>Like John & Ron ... they summed it up pretty well! I did have surgery
>but only because I could not take the abdominal pain and hellacious
>full-body spasms. I was diagnosed formally in 1994, did six months of
>research because at that time I had not even heard of this condition...
>and then got three different opinions from three different neurosurgeons.
>At that time... none of them were really apathetic towards surgery but
>they weren't pushy either.
>Even at the best hospitals like Craig Hospital in Denver [Englewood
>actually] ... they will tell you that there is only a 50-50 chance of
>relief. Also... the shunts that are put into drain the syrinx into a
>body cavity usually do not last more than three years or so. Having a
>syrinx (collection of natural cerebral spinal fluid) forming within the
>spinal cord makes paralysis a piece of cake for most of us. But I would
>not choose surgery unless you are losing movement. I was desperate
>because of the pain and spasms but my first surgery nearly killed me
>because of the arrogant surgeon and I had to have it redone (another
>nightmare that almost killed me). I now will not let even the best of
>surgeons get near my spinal cord unless I am on my last life.
The current preferred surgical treatment of syringomyelia is untethering
the cord and collapsing the syrinx, not shunting (because, as you said,
they get blocked.) Check threads on this in the CareCure forums
(sciwire.com.)
Alan
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