Day 25: Transphenoidal Surgery

Transphenoidal surgery


So, as some of you may recall I already underwent transphenoidal surgery back in September 2010. The procedure itself was not really painful but recovery was a long and painful process.

Rather than explaining it in words, I have found this video on YouTube which is very easy to understand and provides some good visuals. I opted not to show you a graphic/live version partly because I don't want to watch it myself. If I have to go through it again I don't think I can bear seeing it in such details. Feel free to search YouTube yourself for those videos.

Contrary to what this Dr says, after surgery you have a lot of packing (bandages) placed in your nose. This is done in order to prevent any kind of leakage from the wound which could be very serious. Actually, the most painful part of the procedure was removing the packing a couple of days after.

So now to the pros and cons. Well without going into extreme detail like listing all the possible things that could go wrong with the surgery itself e.g. adverse reaction to anaesthetic, damage to optic nerves or carotid arteries. Here are a couple of things that are a serious threat (I compiled this list using information I found from reliable sources i.e. people who've suffered these problems post-op)

• CSF leak (CerebroSpinal Fluid is the liquid that surrounds the brain and spinal cord) - I think it's pretty obvious why it would be a bad thing to be leaking brain fluid...
• Developing Diabetes Insipidus - This is not the same as the commonly known diabetes. This one causes excessive thirst and urination
• Developing a serious infection at the wound site i.e. in the sinus
• Damaging the pituitary gland - this can lead to many complications including messing up other hormones which are also critical to functioning

On the other hand, transphenoidal surgery has some advantages over other treatment options:

• Minimally invasive
• "Been there, done that" i.e. I know what to expect as I've been through it before
• Good chance of remission
• Less likely to have to be on medication for life

What do you think? Would you want to go through this? AGAIN!

Here's what I looked like after the first one