Re: Final Update Post Surgery for Unilateral PA

[Guest guest]

Are you still active in this group? I would love to talk to you

> >

> > Jeff, Did you research very many hospitals and surgeons before deciding

> > on one? My doctor at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota wants to wait and do

> > another CT scan in six months. What was involved in the AVS procedure? What

> > other symptoms did you have besides the high blood pressure? Thank you. Deb

> >

> > Re: Re: Final Update Post Surgery for

> > Unilateral PA

> >

> > In a message dated 5/4/07 12:58:13 PM, datawrhsdoc@ gmail.com writes:

> >

> > >

> > > Deb,

> > >

> > > After the PA was confirmed, I did have an AVS which showed a very high

> > > aldosterone level on the left. However, it wasn't clear that we had a

> > > clean draw from the right adrenal.

> > >

> > > With the very high levels from the left and the fact I wasn't one of

> > > those folks with huge serum aldo but rather an elevated ARR, in all

> > > likelihood the PA was unilateral left. So, I had a choice. There

> > > were three outcomes to surgery in descending order of likelihood:

> > >

> > > 1) It was unilateral left and I'd be cured

> > > 2) It was bilateral, and I'd need to continue on aldo blockers

> > > post-surgery (not very likely, but possible)

> > > 3) It was unilateral left, but the right adrenal is dead, throwing me

> > > in to an ian Crisis (rather unlikely but possible)

> > > 4) I die on the table (very unlikely since other than the PA and

> > > related issues, I was in reasonably good health and had other recent

> > > surgeries without incident)

> > >

> > > So I rolled the dice, had my left adrenal removed, and within two days

> > > of the surgery was feeling better than I had in well over a decade.

> > > It was a good bet, but a bet I'd much rather would not have been a

> > > position to have to make.

> > >

> > > The tumor was 1.2 x 0.8 x 0.5cm. Past the boundaries of the tumor,

> > > the remaining adrenal tissue showed no abnormalities under gross and

> > > microscopic examination.

> > >

> > > -Jeff

> > >

> > >

> > >

> >

> > Dont recall if you sent the complete path report ever. Indeed being from

> > Missouri I like to look at the slides myself as I have prob looked at more

> >

> > adrenal slides in folks with PA at varioius stages than anyone else in the

> > world.

> >

> > May your pressure be low!

> >

> > Clarence E. Grim, BS, MS, MD

> > Senior Consultant to Shared Care Research and Consulting, Inc.

> > (sharedcareinc. com)

> > Clinical Professor of Internal Medicine and Epidemiology Med. Col. WI

> > Clinical Professor of Nursing, Univ. of WI, Milwaukee

> >

> > Specializing in Difficult to Control High Blood Pressure

> > and the Physiology and History of Survival During

> > Hard Times and Heart Disease today.

> >

> > ************ ********* ********* ********

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> >

> >