I am a 17 year old male who was diagnosed with chiari malformation in January 2012. I had decompression surgery on January 30. After I had been released from the hospital, I didn't see any significant change, but of course,more than likely you won't days after brain surgery. By the way, this decompression was not invasive and I did not have
the dura cut and patched. Weeks later, I was still experiencing many symptoms; in fact, they had gotten worse over time. I consulted my neurosurgeon and he scheduled an MRI of my head, neck, and spine only to see if I had a syrinx. It is now late April and we receive the radiology report. It said that I had "a lack of CSF flow" which simply tells you that my decompression was unsuccessful as it is blocking the cerebrospinal fluid. A syrinx was not present. After consulting with another neurosurgeon, we scheduled surgery. I was decompressed on May, 4. The neurosurgeon said it was one of the worst cases and that I didn't have a pulsation in my brain. After the surgery, I felt great; however, my symptoms are coming back (severe headaches, ears ringing, eye pressure,dizziness, etc). I will be having another MRI for my 3 month post-op on July 30 and we will know the results on August, 6. I know I can't say much about having surgery again, but if I have restricted CSF flow, would you suggest it? Anything will be greatly appreciated and God Bless everyone out there battling the same thing!
--Joey