I was so impressed with Dr. Guyuron when I went in for a consultation. He had me bring in a copy of my most recent CT scan so he could take a look and see what in the world was going on with my head. He seemed very intelligent and was very personable. He did send me over to see an ENT because I had a cyst in my sinus. The ENT said that I probably did not need the sinus surgery, but Dr. G seemed to think that by fixing the structural issues, I would find some relief.
Describing my headaches to Dr. G, I mentioned that my headaches start with a dull ache in the back of my neck and travel up my head to the front. I often wake up and feel like the back of my head was beaten with a hammer and then the sharp, searing pain in my face comes along. The pain would make my entire face hurt, including my jaw. Sometimes the symptoms were all over my head and sometimes I felt that I could draw a line down the middle of my head from front to back and only one side would hurt. Once the migraine had taken over my entire head and forehead, instinctively I would want to squeeze the area between my eyebrows, at the top of my nose. That particular detail was the reason that he decided that I most likely had sinus problems contributing as well. I was a little skeptical, especially after talking to the ENT, but he personally showed me the CT scan, describing in plain, understandable terminology exactly what the issues were, how he would fix them, and why he thought I would benefit. In hindsight, I am so glad I went ahead and did that surgery.
Dr. G decided to do what he called Site IV migraine surgery on me as well as a septoplasty/turbinectomy. I have heard that the Site IV procedure is basically a nerve decompression surgery on the occiptial nerve. An incision was made in the back of my neck in the hairline, (Yes girls, they do shave part of your head.. but I swear it's not noticeable, unless you are going to wear pigtails parted right down the middle) and part of the semispinalis muscle was cut from around the nerve. This tissue was then replaced with fat and voila. Sounds easy enough. For 5 days post-surgery I had a drain about the size of a spaghetti noodle coming from the back of my head. The drain was attached to a test tube that I safety pinned to the front of my shirt for the 5 day period. I do not know the exact procedure for the septoplasty/turbinectomy. I do know that there were no incisions. I had some swelling and one tiny bruise on the side of my nose. Dr. G did not use any packing in my nose afterwards, which I had heard online is the worst part. The tubing that he used was barely noticeable, in fact, I felt like I could breathe through my nose the entire time that I had the drains in. For the first two days, I wore a piece of gauze under my nose that was just taped there with medical tape to catch drainage.. after the first two days, anything was manageable with a tissue.
Surgery Day:
I was told to come in at 11am on surgery day. I was a little disappointed that I wouldn't be able to eat anything after midnight and knew I would be starving by 11. Around 10am that day, a nurse from the surgery center called and asked if we could come in early and she pretty much took my history over the phone. I was anxious and of course went in early. The phone nurse introduced herself and thanked me for coming in early. The nurse that checked me in was also very, very personable. It was so nice to be surrounded by such a friendly staff. It really made a difference in my nerves. I have also posted a day-by-day recovery blog that will hopefully answer any questions about the "aftermath."
Dr. G's website http://drbahmanguyuron.com/
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