We went back to Chapel Hill today to meet with the neurosurgeon and the epileptologist. The neurosurgeon was great. He was very informative about the surgery if it turns out that Cutter is a good candidate. Unfortunately, it is not just up to him if Cutter is a candidate or not. There is a whole epilepsy team that consists of the neurosurgeon, the neurologist, two epileptologists, the radiologist and the neurosurgeon's assistant. They are going to meet next week to discuss Cutter's case and decide if surgery is the best way to go.
We met with the epileptologist also, and it didn't go as well. She said that she is not 100% certain that Cutter's seizures are coming from one spot, like we have been told in the past. If this is the case then Cutter might not be able to have surgery. It all depends on what the other epileptologist and the radiologist think about the EEG and MRI. We are crossing our fingers that something just wasn't read right. However, she is only one person on the epilepsy team. Everyone else will have to weigh in on the decision.
It is all in God's hands, and hopefully, a decision will finally be made next Thursday. Please, please keep praying! We greatly appreciate it!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Dear Greene team! I say that because you are an amazing family! I am so honored to be blessed with knowing you all! Please know that your entire family is in my thoughts and prayers constantly! I think about little Cutter every day, several times a day and when I do I say a prayer that he will finally have some peace and that you as parents will at last have some good answers on how to best go forward! God is always in control and that hold true for the Dr.'s as well! I pray that he has good, God fearing Dr.'s that believe it's not only their hands that control what goes on when treating their precious patients! Sickness is a terrible thing but I know without a doubt that there's an answer for Cutter coming soon! Love to you all! T
ReplyDeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteSo sorry to hear that Cutter's seizures have worsened since I last checked your blog. I will be praying that God would direct your path, leading you to the best solution to tame the seizure monster. I would be happy to help in anyway I can. (kelly@omelia.org) Unfortunately, my head is chock full of seizure information. ;(
Extracranial monitoring is often an ineffective way to pinpoint a seizure focus because the skull can scatter the electrical information. In more complex cases intracranial/subdural monitoring is often required to get a better idea of seizure origin. Although it's a pain, I would always recommend getting a second opinion. UNC will send your entire file free of charge to another medical center and they may even review Cutter's case for you without requiring you to make a trip there.
Cutter may require a two-stage or three-stage surgery to determine what tissue is responsible for the misfiring. Tissue can appear normal on an MRI that is electrically abnormal. Here is a video that describes the surgery our daughter had: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qYHbyajzcXw
Praying for you,
Kelly
Www.GabrielleFaith.com