Shunt!

Not a big news item, but in lieu of having my staples removed from my surgical incision (they’re starting to itch), the neurosurgeon declared upon seeing me that I wouldn’t be able to have them out until the fluid buildup issue has been taken care of. Apparently there’s more cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) in the resection area than needs to be there and is causing swelling on the exterior of my head. This is also likely responsible for the extra pain I’ve been experiencing.

So…

I get to go back to the hospital next Monday to have a shunt put in. This will route the extra fluid produced from my head to some other less-important area of my body that will take care of it.

I wrote a post on CSF during my first surgical recovery. It was rather toungue in cheek, but entirely accurate. In fact since I have a much bigger cavity from the tumor resection area this time, there’s more space for the fluid to flow and cause strange noises. Hopefully the shunt will take care of those too!

In other good news, the pathology report on the tissue removed was much better than expected. Our understanding is that the tissue wasn’t as aggressive as first thought upon when it was removed and initially tested in the operating room last Monday. So what I still have is a Grade II (slow growing) Oligodendroglioma. The prognosis or treatment options haven’t changed, but at least they still seem to have a handle on how possibliy to completely get rid of this thing.

I just want this to be over soon so I can return to normal life as can be expected.

This entry was posted on Friday, February 6th, 2009 at 11:46 am and is filed under General, Serious. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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3 Responses to “Shunt!”

  1. Cheryl Says:
    February 6th, 2009 at 4:26 pm

    Hi Jeff,

    If you ever need someone to play cards or board games with give me a call. I’m always looking for someone to play games with. May be when you’re feeling better a bunch of us can have a game night with you. :)

    Take care & see you soon.
    Cheryl

  2. JoRita Says:
    February 9th, 2009 at 5:39 pm

    Hi Jeff,
    Thank you for keeping us posted on your adventure–I mean that in every sense of the word.
    We sure do miss you here.
    BTW, I once had staples in my head to close a gash. The nurse actually used an ordinary staple puller to remove them–at least that’s what she said she was using. They were in the back of my head so no verification possible.
    Best wishes,
    JoRita

  3. Jeffrey Says:
    February 10th, 2009 at 10:06 pm

    @JoRita, there is in fact a special medical staple remover that I checked into at the neurologist’s office. It looks nothing like an office staple remover but it does look pretty handy and it did the job. I feel much better now that they are gone. Thanks for validating my experience with yours :-)

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