Hi, from what I have read from other's that have had the surgery, it depends on the dr as to how much hair is shaved.No one can say how quickly the chiari may progress.I hope others that have had surgery will offer some info.
Good luck
Godspeed
"selma"
As a general rule; Yes, waiting can be very dangerous and cause severe problems. Not to scare you, but there is no cure for Chiari. There are pain meds that can help with pain, there's therapy that can help with over-all body symptoms for awhile, but none of those cures it.
Even surgery doesn't actually cure it, but it does bring about the most relief from pain and problems. And the surgery can cure Syringomyelia. Surgery is the best option for a recovery - you still are considered to have Chiari, but it can give you much needed relief and can last for years or decades or even the rest of your life.
Nothing else works anywhere near as well as the operation - in My Humble Opinion, everything else is just putting off surgery!
Make sure you have a Neurosurgeon that is a Chiari specialist. Make sure you are comfortable with him/her. Then try not to worry. At that point it's all in God's and the Doctors hands. There's nothing to do but wait - I know that's the hardest part, but here I am typing to you and I'm 7 months post op! You'll be fine.
As for the haircut . . .it's just that - a haircut! It'll grow back out. I'm a guy so I can get away a little better even with being completely shaved bald, but you'll only have a section of the back of your head shaved - if you're hair is any length at all, it will hardly show anyway. Ask Lovemygirls to show you her scar/hair. She's about 5 weeks or so post op and you wouldn't know without staring at the back of her head looking for the scar.
You'll get progressively stronger day by day. It'll take about a month or two before you'll feel like working, - the first week or so is pretty bad, but by week three you'll be able to get out and about some (you'll still get tired quickly), and my the fourth or fifth week, you'll be able to make extended outings, and by the sixth week or so you can return to light duty work. All these times may vary of course.
Keep in mind that I'm not a health care specialist in any way, just someone that's been through it and talked to other's that have been through it.
We zipperheads have to stick together :)