Jen's surgery...

So, by now you all know I am having surgery on 8/20/10 in Iowa City. Here is what the doctor thought and verified via CT scan...

The "cyst" in my ear is actually my brain falling down into my ear canal thru a hole that never closed after my recent surgeries. Everyone has a very thin piece of bone protecting your brain from falling down into your ear canal. I don't have a bone there so my brain, due to gravity, is falling thru. If left untreated it will be like a balloon being pulled thru a small hole. The sac of fluid surrounding the brain can pop or start to leak spinal fluid if there is too much pressure put on it. If that happens it would create a much larger problem and add on 4 days to the already 3 day minimum stay I will be having after the surgery. So, with that said, the doctor did not want me to wait too much longer to have the surgery.

The surgery will take about 3 hours: They will cut a 1 inch square out of my skull directly above the top of my ear. They will lift my brain up out of the hole and take bone graphs (from the thicker bone around it) and some muscle from my jaw area (he called this my chewing muscle) and place it over the hole. Because the surgery will be taking place inside the skull cavity and involve moving the brain around, I will be in ICU for the 1st day after surgery. They will need to watch for any excess bleeding. This will take me off work for 7 -10 days. The surgery is scheduled for a a Friday so I hope to be off the whole next week and then get back to work.

Of course because I am starting my new job on Tuesday, I had to call my new boss and tell her. She was great about it...she told me I better have my brain fixed so she can use it! The timing will allow me to get up to speed at work before taking that kind of time off.

There it is in a nut shell............Whoa-Hoo.