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can Chiari heal itself?

I am asking for my little cousin, male 8 yrs old, has had history of horrible headaches and recent problems with thyroid, also vision change prompted the pediatrician to do and MRI.  The results show a 8mm Chiari.  The neuro surgeon(in Kentucky) suggested to wait until next year to check it again.  THE END   So the ped doc got him an appt in May with a Neuro and in July with Neuro Surg at Cincinnati Childrens.  The nurse of surgeon on the phone said that this neurosurgeon would not operate on a Chiari that size and said "we have seen Chiaris 11mm heal themselves"  Needless to say that upset his mom.  Because she is so worried about this and the school is now wanting him to be homeschooled bc he can't keep up and has h/a all the time.   I told her they are reading a report from the other dr and in May they may take another MRI and change their minds.   I am wondering about the nurses statement and also if she should maybe seek a dr somewhere else.  Maybe Cleveland?
Thanks for your opinion.
Tracy
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Avatar universal
thank you
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1306714 tn?1327257080
If you had to have either one I would ask for the Sine MRI because it shows more and if he had to have one they should do the one that would show more.  Wishing you the best.
Linda :)
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620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER

  The best way to answer is to explain the difference btwn a CINE MRI and a reg MRI.

A reg MRI is a snapshot..a still picture.

A CINE MRI is a moving picture like a video of how the CSF moves and they monitor ur BP to see if the CSF pulsates along with ur BP, this can not se seen in a still pic,
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Avatar universal
Thank you so much for the explanation!  I will relay this information!  One more Question.  Should a CINE mri be done or is a regular Mri sufficient?
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620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER

  Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.

I have to admit I like that surgery was not suggested and the reason I say that is bcuz u never know if surgery will help or hurt....

  As for Chiari healing itself....u need to know what Chiari is and isn't....Chiari is the malformation of the skull.....the herniation is not Chiari...so what they r referring to as healing may be acquired Chiari or low lying tonsils...this can happen from a blunt force trauma to the head...some times these herniations can retract...while still herniated the low lying tonsil can cause the same symptoms as congenital Chiari....but a malformed skull can not correct itself.

The biggest problem those with Chiari face is there r not many well informed or experienced Drs with Chiari.....
U will need a true Chiari specialist to see if he has other related issues/conditions...such as an obstruction to CSF....ICP, POTS, sleep apnea, tethered cord,disk issues, ....

Many of us with Chiari do have thyroid issues, we r prone to auto immune and connective tissue disorders, Hashimoto's thyroiditis is an suto immune thyroid condition that switches btwn being hyper and hypo....

We do have a list of Chiari specialists compiled by the members here, however, NOT all Drs on the list may be true specialists and not ALL Drs treat children,....so u will have to use the list as a tool to research the Drs...as the list is NOT a referral.

Off hand I know there is a Dr Frim in Chicago that treats children, and the Drs at TCI in NY also treat children, and there is a Dr in Orlando, FL.....

But make sure he is tested for ALL related conditions b4 surgery is discussed, and make sure it is affecting his health more then just the symptoms u mentioned, as many times as I mentioned b4 surgery can make some feel worse.

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