Return of symptoms?

[DSH519]

Had malformation type 1. Had decompression surgery in April 2001. Recently many of the same symptoms have returned.  Should I call my neurosurgeon or have mri done first. Anyone heard of symptoms returning basically overnight?  Had blockage in 2001 and they did patch, removed part of C1 and electronic shrinking of the tonsils. Numerous ct scans have come back negative for syrinx and they can find nothing wrong. Can the patch eventual.y fail.

[DSH519]

Also, I have done all testing for other disorders.  No markers for ms and neck ct comes back clean for damage other than surgical.  Nothing wrong with blood pressure and heart echo came back perfect.  

[DSH519]

Will do. MRI is Tuesday morning. After video consult with NS patch failure seems unlikely. It was a cadaver patch that I had. It seems that the extreme vertigo with migraine indicates a problem with the base of the brain protruding. The MRI is to find out how bad the CSF blockage is and if they need to do more repair work or treat the symptoms for now. My latest ct showed slight increase in ICP so hopefully it's not bad enough for surgery. It took almost a year post op to recover fully because my NS, a Chiari specialist at the Cleveland Clinic had never seen such a bad c1 growth. Not sure at 36 I can take almost a year off work to recover, so I hope to not need another decompression. Seemed to rule out bulging disk because numbness not constant. He said that a syrinx was unlikely because of the intense ct with contrast that was done. Hope Tuesday goes well. Will post and explain results hopefully Wednesday afternoon

[selmaS]

  My patch was my own tissue harvested from my scalp to help prevent me/my body from rejecting it..the 28th of this month will be 6 yrs and no issues .....

Sounds like you had a cadaver patch if it was human.....the others are bovine, and synthetic......

I have EDS which makes me a higher risk for rejection which is a reason most patches fail...the body is trying to flush out the foreign matter.

Yes a slipped or bulging disk can cause CSF to build up, I have a bulging disk and my Drs do not want me to drive as it can cause the same drop attacks I had b4 surgery due to the herniation...

  I hope the MRI shows what is going on....do keep us posted.

[DSH519]

Not sure of what kind of patch was placed. Called my NS, and he ordered an MRI. His initial thought is either patch deterioration or a csf blockage of some sort. He believes this has been going on for a while due to symptom severity, and I have just gotten used to the pain and ignored it until I was hospitalized with extreme vertigo. He also said a slipped disk is possible below incision site which could cause similar symptoms. If I am not mistaken some form of human-like patch was used because it supposedly lasts longer. He said I was lucky to have lasted this long symptom free.

[selmaS]

  Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.

Wow you went a long time b4 having symptoms return.....so some of the post op issues may not be the cause here.....

When you said numerous CT scans were done to rule out a syrinx what areas where they of? To properly rule out a syrinx you need a MRI of the cervical, thoracic and lumbar spine as a syrinx can form anywhere in the spine...some Drs only check the cervical spine.

Next were you tested for ALL related conditions ?

Many of the related conditions can cause many of the same symptoms...but a MRI since you are having symptoms should be done to make sure it is not scar tissue that has formed to create yet another obstruction to CSF f low...

The patch can fail, but typically fials sooner post op....do you know what type of patch you had placed?