Revolutionary new surgical procedure cures Sylva woman's constant pain

By Rose Hooper

For medical buffs, the long name of the surgical procedure is suboccipital craniectomy with C1-C2 laminectomy with duraplasty.

"All my life I had been misdiagnosed," said this Sylva woman who lost jobs because she was out sick so much."For 30 years I had various symptoms including migraine headaches, blurred vision, difficulty concentrating, Irritable Bowel Syndrome, pain and stiffness in my joints, and a constant tiredness. I've never been well. Over the years, doctors said it was all psychosomatic; that I was a hypochondriac. But, in all fairness, they didn't know any better."

Ten years ago, Dr. Jorge Flechas in Hendersonville diagnosed Bryson with chronic fatigue syndrome."He took me off all the drugs I had been taking and put me on a strict diet. I quit smoking and gave up caffeine and red meat. He also placed me on hormone treatment, and all the while he treated me, he researched my condition."

Flechas discovered the work of neurosurgeon Dr. Michael Rosner, who linked fibromyalgia with neurological disorder. Rather than a disease itself, fibromyalgia was a symptom of neurological disorder, said Rosner, who developed a surgical procedure to cure it.

That's the four-and-a-half hour surgery Bryson under went.

"If you have chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia and can't seem to get better, I would suggest an MRI," said Bryson."An MRI can tell you if you have the neurological disorder."

As part of a congenital birth defect, the base of her skull did not develop properly. At the nerve center of her body ­ where the brain stem joins the spinal cord ­ her nerves were compressed.

To patch up the hole where he removed bone from her skull, Rosner used bovine pericardium, the sack that a cow's heart comes in. He also removed a back section from the first two vertebra on her spinal column. That gave her cerebellar tonsils, the bottom part of the brain, more room to coexist in the foramen magnum, along with her brain stem and spinal cord. This allows for the free flow of cerebral fluid.

"In giving my brain more room," she said,"it removed the pressure of my brain from the brain stem. Immediately, my nerve endings shot alive with energy. All these years I had only been getting 30 percent blood flow because my brain stem was mashed flat. I didn't realize how much of my body had been dormant."

Both Flechas and Rosner found that patients with these neurological problems look alike ­ not physically ­ but the color of their skin, which is pasty white.

"For the first time ever," Bryson said, turning her hands over,"I have pink palms!" Immediately after her surgery, Bryson realized her constant pain was gone."Finally, after all these years of suffering, I didn't have that all over, a-truck-just-hit-you pain." Now even her bad days, she says, are better than her good days before the surgery.

Both doctors told her that after surgery she would be a totally different person."They were right. I'm more patient, more tolerant and not so intense, but I'm still type A," she said.

"Now I'll tell you a strange change that I can't explain. Before my surgery, I loved bananas... bananas by themselves, banana and mayonnaise sandwiches, banana bread or banana pudding," she said."But now, since my surgery, I can't stand bananas."

Was she scared before the controversial surgery since it does not have a proven, studied track record?"I talked to others who had the surgery. I knew there were no guarantees and I knew the downsides. I could be paralyzed or I could die. Death didn't bother me, but being paralyzed scared me. I was ready to take the chances, especially when Dr. Rosner told me he had not killed or paralyzed anyone yet."

Because of this surgical procedure many people call Rosner a miracle worker. His response is,"I just have the tools and the knowledge. It's God who performs miracles."

Those like Bryson who have undergone the procedure are referred to as"zipperheads" because of the zipper-like incision at the base of their skull.

Bryson plans to write a book about her experience, which she plans to call"Nothing Short of a Miracle."

Meanwhile, she'll tell about her experience at the next Fibromyalgia Support Group at 7 p.m. Wednesday, March 21, in the private dining room of Harris Regional Hospital.

Back to Archive: 03/15/01.