Now-Open Letter to Steven L about my Sinus Woes

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dygerati@gmail.com - 10 Jan 2008 03:29 GMT

I originally tried to send the following letter to Steven L (as he's
known on this forum I believe), but his listed address didn't go
through. So, in light of that, I'm submitting it to everyone for hope
of a little advice. And Steven, if you see this, I'd still much
appreciate any insight you might have. Thanks!

Letter start:

Some time ago you replied to a post I made in alt.support.sinusitis,
which can be found here:

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.support.sinusitis/browse_thread/thread/eb5d70
0ecf4fc9f6/8438a8446332dab1?lnk=gst&q=don%27t+let+up#8438a8446332dab1

You're testimony was very...familiar, to a point. Enough so that I
ended up taking a print-out of the exchange to my general physician
and ENT to plead my case for a sinus infection being the source of my
woes. Convincing my ENT to do surgery wasn't an issue, as he'd already
recommended septoplasty for my "mildly" deviated septum.

So, I had the surgery.

My conditions were simply that he look around for any infection and
remove a cyst in my lower-left maxillary sinus that he'd said wasn't a
problem. The surgery took place about two months ago, and I'm afraid
my condition hasn't improved. I had an admittedly paranoid suspicion
that he hadn't in fact removed the cyst since he'd not seemed to
concerned about it, so I ordered up another CT scan. The cyst was
still there. Apparently he had only drained the cyst, not removed it,
and it had since re inflated. On the scan it looked exactly as it had
before - in fact I still may not believe him if he hadn't shown my the
entry passage he'd to access it. Of course he didn't find any other
evidence of infection...

I'm a bit lost as to what to do. Since your account seemed so similar
to mine, I've gone and dubbed you my sinus-mentor of sorts - hope you
don't mind :-]. I currently have a hearing test scheduled due to my
insistence. I'm hoping to find evidence of a Eustachian Tube
Dysfunction, or something to corroborate my affliction. I'm not sure
exactly what I hope to learn from you, but any additional details on
your experience or any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you.

Sincerely,

Joel Thiessen (fellow sinus sufferer)

Reply to this Message

Steven L. - 10 Jan 2008 03:46 GMT

> I originally tried to send the following letter to Steven L (as he's
> known on this forum I believe), but his listed address didn't go
[quoted text clipped - 30 lines]
>
> I'm a bit lost as to what to do.

Did you confront your surgeon and tell him that you weren't satisfied
with the surgery he performed? If so, what did he say? Did he tell you
why he didn't remove the cyst?

Signature

Steven L.
Email: sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net
Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me.

Reply to this Message

dygerati@gmail.com - 10 Jan 2008 04:32 GMT

> dyger...@gmail.com wrote:
> > I originally tried to send the following letter to Steven L (as he's
[quoted text clipped - 40 lines]
> Email: sdlit...@earthlinkNOSPAM.net
> Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me.

Heh, just grabbed your e-mail from your profile so I didn't see the
"remove NOSPAM" note...little something I'd like to attribute to that
brain fog :-]...

Back on subject, I honestly wasn't sure whether simply draining the
cyst was considered an actual removal. For all I knew he had actually
"removed" the cyst by his definition. But I'm gathering this is not
the case? This particular ENT never thought it necessary to even touch
on the cyst so I shouldn't have expected anything different I suppose.
He is a self-proclaimed minimalist, something that in many cases I
could see as a benefit, but may have actually resulted in a less-than-
thorough job this time around.

Being as he only created a narrow passage to access the cyst at the
bottom of the left maxillary sinus I can't help but wonder whether he
would have even noticed any sinus disease that may exist there. I'd
really like to find a more receptive ENT but I've all but exhausted my
local supply (all both of them). Is it your opinion that I should
further pursue removal of the cyst? I realize it's hard to give any
kind of educated feedback with as little information as you have, but
it's much appreciated none-the-less. Thanks again! :-]

Joel T

Reply to this Message

Steven L. - 10 Jan 2008 16:17 GMT

>> dyger...@gmail.com wrote:
>>> I originally tried to send the following letter to Steven L (as he's
[quoted text clipped - 43 lines]
> on the cyst so I shouldn't have expected anything different I suppose.
> He is a self-proclaimed minimalist,

which I would have told you to avoid.

The biggest problem we see on this NG is undertreatment. Such as overly
conservative surgery that leaves problems that need to be fixed with
revision surgery.

> Being as he only created a narrow passage to access the cyst at the
> bottom of the left maxillary sinus I can't help but wonder whether he
> would have even noticed any sinus disease that may exist there. I'd
> really like to find a more receptive ENT but I've all but exhausted my
> local supply (all both of them). Is it your opinion that I should
> further pursue removal of the cyst?

Well, now you've got more problems. Now you would need to find an ENT
who is skilled in revision surgery. Because there have been changes to
anatomical landmarks as the result of your first surgery, making
"navigation" through your sinuses more tricky.

Like I said, the first thing you should do is confront the ENT who did
your surgery and tell him frankly about your concerns and disappointments.

After that, I think you should get a second opinion from a revision
surgeon, even if it means travel outside your local area.

This webpage may be helpful to you:

http://www.sinuses.com/postsurg.htm

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Steven L.
Email: sdlitvin@earthlinkNOSPAM.net
Remove the NOSPAM before replying to me.

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