My Mom has md and is considering surgery to "destroy' her inner ear (not sure if I am saying this correctly.) She has tried changing her diet, medications, everything, but it still happens for her. Has anyone had this surgery and if so, would you recommend it, what are the pros and cons, was it successful? Thanks for your time.
If you really want to get responses, I suggest you post this in the "living room" section of the forum, where most people hang out.
Sholly, that's so funny, I was just in mdln's other post telling him/her the same thing at the same time you were posting this! Great minds think alike! ;D
The con's are certainly the destructive nature of the procedure. The point of no return. If she truly has meniere's, it may help as it has some. If she doesn't have meniere's and is misdiagnosed, as there are other disorders that share similar symptoms and many are misdiagnosed, then the surgery wouldn't work and the permanent damage to her ear would be for nothing and provide no relief. That is why a person must try everything else first.
Agree with Burd, IF (big if) you have a proper DX surgery may be the best thing for you, it was for me. But if misdiagnosed surgery could be the worst thing you could do.
If you trust the Dr., ok, if not, my advice would be to get a second opinion. Good Luck to you and your family.
Surgery gave me back my life. I think the right way to think about it is you are removing a diseased part of your body. I was very afraid of surgery from postings when I first came here. The above advice is correct, that you have to rule out Migraine Associated Vertigo and make sure you have MM. BUT, this is not so hard to do. My other advice is to go to a top surgeon who does this surgery all the time. Again, very doable. I recommend you search this site for other surgery threads, there has been so much posted. In our database here, Dr. Rauch also provides some awesome, short and concise videos about surgery and the odds....very high relief %s offered for the laby and vns. Lisa
VNS surgery does NOT destroy your inner ear..it is a surgery where they separate out the nerves and cut the balance nerve so you will NEVER EVER have a Meniere's attack again. I actually gained hearing and lost some fullness. I wish I would have done it 7 years ago. I had an excellent surgeon who only does these surgeries...You are in the hospital 3 days at most, usually 2...and then a 1 week to 2 week recovery. I would do it again in a heartbeat. I am frustrated I waited so long, as well as all my family and friends who helped and saw me through all the rough attacks, contact me if you want. Best of Luck, Nicole Orlando FL
