Just before I went on vacation last week, I talked to a local friend who had an AN several years ago. After he consulted with some local dox, he was led to a specialist who practices in L.A., as in Los Angeles. My friend raved about this doc, who removed his AN via a surgical procedure called Middle Fossa. My friend is doing great and has since sent more patients to L.A. to see the same doc.
Long story short, my friend contacts the L.A. doc as soon as we hang up and the doc calls me later that same day! He asked for a copy of my MRI and proceeded to set my mind at ease, saying that since the tumor is small, I have some time to consider what to do. He said if I select the surgical route, he believes I will do very well at USC, where his clinic is located. Oh, yeah, his clinic is called the Acoustic Neuroma Clinic. He also asked me to get a "word recognition" hearing test to send to him. I overnighted the MRI and scheduled the hearing test for this coming Friday.
The doc called me again on Tuesday after viewing my MRI. Once again, he was comforting, saying that we can definitely get this thing out via Middle Fossa. After my questions to him, I know there is a 50/50 chance of maintaining my hearing where it presently is (no chance of regaining what I have lost) vs losing it altogether on the left side, a slight chance of irritating the facial nerves, a one-third chance of the tinnitus (ringing) going away (and a third staying the same, a third worsening). I can't help but believe that the sooner we get this thing out, the better my chances of it not interfering with or complicating the things above.
Prayer points: healing, of course. Also, that I am led in choosing the best doc & procedure for what I need. That God will provide all the we need for any travel and other needs. One great thing: the L.A. doc is in our healthcare network!
Prayers up!
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