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How can you tell if you have a pseudomeningocele or its just a seroma?

I was decompressed 8/14/2019 and did fairly well until about 2 months post-op and started having all sorts of problems. I went to the NS for a MRI and they put me in the hospital for a week with a lumbar drain. 2 weeks later they repeated the MRI and the "leak area" had not changed any so my doctor said he thinks its a seroma and not a pseudomeningocele. I don't want to keep complaining if nothings wrong but I feel like my neck shouldn't hurt this bad & I wouldn't have these headaches and pressure at the base of my skull if it was nothing. I don't know what to do :(
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620923 tn?1452915648
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hi and welcome to the Chiari forum.

Kerri is the best person to respond to you since she has and is dealing with something similar.....I do not have personal experience but if there is anything I can do for you please let me know.
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Avatar universal
Hi. I had my second decompression January,2019 so close to a year. About 2 months post op began experiencing severe neurological issues and horrible headaches. At that time imaging showed a “fluid collection” but they originally called it a seroma. It remained unchanged and then they said it was a pseudo. Still there and small according to them.....

Recently I had a spinal tap to rule in/out hydrocephalus. Turns out the pressure is low which indicates a leak and probably the reason for the pseudo formation. Waiting to see my next step

Have you gotten in touch with your NS? Seems like they should be looking into this for you
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No, not yet because I feel like I'm overreacting you know? I feel like there's nothing wrong and I'm just being whiny haha. But I think I will contact him, I guess it's better to be whiny and nothing wrong then something be wrong. Let me know how things go for you :)
Yes I know totally. I feel like I’m a bother when I call sometimes but that’s what they’re there for. It’s a major surgery so any time you feel like something is just off, it’s better to err on the side of caution. But with a known leak, I would think they would wanna know
OK I called and he agreed that I should have another MRI to check the leak and see what's going on. Going in Monday tentatively, waiting on approval from insurance and if that comes sooner then I'll go in Wednesday of this week instead. Fingers crossed I'll get some answers soon.
Wishing you all the best...do keep us posted.
I’m glad you got in touch with them and they are looking into it for you. And hoping they will find and fix this for you
Thank you both. I had my MRI yesterday and it was brutal! I've had many MRI's but this one physically moved my head, like shook my head hard the whole time and the noises were a lot different and louder than before. I asked the tech if my doctor had ordered a different kind of test and he said no but that the machine was different than normal. My thing is you're supposed to be as still as possible and not move so how is it ok that the machine was forcefully moving my head? I left there in tears! I have never had a problem with an MRI, I'm not claustrophobic or anything and besides, they aren't supposed to hurt you know? I just hope I don't have to redo it because the moving around messed something up. I'll see my NS Monday morning so I should know something by then :)
That is strange indeed. I’ve never had that happen before either. Hopefully the NS will be able to interpret the images and you won’t have to redo that.

Good luck at your spot and let us know how it goes!
Hi, I am so sorry yoou had that experience with your lat MRI....they do cage your head to hold it still before you enter the MRI machine....maybe , it just felt like you were moving, if the tech didn't tell you to stop moving then I am sure there was no real moving that affected the images.
I do know that depending on how I felt before a MRI could affect how I felt during and after the MRI.

I pray all went well and there is no need for a redo.
The tech told me that it was an older machine and he's heard that from other patients but assured me the pictures were fine. I had my follow up with my NS and the leak is going away thankfully so no shunt! It was wonderful news. My head still hurts of course but knowing the leak is getting better helps. At least I know the head pain isn't that :)
That’s very good news! Hopefully your recovery will continue to improve! Thanks for letting all of know that
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