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Before my bilateral resurfacing surgery on Oct 9,
I posted to this website several times w/ questions and concerns.
Many folks here took the time to respond and I was even able to
speak with several people that had undergone bilateral resurfacing.
All of this information was very, very helpful for someone, such as
myself, who was extremely anxious about undergoing my first major
surgery. Now that I am "on the other side" (the common phrase, I
believe), I thought it would be appropriate for me to give something
back to the community!
I went into the hospital very early (5:30am) on Tuesday, October 9.
My surgeon was Dr. Colin Poole. Dr. Poole prefers a light anesthesia
regime, which worked great for me. First, I was hooked up to an IV
and given something to relax me (not sure what that was). Next, I
was given Versed (also helps patient to relax, induces
unconsciousness, and (perhaps best of all) causes amnesia). Then, I
was given a spinal to eliminate pain. This was a great regime for
me. I was not intubated (which was great!), and when the Versed was
removed after the surgery I "woke up" immediately and was completely
lucid with no nausea and zero pain!
After surgery, which took about 3 hours, I spent a relaxing hour or
two in recovery before a fun ride up to my private room. The nursing
and care staff at St. Luke's was absolutely great. I cannot say
enough good things about how wonderful the care that I received was.
The entire floor was dedicated to patients undergoing joint/bone
surgery and the nurses were familiar w/ the pain induced by these
types of surgeries and not at all shy about administering pain
medicine. The first night for me was very rough (like many other
have posted). The transition from spinal to IV morphine and Toradol
was very difficult. I slept very little and found it very difficult
to get comfortable. I continued to have some difficulty w/ pain
management until I was successfully transitioned to oral narcotics:
Norco, Vistaril, and Diazepam. This combination has been really
great for me and has allowed me to both rest comfortably (which is
very important) and has also allowed me to begin moving around w/
walking and PT. One HUGE caution here is all these pain medicines
(IV and oral) have caused consistent and at times severe
constipation for me. I am successfully managing this now w/ 4 stool
softeners/laxatives per day, copious prune juice and a diet that is
heavy on fruits and very light on dairy and meat products. Before
leaving the hospital I worked with physical therapy and occupational
therapy. They made sure that I had the necessary skills to walk,
shower, dress myself, etc. before leaving the hospital. They also
arranged for the necessary tools (reacher, toilet riser) to be
delivered to my hospital room prior to discharge.
At 3 weeks, I went in for my post-op x-rays and everything appears
to be in place and installed correctly. At this time, I was cleared
for outpatient PT.
Now, about 3.5 weeks after surgery I am really doing well. I am
walking w/ forearm crutches around the block w/ little or no pain. I
am moving around the house well and able to care for all of my own
needs. I have just begun outpatient PT, which is already paying
dividends in helping to improve my gait and beginning to work on my
range of motion (which is bloody awful and has been for years
(decades?)). All in all, my spirits are good and I have more hope
for a pain-free and normal-functioning future than I have ever had
before. I am still on pain meds, but doc said not to worry as the
bilat is a very major surgery to undergo. I am in the process of
weaning myself off the meds by increasing the time b/w dosing.
Before signing off, here are some hints/ideas that worked well for
me:
1. If possible, have someone stay with you in the hospital. Not only
is this great from a companionship perspective, but also can
greatly improve your care and comfort. The nurses appreciate not
having to be bothered for every little thing, and they also (I
think) provide better care when there is family around.
2. Watch the constipation.
3. I know this is weird, but I really liked the catheter. Never had
the "urge" to urinate. Eliminated the need to get up & go to the
head. I was worried about the removal, but it was no big deal at
all. When the nurse took it out, it kinda felt like a large-stream
urination. Zero pain at all when removed and a huge convenience when
it was in. Certainly not a big deal to worry about before surgery!
4. For me, 3 weeks was about the critical amount of time where I
felt like I needed full time help. Having a full time partner to go
through this with me was really great. My wife was able to get the
time off work & she took great care of me. From performing the many
nurse-like tasks (some of which are not pleasant) to helping
organize the medications when my mind was not terribly clear, having
her around to help was wonderful. Best care imaginable!!!
5. Don't be afraid to ASK for pain meds in the hospital. A lot of
the time, they assume you are fine unless you tell them
differently.
6. Before each nurse shift change to the night shift, I requested
that the charge nurse (head nurse for the floor) please
assign an experienced nurse (not a newbie or a floater nurse) to me
for the night. The nights were the most difficult time for me at
hospital and having an experienced nurse really helped me.
Anyway, that's all I can think of for now. If you have any
additional questions, please email me directly at: brrader@yahoo.com
Thanks again to all of the people on the site for the help and
support.
Brian
PS:
I am doing really well and so far my recovery has exceeded my
expectations. I am 39 years old. Dr. Poole is from ID. He has about
80 resurfs under his belt. I was bilateral #1. He is a very good and
kind surgeon, and I told him to do 2 only if he felt good and
confident about it. I actually went "under" not knowing if he would
do 1 or 2. He wanted to see how the first (worst) one went then see.
I was very excited to wake & ask my first 2 questions: "1 or 2?" and
"resurfs or totals?" (cause you never know, ya know). Please feel
free to post on your site. Anyone who would like to talk about this
further can contact me via email, then we can talk on the phone if
they want. This was all very helpful to me. I want to give back.
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