After the visit with the neurosurgeon

We saw the vascular neurosurgeon today. I guess the doctor sized me up right away when he saw that I had brought one of our student skulls and the latest issue of the journal Neurosurgery, complete with 3-d photos and glasses. I am so glad I did - he referred to both resources while explaining just where the lesion is sitting and how they are going to take it out, and what parts are near and around the spot they are working on. I have forgotten most of the anatomy that he said, except that the mastoid bone will have to be drilled out a bit in addition to the outside skull piece that will be cut out (that is where the otologist comes in - evidently he is a whiz at drilling mastoid bones), and that if he can conveniently get a biopsy of the dura, he will. He said they will need to watch out for the "vein of levay". I didn't get the correct spelling for that, but he said this vein drains the left lobe, so not damaging it as they carve away will be top priority (damage could equal stroke, and the left side is where one processes words).
There won't be a cool-shaped incision - a straight up and down one will be behind my ear. He also said they wouldn't shave but a strip around where they will cut, so no wigs needed. His preference is that I will get a titanium mesh overlay on the spot, in order to keep the barrier between the skull and the dura. Evidently, if only muscle is used, it can create scar tissue that sticks to the dura, which is the only part of the brain that feels pain, resulting in headaches later. The operation should only take a couple of hours, and I should only be in the hospital for a couple of days, then home to recuperate. I shouldn't have any major limitations afterwards - he said, "No power lifting" - as if there was a danger of that happening. I asked how soon this would take place, and he said he would have his scheduler start working on it. Maybe next week, maybe the week after.
It was a lot to take in. A nap is in order.