice chips to sooth my throat, funny, I didn't feel hungry even though I hadn't eaten for a while. I couldn't get very comfortable sleeping, as my head was sore
Wednesday, May 30, 2007 - The Day After:
The nurse took my IV and catheter out and I was able to walk around a bit. I went to the washroom to wash myself and although I was a bit unsteady, dizzy and tired, it was good to be on my feet and out of that hospital bed. The Doctor’s assistant and other people came to see me and shortly thereafter, Dr. Kaufmann came in. My family was there also and Dr. Kaufmann was happy with my progress and told me I could be discharged later that day. He told me that the spasms would probably go away in 3 - 4 month’s time. He also mentioned that he wanted me to get a cat scan done, just to see how I was doing inside my head. So, after lunch I was wheeled down to get that done. I was discharged by 5:00 PM and went to the hotel where I would rest. We stayed there until the end of the week.
Sunday, June 3, 2007 - 5 Days Post-Op:
Ready to leave for the airport and head home to Toronto. I was a bit worried about the flight as I had these massive headaches and felt nauseous, but somehow I survived the flight. My brother-in-law Rick was there to pick us all up and drive us to my house. I'm glad I'm home.
Monday, June 4, 2007 - 6 Days Post-Op:
Feeling awful, I'm thinking I hope these headache and nausea will go away soon. The Dr. Kaufmann had told me they used a head clamp to clamp my head so it wouldn't move during the operation and these pins on the clamp were embedded in my head and on those spot where it had been embedded they were painful. I didn't like to take Tylenol 3 because they made me more nauseous, so I took regular Advil instead. I Also noticed that my left ear became full, a feeling like your ear under water. Dr. Kaufmann mentioned I might get that, but not to worry since the fullness would go away.
Thursday, June 7, 2007 - 9 Days Post-Op:
I noticed my nausea going away, I wasn't eating much before, but now I'm regaining my appetite. I was taking Gravel whenever I felt nauseous.
Saturday, June 9, 2007 - 11 Days Post-Op:
My headaches are getting less and less. Before I had headaches all around me and my head was numb, but I noticed today that it was now concentrated only in certain spots. I'm beginning to eat better now.
Sunday, June 10, 2007 - 12 Days Post-Op:
Most of my headaches are gone, now it is only around the operation side, around my incision area. The incision is tender still and seems to be healing well. I'm still taking Advil once in a while. My ear is ok, that muffled feeling I was experiencing is gone, my hearing is back to normal.
Saturday, June 30, 2007 - 1 Month Post-Op:
Pretty well the same thing as June 19, the headaches are gone, just the incision is tender and the area is still numb.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 8 Weeks Post-Op:
It has been 8 weeks since my MVD and I'm doing fine. I still have some tenderness around the incision and sometimes it would get itchy there. I took a picture of the incision and have noticed the bottom part of my incision formed a Keloid (Keloids are the result of an overgrowth of dense fibrous tissue that usually develops after healing of a skin injury. The tissue extends beyond the borders of the original wound and does not usually regress spontaneously). I am prone to getting Keloids, I guess that is how my skin heals unfortunately.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007 - 8 1/2 Weeks Post-Op:
Sent an email to Dr. Kaufmann's secretary Janice and I asked her about the incision and about some slight pain and numbness. She told me that it was normal and it would still take 6 - 8 weeks before the tenderness around the incision would go away.
Sunday, July 29, 2007 - 2 Months Post-Op:
I bought some Vitamin E oil to put on my Keloid, it helps to heal and flatten Keloids. Well I guess we shall see how everything goes in the future. I am planning to make an appointment with my neurologist so that she can see how I am doing. My spasms are so mild now compared to before and I hope it will go away soon. My sister Peggy is happy to see how well I'm doing as she also has HFS and is planning to have her MVD by next year. I'd like to thank everybody in the Hemifacial Spasm Association (HFSA) support group who have encouraged and supported me these past few years. Thanks to Jack for his tireless work on behalf of all of us and I hope I can also be of help to those who are contemplating getting a MVD. Thanks also to Dr. Kaufmann and his wonderful supporting staff at Winnipeg's Health Science Centre.
Thursday, August 2, 20007:
This morning I had an appointment with my neurologist and she gave me some tests to see if I would spasm and she was pleased that I didn't spasm at all, Actually, there was only a slight movement but it didn't turn into a spasm. Perhaps soon I will become spasm free. Anyway, the Doctor was quite pleased with how the surgery turned out.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007:
I had a CT Scan today at the hospital.
Saturday, September 8, 2007:
I woke up this morning feeling much better. I have no more spasms, not even a twitch. Could this be the official day? I’ll just wait and see if it is.I did develop a headache later in the afternoon.
Saturday, November 10, 2007:
Well a whole month has gone by and so far I haven’t had a spasm, so this is what it feels like to be "SPASM FREE". My only concern is I still have these headaches on my operation side, my incision area is still slightly numb, itchy and tender. I have a MRI appointment on November 30. Dr. Lyn wanted to check to see if there is something that might be causing my headaches.
Friday, November 30, 2007:
Went for my MRI appointment today, results should be in by next week.
Thursday, December 20, 2007:
Dr. Lyn has not been able to determine what is causing my headaches, she has looked at both the CT Scan and MRI but still unable to determine the cause. She asked me to go to the hospital and get the CT Scan and MRI scan and have the image put on a CD and to send to Dr. Kaufmann.
Monday, February 4, 2008:
Janice called to say that Dr. Kaufmann has seen the CD I sent and he is thinking that the acrylic plug might be causing my headaches. The acrylic covers the hole that he drilled in my head. I was told that the surgery would take 2 hours. He would take out the acrylic and suture me up, there will not be anything to replace the acrylic, I would have a hole in my head.
Tuesday, February 5, 2008:
Andrea sent me an email confirming my appointment with Dr. Kaufmann for Monday March 10, 2008 at 9:30am. It just so happens that I'll be accompanying my sister Peggy, she has a MVD surgery the next day. I will be there for her just as she was with me when I had mine done on May 29, 2007. We will leave Sunday March 9 and fly to Winnipeg and stay for a week. I will have my appointment but only to assess my incision area, once Dr. Kaufmann is satisfied that the acrylic is the cause then I will book my appointment to have it removed. I’m thinking that would be 3 months down the road as he is very busy so I will have to come back again to Winnipeg. I hope everything will be resolved by then.