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Balance, high blood pressure medications, and …
Neuropathy | Last Active: Jul 22, 2021 | Replies (26)Comment receiving replies
Hi, Jennifer (@jenniferhunter). I can't begin to tell you how grateful I am to learn about the role of vocal cords in cervical surgery! I'm an actor, stage and voice-over, so I earn my living with my voice. This doesn't mean I would refuse surgery if it's presented to me as my best option and if I've convinced myself that surgery is the best way to go. At least now I'll have learned of a critical component of the procedure. What you've told me further deepens my resolve to find a good surgeon––if surgery is in my future. I've so much to learn. I've been waiting for almost two days now to receive a call from the surgeon who's been suggested (my neurologist told me: give his office a week to call, but then if you have to, call the office); I'm glad for this little in-between time so that I have got a chance to educate myself. I'm also using this time to do some of the cervical stenosis exercises I've found online (basically, isometrics to help the neck muscles to relax). In the meantime, my 3-ring binder is slowly filling with information! ––Ray
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@ray666 If you want to consider Mayo and if your insurance is in network, you will find the best of the best there. They have done awake brain surgery on musicians and had a patient play the violin during surgery. The violinist had spasticity in his arms and they were finding the spot for electrical stimulation to stop the shaking so he could play his instrument. That was in the Ken Burns documentary on Mayo Clinic. It was excellent and very educational. The good thing about Mayo is they don't waste your time because they are very efficient in getting all tests and imaging done. I wish I had gone there first. If you saw my surgeon there and asked him who was the best to make sure to save your voice, he would give you an honest answer. Why not go to the #1 neurosurgery hospital?
If you would like get a second opinion from Mayo Clinic, you can find the contact information for the Minnesota, Arizona and Florida campuses here http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63
You can request to send records and imaging to a specific surgeon. I did, and I chose Dr. Fogelson because his interests matched my needs and because when I read a paper he had co-authored, it led me to medical literature with cases like mine, so I knew he would know what all the other non-Mayo surgeons had missed.