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Decompression in Utah Dr. Gaufin?

Hi,
I am new here. In fact I just logged in for the first time!
I was diagnose with Chiari about 1 month ago. by a neurologist
who thinks that it has nothing to do with my headaches, and numbness
dizziness, ect... After doing my own research on Chiari I have come to believe that she
is a bigger idiot than I had previously thought. After haveing the EMG's of both me arms and legs
come back fairly normal I decided to ask my PCP for a referral to see a neurosurgeon.
On Monday April 19th I have an appointment with a Dr. Gaufin in Provo Utah.

Has anyone ever seen him before? If so what were your thoughts and impressions on him and how he
handled your case?

Thanks,
Kate
3 Responses
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Avatar universal
hey there.
as the others have said, welcome......i recently had chiari surgery (more emergent circumstances) on feb.11 and my recovery has been a rocky one.  you doing your research prior to the appointments is awesome.  my EMG was normal also. my chiari went undiagnosed and missed on MRI's since 2006!! thats when my very first "incident" happened. the chiari eventually grew to the point where it temporarily paralyzed me, made me viciously sick to the point where my family rushed me to the hospital thinking i was having a stroke. im 32 and in very good health prior to all of this!!!
If your symtoms do not get better (which they wont) see a true chiari specialist and weigh your options for the procedure. read up on what others say on here to. they have alot of insight on the functioning of life before the surgery and after.  
good luck.

jil
Helpful - 0
620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER
HI and welcome to the Chiari forum.

There r many NS out there that will do this surgery...however, do plenty of research to be sure u have a true chiari specialist......

The EMG I had the dr said it showed that the issues I was having was a nerve issue....it proved that I did not have tarsel tunnel, which another dr had done surgery on me for it....it will show normal...bcuz u do not have a pinched nerve...but it shows that teh issues r  related to the chiari.


Please see our chiari specialist thread and research the drs on it....the list is compiled of drs names from the members here...who they had been to and liked.


Glad to have u as part of our little family here, sorry the reason u had to seek us out.

"selma"
Helpful - 0
1179332 tn?1297478990
Hi Kate

Unfortunately, I live in Canada so I can't give you any advice on the DR. However, I just wanted to say that I am so glad that you are moving in that direction...those symptoms are like the top 3 Chiari symptoms!!! I don't know how those DRs can say that!

Anyhow, I was told my EMG came back "fairly" normal as well but my NS said that it probably would as it isn't a very good test when it comes to detecting effects of Chiari. Is Dr. Gaufin a Chiari specialist? If not, if you don't get very far with him I would recommend trying to find one. We have a thread here of Chiari specialists that members have used and liked.

I really hope that someone can comment on the DR for you! Take care and let us know how it goes!
Carolyn
Helpful - 0
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