ANA Discussion Forum
Treatment Options => Microsurgical Options => Topic started by: JulieW4 on July 02, 2008, 10:05:00 pm
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Can you believe it?! My surgery on Monday started at about 9:15am and was done about 2:30pm. I experienced no balance or dizziness issues so at 2:30pm on Wednesday afternoon I was released from the hospital. Just 48 hours after surgery was over I was home!!! That's got to be some kind of record. I came home and slept for 5 hours, the longest stretch of sleep I've had since having the surgery.
I did not have facial schwanoma which was a concern but instead the doc called it a cochlea schwanoma. This is only the 2nd cochlea schwanoma he has seen. My balance nerve had been completely destroyed by the tumor so that is why I didn't have any balance issues since my body already compensated with my good balance nerve on the other side. He also said that the tumor was a little bigger than expected since the tumor had completely filled the cochlea. He said he classified it as a "medium" sized tumor instead of a "small" one he had previously classified at. I am glad that I chose surgery because I definitely feel it was the best decision for me.
Unfortunately, I'm not allowed to wash my hair until Saturday, so I bought a "do rag" to cover up my disgusting hair and my docs thought that was pretty funny. He said I was the first white woman without dreadlocks that he had seen in a do rag.
Okay, my doctors told me that they would take somewhere between a teaspoon to tablespoon of fat from my stomach to put in my ear where they removed the tumor and help seal up the ear so that I would not have any spinal fluid leak. So I expected to see a stitch or two on my tummy where they took the fat. Instead, I have a 3 inch cut next to my belly button which has about 25 stitches. I thought that was a little excessive to take a little of fat from my tummy. I will post pictures soon of both my tummy and my head.
Also, Jan I do have part of the BAHA titanium rod in my head. In about 2 1/2 months the doc is going to put the end part of the abutement on so that hopefully at the 3 months mark I can have the processor attached so i can start hearing better. It was nice that they were able to "kill two birds with one stone" by removing the tumor and also start on the BAHA procedure.
Thanks again everyone for your support. These forums have been a godsend. I will keep everyone posted.
Julie
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Wow, Julie -
promising us pictures of both your head and your tummy :o I don't recall anyone ever posting tummy pictures before, so that will probably be a first. Will the head shot be with or without the do rag? ;D
Congratulations on the very short hospital stay - truly amazing. I hope your swift recovery continues. Be sure to get enough rest and take it easy though, there have been others on this forum who initially had a fast recovery and then ran into problems. I sincerely hope you aren't one of them.
Your stomach incision sounds longer than mine - I'm estimating mine was only about 1 1/2 inches - and I'd guess I only had about 10 to 12 stitches. My scar isn't that close to my belly button either - it's a few inches below and a few inches over to my left.
I'm glad you were able to get the BAHA implant; saves you from another surgery :) I've never heard of anyone having the titanium rod implanted and then getting the abutment later on; I got the abutment during my surgery - the only "additional" part of the procedure for me was getting the processor @ 90 days post implant. I wonder how many docs do the "rod" and the abutment separately - I'll have to ask my doc because now I'm curious. Anyone else with a BAHA have this?
Jan
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Excellent, Julie, you sound like you are doing well. I think home in 48 hrs may well be a record. Maybe having the tumor in the cochlea makes the surgery shorter?
Now you should sleep until Saturday, when you can get up, wash your hair, and go back to bed. :)
I'm sure the reason for your longer scar is that you have so little fat on your tummy to take. :) (Uh oh, now I'm in trouble with everyone who had shorter scars).
Take care, and tell your friend Denise thanks for the early updates.
Steve
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Glad you're home as there is no place like it! You sound in great spirits, rest, and enjoy today, tomorrow when it comes and the rest of your life! Congratulations!
Steve, are you saying my hips are FAT!? ;) That's where they took mine from, they did not use stitches but superglue?! At least my surgeon had the right mind to angle it following the undie line. ::)
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WOW, CONGRATULATIONS! You know the down side to your speedy recovery is that they'll expect you back at work sooner, right? ;)
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I was home just as quickly.....trust me I wanted my own bed!
Anne Marie
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Julie~
Glad your are home and doing so well - like Jan said TAKE IT EASY!! There seems to be a trend here of people doing great - QUICKLY - and then having some problems -- YOU DON"T WANT TO BE TRENDY in this case!! ;D
K
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Hi, Julie:
Congratulations on your successful surgery and rapid release (from hospital). If not a record, it was certainly close. I would comment on the influence the NHS bureaucracy (and rationed resources) might have had on your quick release but this is a time for you to relax, rest and recover. The two of us nattering on the internet over the vices virtues and vicissitudes of our respective nation's health care systems seems silly so I won't go there.
Instead, I'll marvel at your recuperative powers, add my voice to the chorus prompting you not to overdo right now based on any false sense of invincibility and look forward to your promised photos....I think :)
Take good care, Julie and thanks for being a part of our 'family', even if you were unique and had a cochlea schwanoma instead of a vestibular schwannoma like the rest of us. ;)
Jim
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Wow, Julie, how great that you are already home! And you sound like you're doing very well. Hope things continue on this positive track. Will be watching for you gallery of pictures!
Cindy
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Hi Julie: What a fantastic post op feat ! ! Two days & 'out you go !' I echo everyone's sentiments.... I am so glad to see you are doing so well, & also having the BAHA procedure started.
You obviously did your homework/signed on with extremely competent doctors !
Always good thoughts, Nancy
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Here are the pictures. Thanks Jan for helping me to get them posted.
(http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk452/Juliebw4/20080703ANIncision.jpg)
(http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk452/Juliebw4/20080703BellyIncision.jpg)
(http://i311.photobucket.com/albums/kk452/Juliebw4/20080703DoRag.jpg)
Wow, there big!!! I don't know how to change the size and the first picture is suppose to be vertical, but oh well, at least you get the idea.
Julie
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Julie -
Glad you were able to post the pictures. They are a little large, you could resize them through photobucket; but then you'd have to delete them here and repost them - IMO too much trouble ;D
Do you have staples in your head incision? I had stitches with lovely black thread :P
BTW, nice do rag!!! You're definitely stylin' ;)
Jan
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Yes, those are staples. We counted about 33 to 35 staples. The belly incision is exactly 3 inches long with about 25 stitches. The do rag is covering up my dirty disgusting hair since I can't wash it until Saturday morning.
Julie
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Also, that's the fat from my belly that you can see inside my ear. The doc says that will shrink so that people won't be able to see it. I sure hope so, because I think it looks gross.
Julie
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Wow! That's a lot of staples; I didn't have nearly as many stitches.
The not washing the hair part IMO was one of the worst parts of surgery - UGH! The first few days post op it didn't really bother me, but I couldn't shampoo until the stitches were removed on day 9 and by then I was totally disgusted with my head. The bacitracin I had to put on the incision just added to the grossness. I told my doc that he had my condolences the day he had to remove my stitches. EWWW!!!
I was wondering what that was in your ear, but I didn't want to be rude and ask ::) Interesting that you can see it. My belly fat was used to fill in the hole in my head, so it was never visible.
Thanks for posting the pics,
Jan
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Wow! That was fast and you look great. How many days afterwards were the pictures taken? I was in for six days and still came home with my head bandaged! I had an American flag dewrag to wear, but I didn't look nearly as cute as you do! Get plenty of rest and after these last surgeries I need a new pair of pirate sox, y'all have worn them out!! Happy thoughts heading your way.
Brenda
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Julie. You look super for so soon after surgery. I was very glad to hear it was not a facial neuroma. Was your ear drum removed? I am just curious since you have the fat in the ear and had the cochlea involved. Mine was removed when I had the translab and then the CSF leak and muscle was put over the "hole" Makes for a strange feel.
Keep taking it easy! Cheryl R
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Julie-
WOW!! Home in 2 days - you definitely should win somethign for that! And, you seem to be feeling really good (considering brain surgery several days ago). I'm in awe. LOVE the pictures!
BTW, your face looks great!
Interesting to see your staples - and the belly fat in your ear! (I'm with Jan - wondered what that was, didn't want to be rude...) I had stitches and no fat in my ear (all in my head). Your belly "slit" is higher than mine, but about the same size. For guys that do such a good job on head incisions, they could use some re-training in the fine art of belly incisions!! ;D Mine's a couple inches lower than yours, but definitley NOT below the panty line. Don't know if this will happen with yours, but my entire belly turned black, blue, yellow and green for about 3 weeks after the surgery. I should have taken a picture, but it was just too disgusting!
Anyway, Julie, take it easy and don't overdo this weekend. Post back and let us all know how you're doing.
Happy Fourth!
Debbi
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Debbi -
your belly scar sounds like it's placed similar to mine; a couple of inches lower than Julie's.
Although I have pictures of my head incision, it didn't even dawn on me to take pictures of my belly. Don't know why ???
Mine got a little black & blue before it healed, but it wasn't bad at all. I especially liked the way the stitches and the liquid bandage dissolved. I also liked the way it didn't bother me at all.
Jan
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Yeah, why didn't any of the rest of us think to take a belly shot??
Jan, yes, our belly boogers sounds like they were in the same place. Mine was on the opposite side as my AN surgery, which meant that no matter what side I tried to lay on was uncomfortable. Too bad you missed out on all the festive colors, though! My stomach was actually bruised on both sides - quite amazing.
Julie, I think your belly incision will the envy of all. Sporty staples, too!
Debbi
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I feel very blessed that everything has gone so well so far. I am very tired and taking lots of naps, but that is to be expected.
Yes, they did take out my cochlea. My doc said I had a cochlea shwannoma which is the only 2nd one he has seen. And I am very glad that is was not a facial schwannoma.
I'm glad that the tummy scar is on the same side as my AN scar, and I can even lay on my AN side during the night. So far I'm not black and blue around the belly incision.
The reason I took the picture of the belly incision is because I was more upset about the size of that cut then the cut on my head, and I hoped it would prepare a future AN surgery patient to know what is expected or to ask questions that could reduce the size of the cut.
I don't care about the cut on my head because eventually my hair will cover it up and I want the surgeons to make as much room as possible to get to the tumor, but the belly cut I think was a little excessive.
I am very pleased with how my face looks, and everyday it gets better.
My best friend set up a care calendar so people are bringing over food, which as been great. You can find out more about it at www.carecalendar.org. I thought future surgery patients families might also benefit from it.
Thanks again for your care and concern. It really helps.
Julie
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Julie -
the care calendar is a great thing. Thanks for posting it. It will be wonderful for newbies who opt for surgery; very helpful.
I wonder how docs decide which side to do the fat graft on ???
I know my doc said he always does it on the left side so it won't be confused with an appendectomy scar.
Having the fat graft didn't really bother me, although I first found out about it about 30 minutes before my surgery when I was asked to sign a consent for it. My amazingly thorough doctor forget to tell me about it. He couldn't believe he forgot to tell me. I myself was a little amused at this forgetfulness since it seemed very out of character for him and also because it just proved to me that he is human ;)
Like the scar on your head, your belly scar will eventually fade and won't be very noticeable in the end.
Take care and get some rest. Surgery takes a lot out of you - no pun intended :)
Jan
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48 hours and you came home ... I couldn't even stand until third day ...you need my Super Woman shirt
Your belly looks good ... I had a hemorage and a big (huge) knot an my stomach that took over
a month to disolve enough for me to wear my jeans ... still have a golf ball size lump...
I had internal stiiches holding tissue to head , but my scalp was super glued :o
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(http://i251.photobucket.com/albums/gg318/soundy1/RelayHaircut050fff.jpg)
my incsion looks like it is farther back from ear than yours ...his was taken a year ago today... the day
I cam home from the hospital...was not brave enough to take belly pictures
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Okay guys, as long as we're posting pictures of our incisions, here's my head approximately 1 week post op (retrosigmoid). My head is pretty goopy from the bacitracin and I'm about 2 or 3 days away from being able to shampoo ::)
Although the incision looks puffy in the picture, I have to say that by 1 year post op the scar was almost invisible. It's very flat and very faint (good work, Drs. Kazan & Battista) ;D
Sorry no belly pictures for me either - never even thought to take one of those :D
I also have pictures of my BAHA site a few days post op; maybe I'll post them at another time.
Jan
(http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/cc207/leapyrtwins/ANscar.jpg)
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I love all the pics. I see the doc on Tuesday, July 8th. I hope I can get the staples removed and I will post more pics. Yes, my incision was very close to the ear and I do not think they cut much hair. I think in time I'm sure I won't be able to see it. I have washed my hair on Saturday which made me feel so much better. Most people who see my belly cut think it is excessive for such a small amount of fat. I hope I will start a new trend of people posting their belly incisions also, I love the thought of being a trendsetter among the ANers.
Julie
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Julie -
Happy Staple-Removing Day! ;D
IMO your belly fat scar isn't that big and there's probably a reason behind the size of it. I'd ask the doctor.
Jan
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yes, Julie - happy staple-removing day!
I deduced that the interns must have been in charge of my belly incisions - no way it was the same doctor who closed my head! My head stitches were so neat and tidy and it looked like a chimpanzee had done my belly. I'll post a picture later of what it looks like today.
Julie, you ARE a trend setter!! And, I love the whole diaglog about the belly incisions. All this time, I thought it was just me being overly sensitive about the size of the cut - but you are right, why do they need such a big cut for such a small amount of fat???
Hey, Jan - wow! that's some incision! I've never seen a retro-sigmoid incision I guess. I really is quite impressive.
Debbi
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OMG! Is all I can say for the pics of your battle wounds! Do you remember the commercial of the little baby boy buying stock on-line then barfs? Well that's me when I opened this post this a.m.! Thanks for that guys ;)
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Okay, here's my belly wound 10 weeks post op - Christie Brinkley's got nothing to worry about!
(http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk167/debifulco/78TheBellyWound-1.jpg)
Debbi, bikini days are over...
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No No Debbi,
Christie Brinkley needs to be worried!!! You look great, you've been through a battle and you have WON!!!!!
Take care,
Anne Marie
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Debbi:
Bikini days are over? Don't give up so easily. To an objective observer, that really isn't all that much of a scar. I would guess that in another ten weeks it will be far less noticeable. I would suggest purchasing some Vitamin D oil to treat it. My wife used it after a surgery and whatever scar she had was essentially invisible after a year. I know there are other (albeit expensive) scar-reducing agents available OTC. Worth the cost if they are efficacious. You may not be ready for a two-piece this summer, but wait until next year! :)
Jim
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Thanks, guys. I was thinking of giving up my side job as a bathing suit model anyway, along with my second career as a high wire artist! Jim, I actually just picked up something for scar treatment a few days ago - some sort of oil with lots of vitamins and herbs in it, smells great. What I am really hoping is that it makes the big hard knot of scar tissue diminish somewhat.
I still have to side with Julie though that it seems like a big incision for such a small amount of fat. With that much room to move around, you'd think they'd get a bunch more fat out of there! And, they definitely didn't do their finest stitchery around there, either!
Julie, how did the staple removal go????? Could you feel anything?
Debbi
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I have 2 scars since I was so lucky to have the CSF leak surgery. One is one inch and the other one and half inches. Just had to measure after hearing of the large size of some. One was a big knot for some time and I figured that it would always be that way. It did heal and now both look the same and are even inverted a little and a shiny pale color. I never did use any type of ointment on them. So there is hope. The horrible site was the translab incision times 2.
To any new people, my CSF leak was due to my hospital using a new type of colloidal implant called Durepair. 3 people then had leaks. A nurse told me she was quite surprised as they rarely would see a leak. I well know how purchasing depts like to go for the least expensive product. They did then change back to the one they had used previously.
Next year at the sympsoium you can have the fun of feeling my bumpy head and see the interesting incision I have.
Cheryl R
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I think your belly looks great and I will definitely pick up some scar treatment oil myself. Unfortunately, I didn't have my staples removed today! :( I saw my otologist/nuerologist today and he spent a few minutes saying how great things were that it would take awhile before the fat he put in my ear would disappear. He described making an "outey" belly button in my ear and it would eventually shrink to be an "inney", but would not give me how long. I tried to press that by the time I have my BAHA processor in 3 months my ear would be less gunky, but he wouldn't commit to a time. I see my neurosurgeon next Tuesday and that is when the staples are removed. He said that he never told me how much fat he was taking from my belly but that it was more than a tablespoon and that he took out a lot hence the 3 inch cut.
Julie
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Debbi -
thanks for being impressed with my retrosigmoid scar ;)
As Jim said, your belly incision isn't bad at all. If your experience is anything like mine, the scar will fade very fast.
Don't have any pics of my belly and don't intend to take any :o but your incision is even lower than mine. I think you are correct about the interns doing the fat grafts - I know that's what happened in my case. In fact, that was the intern's main job - kind of makes me wonder how he'll graduate from fat grafts to AN surgery ??? but I'll bet someone in med school has the answer to that question :D
Julie -
sorry you are still "with staples" but at least you got some explanation of why your belly incision is so long and at least you can shampoo in the meantime (I think you said you could).
If vitamin D works like Jim says it does, I'd skip the scar treatment oil and go with it. Vitamin D is bound to be cheaper. I spent about $60 on a very small bottle of scar stuff to use on my son's cheek and honestly it didn't work well at all. I think it was called ScarGuard.
Jan
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my belly scar is lower than that ... would be X rated if I had a picture ... I measured it a minute ago and
it is a bit over 4 inches long... the golf ball sized pump of damage tissue is visible if I put pressure around it ...
was told I could have it removed at my own expense so I guess I am keeping it ...the scar it's self is a silver line
Mine was also done by an intern...scary that two men were prowling around in my head and had to stop
because he cut something he shouldn't have and I was bleeding out ... he came to see me in pre-op and
told me it was going to be a simple nip and stitch procedure to get a little fat ... at least he was not poking
around in my head ...
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Soundy -
sounds like your belly scar is extremely low :o Mine is somewhere between Julie's and Debbi's.
I can't believe that they told you that in order to fix the damaged tissue you'd have to pay for it yourself. Yikes! Hardly seems fair :(
Jan
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Level with the top of my pubic bone low :o
They say the lump is scar tissue that built up from tissue dying and calcifying from lack of blood when intern did
his thing and insurance said it was not medically necessary to remove it if it was not interfering with any funtion...
I am aware of it , but it is painless and no one but me knows it is there ... well and all of y'all :)
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And we promise not to tell!
Heck, you guys on this forum could hold me hostage forever based on some of the pics I've shared with you. Nothing like a brain tumor to take care of any self-consciousness. ;D
Debbi
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Don't have any pics of my belly and don't intend to take any
Count me in that club too, Jan!!! Seriously, thanks everyone for posting pics--it is really helpful to know what's normal for us ANers... (And I agree, Debbi, your belly incision looks very neat and likely to fade to nothing, so Christie Brinkley better not rest on her laurels just yet...)
Julie--so glad to hear you came through this in record time, with no post-operative complications, it seems! And you look fantastic! Wow!
The drastically shortened hospital stays for this surgery do make me kind of nervous, though, I must say; at the time of my original surgery ('89), 7 days was the typical stay, and my neurosurgeon finagled an extra 3 days for me since he knew I had a 5 hour flight home to NM after being discharged. Ironically, the big topic of the day was how maternity stays had been sliced away to a fraction of what they were in former years (I'd had my first child the year before, and was actually very happy to go home pronto with my little bundle of joy...) I feel like the same thing has happened with AN surgeries--though I feel the pros and cons of being in a hospital after major surgery are a little different than after childbirth!
Which is a long way around of saying, even though you broke an Olympic record getting home, and are doing wonderfully well, please take it very very easy! Treat yourself very gently and give yourself lots of time to heal and recuperate at the pace your body dictates to you.
Best,
Carrie
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Carrie, Thanks so much for your concern. I was so ready to leave the hospital and of course I am sleeping much better now that I am home, but I am far from being back to normal. The reason I was released so early is because I had absolutely no dizziness or balance issues which seems most people do that have this type of surgery. I am amazed how tired I am and how little energy I have. My friend came yesterday and spent the day with me and she said I looked better after surgery then I did 10 days out. I'm trying to let myself take it easy and not feel sorry for myself for not having any energy.
Julie