Hi - New here. Am looking for information on Surgery / VNS and Todd's Pararis

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Thank you Kristen for that question and explanation.

I did more research on the Vagus Nerve:

http://www.wisegeek.org/what-is-the-vagus-nerve.htm

It has pictures of the vagus nerve and where it is in the body. So look it up, please.

When the vagus nerve is stimulated reduction in heart-rate or breathing. Excessive stimulation can cause a vaso-vagal response, appearing to fall into a faint or coma because the heart-rateand blood pressure drop so much. Vagus Stimulation is also used to treat epilepsy.

Most of the time, you don't notice the actions of the right and left vagus nerves, but you probably would notice if this nerve ceased to function, as a result of disease or trauma, because the vagus nerve is one of the many vital nerves which keeps your body in working order. Without the functions of the vagus nerve, you would find it difficult to speak, breath, eat and your heart beat would become irregular.

I did not look up the vagus nerve and arteries. You can google it. There is probably a lot more information about it.
 
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That's about the best article I've read about it thus far. I quite like the term Cranial Nerve X. Makes it sound like a sci fi superpower.
 
The generator is routinely removed when the batteries need to be replaced. I had read that the leads themselves, which are wrapped around the nerve, could not be removed. Even that, however, is not always the case. I found an article describing the successful surgical removal of the leads. It appears that that would be done only if there were a pressing reason for it, since it is clearly much more complicated than removing the generator. Here's the relevant paragraph:

Although the generator device may be easily removed, there are concerns about whether removal of the electrodes would cause injury to the vagus nerve, as there is typically fibrosis of the areas surrounding the electrodes and their leads. Commonly used option is to cut off the distal leads leaving the electrodes around the vagus nerve.[6–8] However, there are situations in which complete removal of the electrodes is especially desirable. In case of breakage or infection of the leads or abnormalities of the nerve–electrode interface, new stimulating electrodes and leads must be implanted.[9–11] We report a case of successful VNS removal and reimplant after 10 years.

And here's the link to the article:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3345590/

Onward!
 
The vagus nerve is snuggled right in there with the jugular vein and carotid artery, but with the state of the art in surgical techniques, and if you make sure to have an experienced surgeon, I think that the risks of actual surgery are quite low. I did a little research and found no cases of veins or arteries being damaged. The only surgical complications seemed to be infections, and there was, I think, a 3% incidence of those.
The long-term damage done to your brain due to refractory seizures and medications is probably much greater than the risk of surgery.
 
kirsten said:
Ruth, can I just clarify what you're saying? I'm a little confused. I'm hearing you say that your info says the VNS can be replaced? I'm struggling to understand this sentence: "I do not think that it cannot be replaced because the vagus nerve is a major artery." As an aside, the vagus nerve must be a nerve, not an artery. Are you saying the vagus nerve has a major artery running alongside it?

Also, if it can be replaced, can it also be removed? (I'm speaking specifically about the unit, and not the leads. I wouldn't be too concerned about the leads being left in but it'd be good to know the unit could be removed as it seems to cause some discomfort.
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Kirsten,
I've had the VNS since it came out in 1997 and since have had two battery replacements. The Vagus Nerve is the 10 Cranial Nerve. The first replacement, they did just replace the battery. The last surgery was just last April and they put in a new, smaller VNS unit, but they left the in same leads. The leads cannot be replaced.

Ruth said:
Most of the time, you don't notice the actions of the right and left vagus nerves, but you probably would notice if this nerve ceased to function, as a result of disease or trauma, because the vagus nerve is one of the many vital nerves which keeps your body in working order. Without the functions of the vagus nerve, you would find it difficult to speak, breath, eat and your heart beat would become irregular.
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When the VNS stimulates, it does effect ones voice, sometimes making it difficult for others to hear while I speak. And as I said before, initially, the VNS made it difficult to breath until we found the right setting.

Here is info on the Vagus Nerve:

Introduction to the Vagus Nerve
The vagus nerve is the paired tenth cranial nerve that branches out from the brain and supplies parts of the gastrointestinal system such as the stomach, and parts of the respiratory system such as the lungs. To supply vital organs, it has further to travel than the other cranial nerves.

It is has branches located on both the left and right side of the body, and each branch will initially travel down to produce the auricular nerve. This branch supplies the external acoustic meatus or the ear canal. The branches also supply innervation to the pharynx. From here the right and left branches of the vagus nerve will enter the thorax to supply the organs located within the thorax and eventually down to the abdomen. This nerve will therefore innervate all the critical organs within this area except the adrenal gland, descending colon, rectum, and anus. Based on this it is possible to see the importance of this nerve in controlling the heart rate, digesting food, and regulating breathing. Thus there are quite a number of presentations in the symptoms of vagus nerve damage.

What Happens When The Vagus Nerve Is Damaged?
Since the vagus nerve is so important in the innervation of many organs, a large variety of symptoms of vagus nerve disorder can result. Starting from the muscles of the throat, damage to the vagus nerve can produce problems with the person's voice as it supplies nerves to the vocal cords. The voice will sound strained, deep, and hoarse. There will be difficulty with swallowing and even a reduced gag reflex. Thus the person might choke during eating and drinking if they have vagus nerve damage. This can be really deadly if the laryngeal muscles are paralyzed.
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I know there are those who have been damaged by the VNS or are fearful of having the VNS, but there are also those of us who've been damaged by uncontrolled seizures and this was our last resort.
 
arnie said:
The vagus nerve is snuggled right in there with the jugular vein and carotid artery, but with the state of the art in surgical techniques, and if you make sure to have an experienced surgeon, I think that the risks of actual surgery are quite low. I did a little research and found no cases of veins or arteries being damaged. The only surgical complications seemed to be infections, and there was, I think, a 3% incidence of those.
The long-term damage done to your brain due to refractory seizures and medications is probably much greater than the risk of surgery.
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Mine was an experienced neurosurgeon. As I've said many times, I sure wish to god I would have had the choice to have the VNS surgery long ago. The damage is done FOREVER!!!
 
It's too true, Cint. While my cognitive functioning and the rest have been, I'd say, damaged a fair but not severe amount, the cerebral edema I had from the Tegretol hyponatremia has actually changed my life for good, and severely so. This damage is such an important point to consider. I had the option of a resection about 15 years ago, and then my neuro was a brilliant one. I had it again after I came to Cape Town, and again, I was too scared. The docs were right. I should have done it then. Now I've lost so much.
 
Hi, when I made my decision it was based on what I could google on the internet. I also learned from my neurologist.

This was when it first came out. My neurologist was the actual doctor doing the procedure. I still feel that I made the right decision for me. Everyone has to make there own decision. We have a lot of knowledge now about the VNS, that we can make an informed decision.

What happened to StephMol? I would like to hear from he/her since the thread was started by her/he. What did StephMol learn? Did we answer the question?
 
I just had my VNS replaced with another one because the battery had gone dead. My neuro told me it was easier to replace the whole thing than just put a new battery in the one you already have. Another advantage is that you get a newer model.

The surgery was done in January and I haven't had any problems with it so far.
 
Hello, I'm new to this site and just wanted to add a few words to your post.

Dr Casino is a good Dr up at Rochester Mayo Clinic. I had my surgery done back in 2001 and have been seizure free ever since. That's unless I have them in my sleep which I would no way of knowing.
 
Hello dig1027, I want to welcome you to CWE.

This forum was made by Bernard out of love for his wife Stacy. That love has permeated throughout the whole forum.

I am glad to hear the good news about your surgery. Thank you for giving us a top notch doctor.
 
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