Expert: Claes-Gustaf Nordquist, M.D. - 9/25/2007

Question
Good Morning Sir! I have many questions and I am looking everywhere to get as much information as I can! I don't have a lot to offer you as far as a diagnosis or much information period-but anything that you could give me to enlighten the situation I would trully appreciate!!!
About 3 weeks ago, my best friend started experiencing bad headaches. She is deployed in Iraq and doesn't have the ability to go the the ER whenever she has a concern or needs care. They have medical care-but not a lot of medical technology to get X-rays/MRI's/scans and whatnot. She took OTC pain killers but nothing helped. She went to see the medics and i'm sure a military physician, who prescribed her with antibiotics and better pain medication. After another week, the medication still hadn't improved her situation and she was getting worse by the day. Her headaches were almost unbearable and all the medication did was make her sleepy and that's how she dealt with it. Over the course of the past week, her vision in her right eye has become blurry and hazy and she said "I feel like my eye is going to explode!". She said it was a lot of pressure mostly around her eye and sinus area. 2 days ago she lost vision in her right eye. She waited for the Physician to get in from their work day- and according to test's they ran, informed her that she might have an anurysm or something in her brain. They evacuated her to another military hospital and ran more test. All she could give me was that they found a "small mass under her brain" with intentions of evacuating her to a medical hospital in Germany to do surgery.
At this point-that's all the information I have and I know it's not much. Being here and not having contact, I would like to know what I can expect for what types of surgery's could take place, how long it could be for surgery/recovery and release...
If you could give me any information I would be so greatful... I appreciate your page! Thank you for taking the time!
SPC Amaya Malufau- US Army

Answer
Thanks for your confidence! As one military person to another (I was chief medical officer for the Royal Guards, the Royal Horse Guards & the Royal Household Brigade of the Royal Swedish Army for 15 years) I will do all I can to help you! However, a "small mass under her brain" can be many things. If small enough (to around an inch or so in size) it can probably be deleted with the radiological aid of proton beams or the so called GammaKnife or the CyberKnife without any real surgery. But without much more information there is not much more I can tell you! If possible let me know the results of any CT & MRI scans. Also if/when any biopsy reports are available I would like to know the results. Please do keep me posted!