Surgery Advances
Posted: Mon Jul 08, 2013 5:57 pm
I had a "lump" removed from my right side on Friday (7/5). It was about a big as a golf ball. I have had four different minor surgeries in the past couple years so I thought I knew what to expect.
In order to avoid all of the crap that goes with a general anaesthetic I asked my doctor to do it with a local. It did save me a lot of aggravation and time, but for one reason or another I experienced about 2.5 root canals worth of pain. I think the Doc is so used to having his patients out cold he wasn't sure how much novocaine (or whatever) to use. But regardless...
I was out of the hospital and in my car within fifteen minutes after the surgeon "closed" my wound - about a 6 inch incision.
The Doc told me that my stitches would be "under the skin," and I wouldn't have to come back to his office to have them removed. When I was being discharged, the nurse told me to leave on the bandage (a GIANT band-aid) for a night or two, then get it wet in the shower and carefully peel it off. She told me I would find a significant amount of dried blood, and several of those butterfly bandages when I removed the band-aid. Don't pull them off, she cautioned, they will gradually wear off over the next week to ten days. She was not in the room when the surgery was done, but was basing her advice on general knowledge and experience. She also said that I should NOT re-bandage the wound or put Neosporin on it; better to just expose it to the open air.
Oddly, I did not experience any pain over the weekend, even though I did most of my normal stuff (yard work, driving, and a bicycle ride). The doctor had told me to let my pain guide me as far as what I could and couldn't do. The Percoset pills he prescribed are still sitting on my dining room table.
Last night, I removed the bandage as instructed and found...nothing. No blood, no other bandages or "butterfly" thingies - nothing. The wound looks, and feels, like it is completely healed.
Obviously, it would be foolish for me to completely resume my normal activities right away. I won't play tennis until Thursday. But this is borderline miraculous.
In order to avoid all of the crap that goes with a general anaesthetic I asked my doctor to do it with a local. It did save me a lot of aggravation and time, but for one reason or another I experienced about 2.5 root canals worth of pain. I think the Doc is so used to having his patients out cold he wasn't sure how much novocaine (or whatever) to use. But regardless...
I was out of the hospital and in my car within fifteen minutes after the surgeon "closed" my wound - about a 6 inch incision.
The Doc told me that my stitches would be "under the skin," and I wouldn't have to come back to his office to have them removed. When I was being discharged, the nurse told me to leave on the bandage (a GIANT band-aid) for a night or two, then get it wet in the shower and carefully peel it off. She told me I would find a significant amount of dried blood, and several of those butterfly bandages when I removed the band-aid. Don't pull them off, she cautioned, they will gradually wear off over the next week to ten days. She was not in the room when the surgery was done, but was basing her advice on general knowledge and experience. She also said that I should NOT re-bandage the wound or put Neosporin on it; better to just expose it to the open air.
Oddly, I did not experience any pain over the weekend, even though I did most of my normal stuff (yard work, driving, and a bicycle ride). The doctor had told me to let my pain guide me as far as what I could and couldn't do. The Percoset pills he prescribed are still sitting on my dining room table.
Last night, I removed the bandage as instructed and found...nothing. No blood, no other bandages or "butterfly" thingies - nothing. The wound looks, and feels, like it is completely healed.
Obviously, it would be foolish for me to completely resume my normal activities right away. I won't play tennis until Thursday. But this is borderline miraculous.
