Going in for surgery next week
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I will let everyone know, I will try to post a message from the hospital once I am up to it after the surgery and give everyone the results news. When I was in there last week they had free public wifi which did help with the boredom and lack of things worth watching on TV. Of course this time I suspect I will be far less capable of interests in such distractions.
Ike
Hi Isaac,
I hope that your surgery goes well and I wish you every success with this. Please let us know how it all goes and I am sending you a ton of positive thoughts.
Best wishes,
Gavin
Isaac…..Good luck with the upcoming surgery. Please, let us know the date and time. Another tip: a pillow held against your abdomen when caughing will significantly decrease the discomfort post surgery.
All my best wishes,
Marionthanks for the suggestions, right now the surgery is tentatively scheduled for around the 18th when I finish up the antibiotics, they want to do it ASAP before another infection hits, it appears the stint that was placed during the ERCP 4 weeks ago may be blocking the gallbladder opening which was already limited by a gallstone in the neck of the gallbladder.
“I LIKE IKE”, I know you are too young to know that one! My husband had a ‘Whipple” and was in the hospital 10 days (that was 6 years ago). They have come a long way just since then. These surgeries are all big but not life threatening. When you get home just don’t push, you will know when the timing is right to try new things. Teddy started out very slowly by walking the driveway. He went back to work the 5th month and at that time was putting golf balls. Your body will let you know when it wants to rest. Be prepared for a change in eating habits and we can help with that later if needed, like supplements. Teddy never complained about pain as they kept it pretty much under control.
I had a rather large tumor, another rare cancer, almost 2 years ago. It was outside the upper intestine and I asked for a spinal so that my upper body would be numb the first day. Glad I did it. The spinal is virtually painless, sounds worse than it is and in fact I was on the ‘table’ when I asked and they complied. I had a morphine pump and virtually had no pain. I also have another suggestion. IF you end up having a tube in the nose, which most of us do, ask for a spray bottle of Chloraseptic (for sore throats). You can spray your throat anytime you want and it helps with the soreness from the tube.
You WILL be fine and just having the gall bladder out is also a good thing. Keep taking it a day at a time and please let us know when your surgery is scheduled.It’s not much different than any major abdominal surgery. A week or less in the hospital, barring any major complications. A few months for things to get back to close to normal. Almost all patients survive the surgery. For me discomfort was minimal. They gave me a Rx for pain killer, and I think I used two or three, just to make sure I got a full night’s sleep.
Be glad you’re a potential surgical candidate.
Good luck.
Hi Ike,
Your story sounds just like mine right down to the location of the tumor. It is big surgery but you are young and that will be a big issue in your recovery. This is your best chance for beating it. Try not to expect a straight line recovery. You will have good days and bad days but it will get better. BTW, I had this surgery 14 years ago.May God extend his grace and mercy to you,
bobTo quickly sum things up from my introduction post, I am a 42 year old man with a 5 mm tumor on my common hepatic duct just above the junction with the gallbladder. So far 2 rounds of biopsies on 2 ERCP’s have came back benign, but I am told the biopsies are only around 50% accurate. I have been referred to Dr. Wood and his team at Transplant and General surgery Associates at St Lukes in Houston TX (Houstonliver.com). I had a consult appointment and CAT scan last week where they found I had a highly inflamed and possibly perforated gallbladder (gallstones were discovered at the beginning of this process 2 months ago), immediately admitted me to the hospital, put me on IV antibiotics and inserted a drain line. I am home now after spending 4 nights in the hospital, still have a drain pouch dangling from my side, taking a 12 day course of oral antibiotics. As soon as I am done with the antibiotics I will be going in for the big surgery. No one can tell me just how big it will be, as that will depend on what they find once inside, the surgeon says best case is the tumor will be non cancerous, easy to access and it will be a relatively simple matter of cutting it out and replacing that section of bile duct with a section of small intestine. Of course if it is cancer it will be keep cutting back until they get clean margins, which could include anything from cutting out part of the pancreas to a lobe of the liver. The surgeon feels that it is best to do whatever can be done in a single procedure. I guess I am still just taking things a day at a time, this whole gallbladder infection and drain tube is just another part of the roller coaster ride. Any words of advice on post surgery recovery are most welcome.
Ike
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