Tumor Removal: Brain Surgery

A week ago Monday, my dad, 61 yo, went to the ER for tightness in his chest. He also had a headache all weekend long that he attributed to stress. Well after tests, they found his heart was fine and but they also found a meningioma brain tumor. It's on his left side near his temple. He is also left handed so when they did his functional MRI, to watch what happens when they ask him questions and such, they found a lot of the activity on the other side of the brain. But not all of it, obviously. 20% of his speech still happens on that side, but it appears a lot of that was used when trying to understand gibberish or a different language.

The reassuring part of all of this was that everyone has stated that if you get a brain tumor, this is the type and the location that you want (on the outside of the brain). They did an angiogram and the blood flow was minimum but was connected to the blood supply to his left eye. They actually were going to do the surgery last week Friday, but pushed it out until tomorrow afternoon. In my head this means that it's not as a time sensitive procedure which also makes me feel a little bit better, whether or not it's a real concern but he's been stir crazy at home this past week. Luckily lots of family/friends have been stopping by.

Now, I don't expect my dad to pop out of the sedation feeling peppy and being the same old dad I've known my whole life, but it's a little scary knowing everything will be different. Everything could be different. They are giving him at least a month of recovery at home with no driving.

So I'm looking for your post brain surgery stories to prepare myself for what my dad will go through. Please share.

No brain surgery stories from me (brain surgery may have helped), but I wish the best for your dad.

BTW, my best friend from high school is having major heart surgery today. Seems his heart is barely functional.

In reply to spitfirebill:

Thanks. And good luck to your buddy!

Good luck!

Good luck my friend. Be sure to reach out to the GRM community if you need anything. I'm setting sail on a similar ship as I just found out my Dad has lymphoma.

Good luck.

My dad went had brain tumor (Golf ball sized) removed almost 25 years ago. The only side effect with him, was that they had to cut through his left ear nerve and he lost hearing on that side.

A good friend of mine had brain surgery to remove a small tumor. The surgery went normally, the tumor is gone, but he emerged a slightly changed man and has spent the last three years trying to come to terms with that.

With any luck your father will emerge perfectly fine. My friend and his wife just wish that before going under the knife they had had a better understanding of the non-physical effects that brain surgeries may have on a patient.

My Aunt had a large tumor removed after many years of unknown headaches. She was no different coming out than in other than the new wig, but she had pretty thin hair before and it was coming anyway.

Best wishes your way from here. There is a reason that those guys make so much loot. They are good at what they do and make things better.

Thanks everyone. I think the more I hear about peoples experiences, the more I'm coming to terms that there will probably life before the surgery and life after the surgery. Whether the difference is only a scar, loss of hearing, or a life turned upside down.

Hurry up and wait. Tomorrow at 1pm. I'll be with my mom, and two aunts in the waiting room.

Good luck to your dad and may his surgeon have steady hands!!

My best friend in the 90's had a tumor removed from the left side of his brain. He went in to the surgery as a seemingly well adjusted, reasonable person and within a month of the operation he was a extremely combative, hyper conservative, Sean Hannity type. It was a night and day transformation. He tried to have affairs with any female he knew, Tried to fight any male he knew and was divorced and separated from his children within 9 months.

Not the kind of stuff anyone wants to hear before a loved one undergoes a procedure but it is my only story. I would have lost him without the surgery but I also lost him because of it.

In reply to Jumper K. Balls:

That's some hard stuff right there. Thank you for sharing.

I have a lot of info for you (almost all of it good), but no time to write now. Watch this space for more and try to relax, at least a little.

Thanks Woody. Trying to relax.

Having formerly been in that business, I'd say that a meningioma there found incidentally would be about the best case possible for patient outcome.

In reply to Dr. Hess:

That's been my vibe from what has been said so far. Of course it's usually from one of my parents rather than the healthcare folks since I'm not there when they talk. It's good to hear, thanks Doc.

I was hoping this was a Grassroots BrainSurgerySports post.

But anyway, a friend of mine has a brain tumor, and it's been a long hard road for him. Surgery removed most of it and they thought it was gone, but a few years later it came back. Right now he's in somewhat aggressive chemotherapy.

In reply to scardeal:

Good luck to him and his family.

That was another thing I was considering, can they know with certainty what the tumor is before they have it on a slide in a lab? They say it's not cancer right now, but...

see if they can avoid going through the nerve behind the ear so that he can maintain hearing in his left ear, that will also reduce bells-palsy afterwards. Expect dizziness and slurring of speech for several weeks if they're unable to. Other than that post procedure isn't really that bad, 2 weeks of slow going followed by another 4-5 weeks or precautionary behavior while the skull continues to heal. Obviously if it turns out to be malignant and chemo and radiation are to follow, then there's another round of fun to follow, but cross that bridge when it comes. If you or your father have any specific questions, fears or concerns, don't hesitate to reach out to me. Bless wishes, and luck, to him in his recovery.

In reply to captdownshift:

Thanks.

Sending positive thoughts. Keeping that positive energy going into the procedure will keep him thinking towards a good outcome which is important as well.

My Dad had a blood clot in his cerebellum two years ago which cause his speech, balance, motor function and more to go away very rapidly. It was extremely scary but luckily the clot cleared and he regained almost all functions and was even able to get his drivers license again. In his case he did lose some high level executive function capabilities and some of the sharpness/attention to detail that he was known for in business and life. He is still healthy and enjoying life but definitely at a slower pace.

After your Dad is past this and healthy I would recommend the book "Do No Harm" by Henry Marsh, a brain surgeon from England. Fascinating look at this specialty.

Not medical advice....

Been through it with my younger brother and a good friend lately. Both in the same spot as your dad. They will get it out with minimal issues. Lose of taste and hearing is the usual MO on the side of the body they remove it from. He will get a cool story out of it, a massive scar, and lose some weight from being in ICU for a week. Good vibes your way.

When he was 57 and about to retire, my Dad started experiencing ringing in his ear. After a series of ENT docs and audiologists, a neurologist found what he thought was an acoustic neuroma. My parents did a ton of research (pre internet). His doctors operated out of Yale, but at the time, they were only doing two of the operations per year. He visited another hospital in Florida but finally settled on one in Los Angeles, where they were doing two per month.

After the surgery, they told us that it wasn't an acoustic neuroma after all, but a meningioma, and they were able to remove it.

He was out there for a month. I think he spent the first week or two in the hospital and then the next two in a hotel.

My brother flew out to help my mother around week two. He moved him into the hotel and got him to physical therapy. I remember my brother telling me that they had to help him learn to walk again. Thanksgiving was about 18 days after surgery. They planned to go to the restaurant next to the hotel, but my father could only walk half way across the parking lot and my brother had to go back and get the car.

I flew out for the final week. My Dad could barely speak above a whisper. Loud noises were painful and the vibration from his own voice was the worst. He said it felt like an ice cream headache. His movement was very slow, but got noticeably better every day. He had a big incision behind his ear and an obvious gap in his skull where they went in. On the plane ride home, he whispered to me that he was thinking that he might pretend to be really dumb for a week or so when he got back, just to see how everybody would treat him him. Then he laughed and it hurt.

He recovered quickly and was skiing in Vermont three months later. He has always been sensitive to cold over his surgical site, and he lost most of his hearing on that side, but that's about the worst of it.

That was in 1988. My Mom died ten years ago from a boring old heart attack, but Dad is still going strong. He retired shortly after the surgery. He just hung around the house for a while, but then got bored. He became an EMT and was the most active volunteer for the local ambulance for many years. He started delivering Meals on Wheels to elderly people who were often younger and more frail than he was. He's 85 now, and has been retired for almost as many years as he worked. He's done an incredible amount of stuff since his meningioma surgery. He rides his bike fourteen miles every morning, rain or shine.

Things might look awful for the first days and weeks, but the potential for recovery is very good.

On a side note, after his surgery, one of his closest, lifelong friends confided in him that his 22 year old daughter had had the same surgery a few months before he did. They kept it very private at the time, but I know that she is doing well 28 years later.

I also mentioned my father's history to my own doctor and he assured me that it is not the type thing that gets passed down to your kids.

Thanks Woody, it was worth the wait.