Jordi helps me display my big bandage.
Jordi and Molly kept me company throughout the night (click to enlarge).
On April 16, I had an endolymphatic shunt placed behind my left ear. The operation was done by Dr. Jerry House at the Carmel Surgery Center in Indianapolis (by St. Vincent's Hospital on Meridian, just a couple miles north of the I-465 bypass).
The surgery was done at 2 p.m. and lasted about 70 minutes. Everything went great. We were on the road back home to Fort Wayne about 4:45. Hopefully, the operation will eliminate most of the vertigo and other symptoms of Meniere's Disease, which I've battled since around 2003.
Thus far, I've been spared three common side-effects:
- The operation can trigger severe nausea and vertigo which can last a couple weeks. I've had zero nausea.
- The ear, or whole side of the face, can be puffed out significantly. I have very little swelling.
- I was warned that there can be significant pain the first day or two. I'm taking Vicodin, but I'm not sure I need to. The discomfort is minimal.
I came home with a big bandage, which we removed Saturday morning. We had to remove the left arm of my glasses in order to fit them on around the bandage.
I spent the evening on the couch in the living room, alternating between dozing and reading Robert Parker's "Stranger in Paradise." Since it was plenty comfy, I just stayed there throughout the night. Besides, my sleep patterns were all messed up. I ended up watching "Bangkok Dangerous," a Nicholas Cage movie, in the early morning hours. Pretty good movie.
The symptoms of Meniere's Disease started around 2003, though it was a couple years before it was diagnosed. Meniere's causes frequent vertigo and hearing loss. It only affects my left ear; I've lost about 60% of my hearing in that ear and have tinnitus, a constant background roar, which I've learned to not really notice.
There is no cure for Meniere's. However, several surgeries can offset the symptoms. The endolymphatic shunt is the least invasive. When pressure builds up, which brings on the vertigo, fluid (only a couple drops) will now be diverted into this shunt and then absorbed into the surrounding membrane. The surgery is 90% successful immediately, and about 70% successful after 3-5 years (2 out of 10 people revert to how they were before the surgery).
I could have had the surgery done here in Fort Wayne. However, I didn't have confidence in the doctor here. He's good, and lots of people speak highly of him, but he didn't seem to pay much attention to things I told him, and kept prescribing more and more pills. I wrote about that experience.
My family doctor, John Carnes, tracked down the name of Jerry House, whom one of his other patients had used. Pam and I immediately liked him. He's very personable, quickly acknowledged my symptoms as Meniere's Disease, and pulled out great metaphors to clearly explain what was happening. He's done zillions of these operations.
When the nurse at the surgical center was prepping me, I asked, "Do you always work with Dr. House?"
She said, "It just depends on who they assign me to. But when we get assigned to Dr. House, we know it's going to be a good day."
She then sang further praises--he was kind, considerate, professional, and was always the same. "With some doctors, you're not sure what you'll get that day."
Career-wise, I've been hanging around and writing about and cheering on churches and pastors for the past 25 years as my denomination's Communications Director.
I ran across your page, looking for others whom have had the same surgery as me, and lo and behold, here you are! Interestingly, I had my surgery nearly the same time you did. I'm curious to know if you've had any minor episodes of vertigo since the surgery? I've had some off days, and take Valium to control the minor stuff. I was warned this would take time to heal, so I may experience this on and off for a while. What has been your response so far?
Hello,
I came across your site while looking for outcome of
surgery. Did you have any side effect? I am still
afraid of doing this.
Some Drs -- specially mine at UCLA told me it does not work. But, practically this is only choice I left with.
Thanks and I hope I can jump over the fence...
For me, the shunt has been a big success. It has minimized the attacks. Previously, I might feel a little vertigo in the morning and know that by noon, I would be having serious problems. But now, those problems don't develop. It's like a battle occurs in my body, and the shunt wins. The symptoms just go away.
I began noticing this very soon after the surgery, which was on April 16. I had a vomiting episode in early May, but after that things smoothed out and I didn't have any troubles. I would often feel what I can only describe as a little wave that would go quickly through my head. It was just telling me that I still had Meniere's. I might sometimes feel a little wobbly. But vertigo never developed.
Not until the end of August. Then I began having some vomiting episodes, and I feared that I was right back to where I was before the surgery. The doctor said the procedure doesn't work for 1 out of 10 patients, and for another 2 out of 10, they revert after 3-5 years. But it's effective for 70%. Was I one of those 3 out of 10 for whom it isn't a long-term solution?
I visited my doctor at the end of September. I told him that in mid-July, I landed in the hospital for a week with acute pancreatitis, and had my gall bladder removed. I told him that during my hospitalization, I never experienced any symptoms of Meniere's, which surprised me. It also surprised him. He said pancreatitis throws all of the body's systems out of whack. He suspected that the problems I was experiencing were simply a delayed reaction to the pancreatitis. He suggested that within a few weeks, my body would get back to normal.
That is what happened. At the end of October, my wife and I flew to Texas. The last time I flew (in January 2010), my vertigo was triggered. But this time, I had absolutely no problems with vertigo. I felt some fullness in my head during parts of the trip, but never had any bad episode.
The full-blown episodes I had before just don't occur anymore. I realize that I will always need to be careful about my intake of salt and caffeine. Both can cause fullness in my head, a louder noise in my left ear (the one affected), and some wobbly feeling. But the symptoms of what would have, in the past, led toward a vomiting episode and having to sleep it off for several hours, now is just a battle in my head which the shunt seems to win.
So for me, the shunt operation was a great move. It has greatly improved my life, and I recommend it heartily.