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Behavior Issues After Hemispherectomy

Wed, 09/24/2008 - 00:09

My 4 yr. old son just had a functional right-sided hemispherectomy last month due to Sturge-Weber Syndrome. Ever since his surgery, I've noticed many changes in his behavior. He gets upset and frustrated very easily and often. He licks his hand. He doesn't like to drink anything and gets mad when I try to get him to drink. He doesn't enjoy things he used to enjoy before the surgery. I'm just wondering if this will change once he's had more time to heal. Can anyone here relate to any behavior issues after surgery?

Thanks,

Rachel (www.aidenslife.com)

Comments

Re: Behavior Issues After Hemispherectomy

Submitted by Marcia M on Wed, 2008-10-01 - 22:08
My 12 y/o son had a hemi nearly 5 months ago and yes, I saw quite a few behavior changes.  However, he continued to have seizures after the surgery (in his sleep) so I'm sure his lack of sleep and the extremely high dose of valium he was on, influenced his behavior.  Did your son have much function loss on the removed side, less function on his left side of his body. This could cause frustration if he can't do things he once could. I am sorry I cannot help much, all I can say is it takes a long time for the brain to heal after such an extreme surgery, at least give it 6 months.  I would have to say it took my son about 3 months to get back to "normal".  I remember he showed a lot of ADHD behavior, but all of that is corrected now.

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