ANA Discussion Forum

Post-Treatment => Post-Treatment => Topic started by: chocolatetruffle on December 16, 2007, 01:17:36 pm

Title: my surgery aftermath at House
Post by: chocolatetruffle on December 16, 2007, 01:17:36 pm
hello!
I would like to share my surgery experience at HEI and hope this will help anyone in their own journey, whether it is at House/St Vincent's or any other facility. 

The day before the operation was pre-op, it started early at 7.30 am with Dr Schwartz, followed by a series of balance and hearing tests. The water hearing test was most difficult for me as it felt like someone was hosing down my ear and then with my head spinning, I had to stare out of my eyeballs to that non-existent green light.  In the afternoon, I met with internist Dr Stefan, followed by blood tests and chest x-rays with the day ending at 4 pm.  Also took the opportunity to meet with Yolanda and Rita to finalize my paperwork.  Yep! It felt like an 8 hour work day  ??? And oh, don’t despair if St Vincent’s is not in your network, I found out on my last day that a guy is staying at Cedar Sinai Hospital where some House doctors are courtesy staff!

The day of the operation, I went back to House to meet with Dr Brackmann to review the hearing test results and we agreed upon the appropriate surgery approach, which is Translab.  Then off to the hospital to be admitted, changed, had the IV needle put into my arm and my left ear marked for surgery. They wheeled me to the 6th floor where I parted with my family. First order of business, shaving my hair behind the ear which was done by a cute Irish nurse.  Then I was knocked out in less than 5 seconds.  The surgery was a success, with every of that darn thing taken out.  It was initially communicated to me as 3-5 hours, but it turned out to be 8 hours long. 

The night at icu was LONG, I struggled with no luck to find a comfortable position for my head and extremely sore neck and shoulder.  The contraptions hooked to my arms and limbs added to the discomfort, with the leg compressor  going off alternatively, one arm hooked to iv, one finger to pulse machine, one other arm hooked to blood pressure cuff and nurse coming in every 2 hours to change my sleeping position.  Each time she came in I begged for ice which is THE best thing on earth as my mouth was so dry.  She was practically parked at the foot of my icu bed the entire night and there was a camera in there to monitor my movements if she leaves.  Next day they raised me up and I felt the earth was spinning, my left face was swollen that I could hardly open my eyes. I slept the whole day, high on medication, steroids and morphine.  They also feed me shaved orange ice which is the next best thing on earth  ;D

That same day they sent me to my tiny private room. I was still hooked up to the iv and leg contraptions, so going to the bathroom was quite an event.  Make that every 2 hours and I got my own physical therapy going!  They also have this breathing contraption which you are supposed to do every 2 hours for 10 times….. I only did it if the nurse personally stuck it to my mouth.  And oh, the horror stories about hospital food are true  :o  On the bright side you get to choose your menu selections and if your family eats with you, note that the hospital cafeteria serve the same food for both lunch and dinner.  It is good value and there is nothing much within walking distance by the hospital.  I could not eat anything solid for the first few days anyway as my jaw line was so sore and I have little appetite.  I brought books to read thinking I need to pass my time, but my eyes were blurry and I was sleeping so much that I used up my entire sleep quota for 2007 and even earned a sore butt! The nurses responded quickly to my calls and physical therapy came in twice a day to get me walking around the 6th floor.  Thanks to the many bathroom trips, I impressed the therapist  :D  I kept track of my daily medications, eye drop and wound applications - and I was glad I kept track as one day they overlooked my bladder infection medication!  All the surgeons who worked on me visited daily, Dr Wilkinson (assistant to Dr Brackmann) was there every morning at 5.30 am checking on my wounds and facial responses. I was not able to raise my left eyebrow, but I can smile, pucker my lips, and raise my nose.  It was also weird to be deaf in one ear, as I hear echo, people talking, an aria and all sorts of ringing, clicking and vacuuming noises.  Did you know they take out your tummy fat to patch up your ear?  Talk about a free liposuction deal  ;D ;D ;D

I was discharged on the 5th day and they even wheeled me to right up to my room at Seton.  Seton is  convenient and secure, especially for family members.  You need the key to get into the building and up to your floor.  Everything is on the 3rd floor, i.e. the community kitchen/dinning room, free coffee and free laundry.  There is internet access but if you bring your own laptop, you can go to lobby for faster internet access.  If you have a car, they charge you for parking in their garages.  Metered parking outside Seton is free at night.  There is a mini fridge in your room, but oddly no TV remote.  There are no complimentary toiletries (just soap), room gets cleaned every 5 days but there are self-served clean towels and linens.  I met people with AN there and it was really comforting to swap stories, compare our trophy scars and brag how long our surgery was!  I was there for my follow up appointment to get my stitches out, by then, all I want for Christmas was to wash my greasy hair  ;)

It's been 3 weeks since the surgery, walking on land was easier than I thought.  I don't have blurry eyes, I can raise my eyebrows and my neck/shoulders were no longer sore.  My jaw line is still sore, sitting in the car is still a challenge, I am learning how to use my only good ear and I am improving each day for balance. Everyone’s experience varies and my best wishes to everyone in their own journey.  But I think we all had a life changing experience and we can say “anything that comes my way - a piece of cake!â€? 

chocolatetruffle
Title: Re: my surgery aftermath at House
Post by: 1wareagle on December 16, 2007, 02:17:51 pm
Chocolatetruffle,

     It is good to hear that you are doing so well! Reading your post sounded just like my experience at St. Vincent Hospital and Seton Hall.  I guess the biggest grip I had was with the food. I ate whatever they put in front of me to  stay alive but it tasted awful. We found out 2 nights before we left that we could order out pizza. I was so glad to taste normal food again. When I went to Dr. Roberts for a eye appointment his nurses sent back some Kentucky fried chicken with me and my wife. Needless to say I didn't share. It was sooo good!!! Even thought my tongue was numb on one side I never lost my taste or appetite for food.

Good Luck in your continuing recovery,
Ellis
Title: Re: my surgery aftermath at House
Post by: Captain Deb on December 16, 2007, 03:06:41 pm
Chocolatetruffle,
Love your name! My experience at House was very similar to yours except for the food part.  Our cafeteria food, though it was cafeteria food, was quite acceptable, especially the mashed potatoes, which I ate gobs of.  We found a Mexican take-out place close by that was pretty authentic and good, if you have a palate for ethnic food.  I can relate to the greasy hair thing--that was the best getting the hair washed. Mine was so greasy it actually hurt. I also found an incrdible dark chocolate candy bar at the pharmacy downstairs.  Has a pic of a lady and an airplane on the front--I forgot the brand name.

What's really strange is that I didn't have much pain at all immediately post-op. I got a whopper of a migraine the day I was discharged and drove to my cousin's house in the burbs. Probably the stress of the drive and saying goodbye to my hubby and knowing I wouldn't be seeing him for 4 weeks.

Good luck with you continued recovery and keep us posted on your progress and remember we are here for you!

Hugs,

Capt Deb(http://i235.photobucket.com/albums/ee60/Captdeb_photos/pirate2.gif)

Title: Re: my surgery aftermath at House
Post by: lori67 on December 16, 2007, 06:36:01 pm
Chocolatetruffle - great to hear you are doing so well and haven't lost that very important sense of humor! 

I hope you continue to get better and stronger each day!

I was excited about the "buy one brain surgery, get a free liposuction" deal too.  Too bad he couldn't have done the whole thing.  I offered to donate the extra - I mean they have a blood bank, a bone bank... they should have a fat bank.

Lori
Title: Re: my surgery aftermath at House
Post by: eugd on December 16, 2007, 08:43:38 pm
what procedure did you get?
Title: Re: my surgery aftermath at House
Post by: 4cm in Pacific Northwest on December 17, 2007, 10:22:25 am
Here is chocolatetruffle’s quote (re which surgery?)
"The day of the operation, I went back to House to meet with Dr Brackmann to review the hearing test results and we agreed upon the appropriate surgery approach, which is Translab."  

Chocolatetruffle,

Great to hear from you and that your face was not affected!  :) My face is slowly coming back now … noticing crows feet around my eyes and more of a smirk and dimples each day. ;D

Thanks for posting so soon after your discharge.

Here is to a speedy recovery!

Cheers,

4


P.S. I could not stand the taste of chocolate post op- now … well I am making up for lost time now – mmm…truffles anyone?
Title: Re: my surgery aftermath at House
Post by: chocolatetruffle on December 17, 2007, 02:14:10 pm
hello 4 cm
i was quite surprised about my facial responses as i was fearing the worst.   whenever i get the wee morning doctor visits, i ask questions and the discussion came to FAMVIR which i took 3 days before the surgery and a couple of days after the surgery.  Interestingly, the goal was to mitigate virus infection on the ganglia which kinda impacts the facial nerve.  It will be a good read when House publish their white paper on this.

chocolatetruffle
Title: Re: my surgery aftermath at House
Post by: OTO on December 17, 2007, 05:44:50 pm
There was a post on the topic of "shingles" in one of the forum categories.  Famvir is an anti-viral for herpes.  One of the reasons they give famvir is to prevent shingles post-surgery.  I think the thread of discussion was that the herpes virus can lie dormant along the facial nerve, and they want to prevent it from become active...
Title: Re: my surgery aftermath at House
Post by: Edu on February 26, 2008, 11:00:51 pm
OH, YOU DON´T KNOW HOW GOOD ALL THIS GREAT STORIES ABOUT HOUSE FEEL. I LIVE IN MEXICO CITY AND I HAVE A 2.7 CM (27MM)  AN. IN ALL MY RESEARCH HOUSE CAME AS THE BEST. BUT THIS IS STORIES ARE WHAT REALLY GIVE YOU THE BEST INFORMATION.

THANKS
Title: Re: my surgery aftermath at House
Post by: Boppie on February 26, 2008, 11:09:19 pm
I believe the antiviral Famvir, Valtrex, or Zovirex is directed at the herpes simplex virus which can travel up the nerve in the face and create a bell's palsey effect during the recovery phase.