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Neurology  (Expert Forum)
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CT scan reveals frontal mass
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MedHelp Member's Question

CT scan reveals frontal mass

by Jbob701, Feb 16, 2006 12:00AM
Hello, this is second and final post under Neurology (per Medhelp rules).  Please refer to the following previous post from 2-11-06 for reference and description of my symptoms:



http://www.medhelp.org/forums/neuro/messages/34095.html



I respectfully ask you to view the CT films I've posted at the web addresses below and tell me if you think there's a chance this mass could be causing my symptoms (by vascular, nerve, bone, or brain compression, etc...)



http://hometown.aol.com/jbob701/index.html



http://hometown.aol.com/jbob701/page1.html



http://hometown.aol.com/jbob701/page2.html



(these images are posted in order of the slices and are of high quality)



Doctor, I fully understand you cannot diagnose me over the internet, and promise that I will not take your opinion over my doctor's. I simply request that you give your best (informal) opinion as best you can with the information I present...

After seeing these images, if you maintain your stance that it's benign muscle contraction stiffness headache, then would botox or muscle relaxors be a good start?



As a final note, I feel I should add that I left something important out of my description from before:  Often when I look sharply to the left or right, sometimes my eyes "bounce back and forth" several times before going back to normal; this makes me very dizzy.  This is in addition to the very stiff feeling in my forehead/top of head muscles and constant dull headache which I described in my last post.



Once again I thank the Doctor, Medhelp, and The Cleveland Clinic for making this possible.
Doctor's Answer

by CCF-Neuro-M.D.-PW, Feb 21, 2006 12:00AM
I cannot formally read these images - they are only a few of the entire CT head sequence. The mass does seem to be extraxial (that is outside the brain) but I cannot confirm this without seeign the other images. It also seems outiside the sinus (within the bone), but some intrasinus massess like abcesses have the potential to erode into the brain. Again I cannot confirm this or not without interpreting the whole scan. Some similar bony tumors are associated with neurofibromatosis, so have this checked out ( a genetic syndrome also associated with cafe au lait spots on the skin and bony and other tumors)



See the previous posting re the headaches as in all commonimity this is still the case



Good luck
Member Comments (5)

by Kdogg42fb, Feb 16, 2006 12:00AM
Bare with me as I try to be as breif as I can. I need to help my wife. She is 25 years old with Harrington rods put in her spine when she was 14 for severe scoliosis. I do not know the degrees of the curves at the time of the surgery. All I know is at the time it was considered the most severe case that had been seen. Ok now for the current problem. About six months ago she started expreincing sharp shooting pain and numbness down her legs, Mainly the left leg. This was also associated with sharp and dull constant pain in her lower back and hips. It has since also moved to neck and shoulder blade area. She also has swell over her whole body. We have been to several doctors and he is what they have done. We started with her general practioner Dr. Turkington in Gainesville, VA. This appointment was main obtain a referal and a direction of where to go and get some help. Dr. Turkington refered her to Dr. Whatenmaker a orthopedic surgeon in Leesburg, VA. At first he was pretty sure that it was a herrinated disk in her lower back and neck that was causing all this pain so he had her get an MRI of both regions. All the MRI came back negative for a bulging or herrniated disk. At that he thought that it might be in her nerves so he refered her to Dr. Ospina a Neurosergon with Neurosience Consultants in Reston, VA. He Imediately wanted to rule out MS, Lyme Disease, and Lupus. She had Scans done of her Brain and lab work done. No lesions or markers showed up on the any of the test. So that was great news. The only problem is we were back to square one. What was causing this pain. Dr. Ospina thought that maybe spinal fluid was leaking in her back so he then refered her to Dr. Hasassian a pain and intervinous specialist. On two seperate occasions Dec. 11 2005 and Dec. 22 2005 he injected her with a type of steriod one in her lower back(Dec. 11) and one in her neck(Dec. 22). The lower back one did not do anything for her at all. The one done on her neck worked for a couple of hours and then she was worse off then she was before. So Dr. Hasassian bascially turned her loose cause he did not no what else to do of how to treat her. We have been to several other doctors with the same results. I am at my witts end all I want to do is help my wife. Does anyone have any advice?? I want to know who are some of the United states and world's most renowed Dr's That know how to treat someone with multi-level fusion. I don't care where the are or how much it cost I want the best of best. She is suffering everyday. Please someone Help her.

by Citizen T, Feb 16, 2006 12:00AM
To: Kdogg42fb
Kdogg,  I wish I knew what to tell you to do.  There are a couple of things I want to point out    



1) i've been reading these forums a long time now, and the doctor only replies to the original poster 99% of the time, and anyone who replies to your question may or may not have a clue what they're talking about (beware)    



2)  I have done some research for you given your location, I would personally suggest that you take your wife for an evaluation at John Hopkins in Baltimore...you appear to be not so far from there in Leesburg, VA... this is a major school of medicine and it will benefit greatly to go there.





Good luck with that

by Kdogg42fb, Feb 16, 2006 12:00AM
Thank you Citizen I will look into John Hopkins I appreciate your effort.

by TessFox, Feb 18, 2006 12:00AM
To: Kdogg42fb
I’m sorry that your wife is having such terrible pain and other symptoms. I have a brain disease and can relate to both the pain and frustration of finding the right doctor(s). You all are already doing the right things. Your asking questions and researching. Also always get a second opinion (at very least two).



I agree with what citizen t said. Here are some other things that I have found helpful. One of the best websites that I have found is US News and World Report. Every year this magazine reviews/ranks the nations hospitals, clinics, etc. They also offer a ton of other useful medical info. Here is a direct link http://www.usnews.com/usnews/health/best-hospitals/tophosp.htm



If you have a problem with this link just go directly to their website: usnews.com You’ll see column off to the left called America’s Best listed in this column are things like: Best Colleges; Best Health Plans; Best Hospitals. Click on Best Hospitals. They rank the nations hospitals, clinics, etc. from best on down. They rank them overall and then they rank them in categories like neurology, heart, etc (the best hospital/clinic to go to if you have a heart/brain/etc problem). I have found this very helpful. They provide a wealth of information. They also provide links to the websites of these places which is also very helpful. Like when I was researching hospitals, clinics, doctors, etc I got on the hospitals/clinics websites, went under the category I was looking for (neurology) then clicked on the list of doctors. Most sites will list information about each doctor. This can be a great start in researching/finding the medical care that your wife needs.



John Hopkins, Cleveland Clinic, Mayo Clinic are all great places but still check out the US News and World Report website. Also each hospital/clinic like Cleveland Clinic, John Hopkins, Mayo Clinic, etc websites all offer tons of great information. Hope this helps. Good luck.



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