Brain surgery and pregnancy

briterawk44

Hi all,

I have a rare and large 4.1x4.5 Acoustic Neuroma (benign tumor in the brain) and pregnancy that I found out about this month. For those that never have heard of this kind of tumor is sources from the balance and acoustic nerves, is benign and very slow growing. It causes severe hearing loss (mine is gone in the right ear), vertigo, and balance issues. Luckily it is extremely rare, especially for being 28 and pregnant (handful of cases in the world).

To my surprise, the week before my surgery we found out that I was pregnant.  None the less, my urgent surgery was postponed until after the birth, although, we are checking for a second opinion. Has anyone else undergone brain surgery while pregnant or post-pregnancy?

I am extremely scared for my high-risk case, but thanking God that I found out I was pregnant before having an inevitable involuntary abortion during the surgery. Your advice and thoughts are appreciated.

PrimRoseMama

I have never experienced this. I'm sorry you are going through this.

I just wanted to post to congratulate you on your pregnancy and wish you the very best.

blue_elle

No advice here, just wanted to say that I hope everything goes well for you. 

shelbell1028

No experience but I just wanted to say congrats on your pregnancy and I wish you the best of luck with everything.

oliversmom03

No experience on this, but best of luck to you. Please update everyone. 

kristinrae914

Do you have a neurologist?  Or just a neuro surgeon?  I would suggest having a consult with a neuro to discuss the pros/cons of waiting v. having immediate surgery.  Even go for that second opinion. I am just speculating, but I would think any anesthesia and pain killers would be completely out of the question at this point.  I have a benign tumor on my pituitary gland but haven't had surgery suggested.  Just bi-annual MRI's and migraine meds.  It's not the same situation at all, but I can relate to how stressful and scary this can be.  Hugs.  Good Luck.

briterawk44

Thanks for sharing. I've been working with an otologist and neurologist on this for about 2 months and am about to have my second opinion on Friday. From the research (which there only a handful), some wait until the second trimester and some (like my team) want to wait 2 months after the birth. I will keep you all updated.

MotherMayEye

briterawk44:

Thanks for sharing. I've been working with an otologist and neurologist on this for about 2 months and am about to have my second opinion on Friday. From the research (which there only a handful), some wait until the second trimester and some (like my team) want to wait 2 months after the birth. I will keep you all updated.

Thanks for the update. Good luck!

brelynj

Hi. I am so sorry. I had my baby boy three days after u posted this. But was having symptoms of an AN at the time. I was just diagnosed with a small acoustic neuroma. I am worried about getting pregnant again. Wouldn't a crainiotomy make for a difficult pregnancy?