I had a craniotomy 2 years ago and I still have numb patches (quite a lot too). Is this the same for anyone else? I assume it will be for the rest of my life, or could it still go away?
Yes the entire top of my head is numb after my first surgery which was January 18th, 2007…so over 2 years. I’ve asked doctors about it and they said that I might get a little feeling back over the years but its not guaranteed. Just another perk of having brain surgery. lol
Hi Chris,
My AVM was in my neck instead of my brain, but I initially had numbness just above the area where it was removed. That numbness has now turned into pins and needles sensation. I have been told that this would go away eventually.
Debbie
I’m just about a year post op and yes I still have numb patches. But mostly, like Debbie, I have pins and needles, especially when it’s rainy or cloudy.
I had my surgery on July 28, 2005 and I had numbness on the left side of my head for a long time. Most of the feeling has come back, though it is certainly not as sensitive to touch as it was before the surgery. By contrast, however, my heel and outer edge of my right foot are still numb. Who would have seen that one coming?
it takes a long time for nerves to reconnect and grow once the skin is broken…i had a very large incision…it has taken 15 months to regain feeling along the incision site…and although feeling has returned it is not as good as it used to be
My daughter says hers feels weird. I’m not sure if that means numb. I’ll have to ask her. Oh, and I have a stupid question - how do they hold the skull together after surgery? Dani asked me a couple days ago if she had screws in her skull. And I didn’t know the answer! No one ever mentioned anything like that.
Yes, she most likely has screws. My doctor/surgeon didn’t really tell me about it either (well we never really asked), and one day when I had to get an xray on my jaw (for the dentist) it showed 6 or so screws.
Rebecca said:
My daughter says hers feels weird. I’m not sure if that means numb. I’ll have to ask her. Oh, and I have a stupid question - how do they hold the skull together after surgery? Dani asked me a couple days ago if she had screws in her skull. And I didn’t know the answer! No one ever mentioned anything like that.
I have three titanium bolts in my skull. I have seen them in MRI images, but have also felt them under my skin and even heard them rattle from time to time… Seriously! There was a point in time about a year to two years after my surgery that I would be walking in a quiet room and could hear an odd sound coming from the hide of my head. I would push on the area with my finger and could both feel the bolt and hear it rattling. It was gross, but also kind of neat. I had a follow-up appointment with my neurosurgeon and mentioned it to him. He said that the bolts, which were obviously being used to hold the bone in place while my skull headed, just like any other bolt, can work their way loose, and as the bone started to fuse, the bolt didn’t have as much tesion on it, so it became just loose enough to rattle and as the bone tissue formed around it, it would probably end up being held in place more firmly. He was right… It doesn’t rattle anymore.
My father has had brain surgery last June 2008 on the right side of his head - behind his right ear. He still gets numbness and the tingling feeling on the incision site. He also feels like his right side of the head is swollen, but it doesn’t appear to be so.
I had a craniontomy about 4 years ago. I still have numb patches too. I thought that happened because they had to cut some nerves during my surgury. I think they will always be there.
I had a craniotomy about three half years ago. I still suffer pain and headaches above my right eye, where the surgery took place, right temporal lobe. I also have numbness patches and sometimes feels like it swells and sometimes its sore to the touch. I developed seizures as a result of the surgery (grand mal) and have been diagnosed that I will have them throughout my life. So, as you can imagine, I am on several medications, really stinks. I suffer short term memory loss, thats the worst considering Ive been a paralegal for 15 years. I have yet to go back to the job i love the most. My scar was my entire right side of my head, i looked like a monster but once the hair grew back it wasnt so bad.
I had my craniotomy last May and still have the left side of my head numb with some pain to touch sometimes. The worst part is I sometimes get itchy and when I try to scratch it I don’t feel myself scratching it and the itch drives me crazy.
glad It’s not just me. Though, over the last 6 months I’ve actually noticed some of the numbness has gone away a fair bit. Also the lump I got from the surgery has gone down a bit as well. I guess it does still healing in there even after 2 1/2 years!
I have a numb patch too since the craniotomy. I can feel pressure but not temperature. i asked my neurosurgeon if it was permanent…he said depends on the person. The nerves can grow back and repair themselves could take a few years but sometimes the numbness lasts forever.
i was told by my surgeon it may take years for the nerves to regrow from the incesions caused by the surgery…i am comming up 2 years post op in march and still have numb patches on my head…so i wouldnt panic …i think its quiet normal it may take years for new nerves to grow