My Surgery Journeys *LONG* + Pectus Excavatum & Scoliosis + YouTube Videos
My Surgery Journey
Alyssa*Star
I was basically born with something called Pectus Excavatum, where the chest dips in making a hollow in the chest.
Day 1 in hospital:
We made our way to Dorcas ward (me and my mum) on Wednesday the 30th of January (‘08) and I was introduced to my main nurse who would be doing my admission. I was asked plenty of questions and swabs were taken. Then I had an X-ray and bloods were taken and I was visited by the registrar and doctor and asked more questions. I was asked if I had any metal work in my body and I explained that I have 5 screws and a rod attached to my spine. I was explained what would happen for surgery. I signed a consent form and the anesthetist came and saw me to discuss pain killers and previous operations and I told her that I was extremely sick last time so she’d give me twice the anti-sickness to help with that. She explained that I’d be on morphine and would be kept in the recovery for about an hour after the surgery. Everything was fine to go ahead.
I got myself a coffee to drink from the day room down the corridor and spoke to a few people on the phone like my dad who was wishing me luck and my sisters and brothers.
I was starting to get nervous so I took a lie down and then the surgeon came and saw me and she was happy to go ahead with the procedure. She told me that I was second on the list for Friday’s surgery and that I’d be going down at about midday. The procedure will take about 3 hours she said and I was happy about that. I was left to get some sleep but I could hardly get any because I was thinking so much and it was hard because of so much going on in the ward.
Day 2 in hospital, day of surgery (Thursday):
I slept on and off until it was about 7:00 the next morning… the morning of surgery. The night nurse made me have a shower and put a surgical gown on along with surgical stockings. I was told I had to also take my underwear off.
I was ‘nil by mouth’ so wasn’t allowed anything to eat or drink so couldn’t have breakfast or coffee or anything and my mum came at 11 o’clock and sat with me. I was getting so anxious. I wasn’t given a pre-med which was hard because I suffer from anxiety. We waited… until it was 12 o’clock and got news that the lady before me was still in theatre because there had been some complications with her procedure. They didn’t know when I’d be going down. We waited… talked to the woman across the way. She was taken away for tests and finally the porters came to get me and I got into bed.
Mum walked with me and into the lift until we came to the floor with all the operating rooms and had to sign me in when we came to the double doors. Mum couldn’t go any further so I kissed her and she kissed me I was extremely nervous. ‘Love you mum, more than you love me’, ‘Love you lyssie, love you’ I was wheeled down to a recovery room to wait for them to come and get me for preparations. The lady was nice there and she gave me a magazine to read but I could hardly concentrate.
Then the anesthetists came and got me and took me to the prep room and I had to squeeze my hand to get the vein to pop out. The doctors were so nice to me and made me laugh because I was so scared. We talked about India, random I know. The cannula was put into my hand for the IV to go into for the pain killer, morphine. Then the nurse came through and connected me to these machines, heart machines I think they were. The doctor injected this stuff into me and it made me feel drunk and so good compared to anxious. I was so relaxed and it was the most amazing stuff I’d ever had. I thanked the doctor. Then a gas mask was put over my face and I don’t remember anything after that.
During the surgery:
The cartilage of my deformed ribs was cut away, four ribs on each side, leaving the sheath that allows a mixture of cartilage and scar tissue to grow back. My sternum is brought forward and a bar placed to keep it in a good position. This procedure took a total of three hours to complete.
Waking up in Recovery Room:
When I woke up I can hardly remember anything apart from lots of people standing around me talking about my pain control and weather to increase it or not. I was drifting in and out of consciousness because the pain was so bad it was unbearable; I couldn’t keep myself awake and was kept in recovery from 5 o’clock until 9:30, three and a half hours more than expected... When I had woken up again and was in more of an aware state they gave me a button to press of morphine on a timer for every five minutes. I was taken up to the ward where my mum and sister were waiting for me.
I can remember my mum asking me to close my mouth because it was open and me trying to close it but unable to. I pressed my morphine pump as often as I could. My mum and sister left and I fell asleep again until I woke up during the night needing the toilet and asked the nurse if I could go. He had to take off some insulator things from my legs and put my drains in a bag to make it easier for me to carry them. I had to carry my four drains and wheel my morphine pump and drip to the toilet with me, and back. It was so painful, especially with the drains in.
Day 3 in hospital, day after surgery (Friday):
I fell asleep again until I was half awake mid-morning and the nurse needed to help me out of bed onto the chair so she could change my bedding. Because it was hard for me to move around with my chest being in agony, I pressed the morphine pump before I got up. I sat in the chair and it was so comfortable that I fell asleep. My dad came and visited me after he’d been to work and I got into bed so he could sit in the chair. Later on my mum came and visited me and watched some TV with me.
The surgeon came and saw me and saw how I was doing and explained to me that surgery went as expected, lasted three hours and I shouldn’t have a look at my chest yet because it would be bruised and swollen. She told me a lot of ‘bone cutting’ went on.
The wards physiotherapist came and helped me with some stretching exercises and coughing. Coughing was important because it kept me from getting a chest infection after the operation.
Day 4 of being in hospital (Saturday):
My mum came again and visited me and gave me ‘get well soon’ card along with some nice food for me to eat.
The same day, two of my Redivac drains were allowed to come out. They happened to be the smaller two. It was strange and a little uncomfortable because they had suction and they pulled quite a lot. Two more (the bigger two) were left in because they hadn’t drained enough fluid yet. I was told they could probably come out on Monday.
Day 5 of being in hospital (Sunday):
My morphine pump was removed and I was put on oral pain killers and whatnot.
My brother Paul came to see me and gave me a card too, along with a diary and a pen and pencil from paperchase, which was lovely of him.
I had to get an X-ray taken of my chest and after that I was left to rest.
Later, one of the other wards consultant surgeons came and visited me and told me that I’d be having my Redivac drains out on Monday and was allowed to go home then too. I was very happy about this. I had an okay nights sleep that night.
Monday – going home:
My last two drains were taken out and they did hurt and felt horrible because they were bigger than the other two and were quite deep into the wound. They didn’t stop bleeding for a while and so had to have steristrips put over to keep the holes closed.
I waited for my mum to come and get me with the car and meanwhile I had to have another X-ray, which I was allowed to make my own way to. I waited some more until my mum came and I had packed on my own.
The nurse explained to me what each medication I was taking away was for and when and when not to take them.
One week later:
A week after I had left the hospital, I went back into London to visit the surgeon for a check up. She told me that she could remove my internal suture there and then so that I didn’t have to go to my practice nurse, which was great. We spoke of surgery and she explained that a metal bar wasn’t used and so I would not need another expected surgery, one year later. She would like to see me in a month’s time and then I wouldn’t need any more follow up appointments if everything was fine.
Please check out my YT page, I think you'll find it interesting and hopefully fun, watch out for more vids 'cause I have a new cool webcam with built in mic and everything.
Last edited by pixie*lyssie : 25-02-2008 at 01:29 PM.
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Thank you hun. I am feeling so well right now comparet to right after surgery. I wrote this because I was bored and just wanted to remember it because it was such an experience. Thank you for reading xx
Oh I am thank you... much better... actually appart from the fact that I'm still getting shooting pains... but to be honest I think that's just nerve regrowth. hehe. I'm glad you guys liked the story... thank you for reading. xx
In the year 2000 I was going down the stairs in our house and slipped on a letter, it hurt my bottom for a while but then the day went on fine. I then went to sleep for the night and woke up with agonizing pains in my lower back. I was hysterical and could barely move without cringing. I knew I had to take the day off school and take a hot bath for my bones. I was so worried that I booked an emergency appointment at my local family doctor. I think it's was my doctor Dr. White who checked me over. She asked me to bend over so she could feel my spine and there it was, she noticed a slight curvature.
She told me that this curvature was called Scoliosis and said what it was. (An abnormal curvature of the spine) but she didn't really tell be about it in much detail. I was just quite fascinated that I had something structurally wrong with me.
She sent me to St. Peters to see a specialist in orthopedics, Dr. Daly.
Year 2001:
I had an x-ray and it was confirmed. The scoliosis was so small that she just sent me to the physiotherapist. I did that for a few weeks and my course finished. They considered giving me a spinal brace but didn’t in the end.
Year 2002:
Had the usual x-ray, it had got worse by a few degrees. As I was still growing and as I was growing the Scoliosis was getting worse. She did nothing, not even a brace and I was still growing so it may have taken little effect, which would have been better than nothing.
Year 2003:
It had got worse. I had just stopped growing so she said it wasn't going to get worse. It's not meant to get worse when you have stopped growing apparently. She looked at me properly and thought one leg was noticeably longer than the other. So blocks under my left foot were involved and more x-rays. I can't remember what happened next but she wanted a check up the following year.
Year 2004:
I and my mum said we'd thought it'd got worse. Had the x-ray and she said it had got badly worse. Even though I had stopped growing. Maybe due to a growth spurt or something. It was out of her hands. So she told me that she'd refer me to Guy's in London to see a Mr. O’Dowd. Who was a surgeon. We said I didn't want the op but she said go anyway, as they have facts at their fingertips or something along those lines ...
I won’t say the whole story about getting at appointment at Guys with Mr. O’Dowd as it took about a year and I kept getting pushed to the back of the list. It got so ridiculous that mum was calling every day.
Until, Mr. Lam agreed to see me. I had the consultation with him on the 23rd of March 2006. He told me it was 44 degree lumber curve and a 23 thoracic curve and that it would carry on getting worse by a degree every year. I asked him what the surgical correction procedure involved and so on and he told me what approach he's use because he told me I had a lumbar scoliosis, anterior approach, so he'd be going in through the side of my tummy. He told me the risks and they were tiny for such a big operation. So I was happy. He said I could think about it and he's put me on the list if I wanted it done. But on the spot I said put me on it straight away, so he agreed and said he'd operate around about July/August time.
At this point I was on the NHS. It was taking ages for the op to come through and it was booked for September on the NHS. But I couldn't start then as I'd miss college and I have already missed two years of schooling because of issues of my own. So as we tried on our medical insurance, we got it moved to early August at Guy's private Nuffield House. It was all booked and we were happy. I went to London Bridge Hospital (a private hospital) to have a consultation a week or so before the operation. He told me everything: That he'd be taking out a rib to use for a bone graft, deflating a lung and taking down my diaphragm and then the spine fusion. It was going to be a 6-8 hour surgery. He told me that I’d be on morphine and it would be pretty painful so I would be still on my back in intensive care for a few days.
I went along to Nuffield and had some bending x-rays taken on the 15th of August 2006. Mr. Lam saw me in my room at about 8:30pm. And once again told me everything I needed to know to reassure me. He signed his papers and I signed my consent form. My mum left after that as it had been a long day traveling all into London on public transport. She kissed me goodbye and told me that she's be there to send me off and when I woke up after the operation. This would be about 6 as Mr. Lam wanted to get started at about 7. She was so worried and I was so excited and positive. I went to bed later after watching some TV. I could hardly sleep because I was so fidgety my mind was all hyped up, ha-ha.
The night nurse woke me up at about 5:30 and gave me the gown, underwear and surgical stockings. She said she'd come back at about 6 to give my my pre op meds. Mum still hadn't arrived so I was a bit sad... tired and grumpy as I wasn't allowed to eat because I was ‘nil by mouth’ But still so eager for the surgery to go ahead. It was almost 7, I had already taken my pre-op medication and mum arrived literally a few minutes before I was carted off. We chatted and what not for a few minutes. The porter and night nurse came and wheeled me off. My mum was allowed to stay with me in the lift and along the corridor. Until the big double doors, I remember. She kissed me and that lot she told me she'd be there when I woke up. I waved to her. We went in to this room crowded with equipment (the room next to the theatre room). Dr Daniels my anesthetist, who I had seen the day before when I'd arrived was really nice and the other nurses and spinal monitoring staff we were joking around.
He connected me to loads of machines, put needles into what seemed like every nook and cranny. Mr. Lam popped his head around the door and said hello to me and asked me how I was doing, which was nice. Then he went, probably to get changed and scrub up and all.
Next I remember Dr Daniels telling me I’d feel a slight prick... injecting my arm and feeling cold running up my arm...
Next thing I knew...
I woke up in intensive care, oxygen mask on and I remember screaming in agony... I don’t remember after that I must have gone back to sleep. Then woke up again in the evening and didn't like the oxygen mask so tried to pull it off but they kept putting it back on me.
I couldn't get back to sleep all these things bleeping in my ear about a dozen tubes coming out of my hands and arms. Not to mention an extremely painful chest drain and catheter for my urine. Oh and my back... that hurt too! The morphine made me sick. I was lying still in intensive care for three days and Mr. Lam came and checked on me and said I was stable so I could go back up to the ward on 3rd floor.
That day I was so determined to get out of bed and I at least got to the big chair, I was so proud. I was put on a PCA, where you can press for the morphine when you need it. I met the nicest people ever. I'll never forget it. It changed my life all thanks to Mr. Lam. Anyhow, he came to my room with my x-ray. All I could say was ‘Oh my Goodness’ Is that MY spine? I started at it. My exact words were 'You’re a genius' ha-ha the cheeky git was like 'yes well that's obvious' joking around, we had a good laugh. Next day he came back and checked on me and we had a chat about where we like to go for Dim Sum (Chinese food) so random I know. He said he was so pleased with my early progress I may be able to go home on day 6 of being in hospital. But on day 6 I hadn't done the stairs yet with the physio so I had to wait. I went on day 7 (Tuesday), so it was a week in hospital. Mum came and fetched me and every single little dent in the road I was in tears...
I went in on Tuesday the 15th of August 2006, had the op on Wednesday the 16th of August 2006 and went home on the 23rd of August.
Nothing else to blab on about. Except I think that Mr. Lam is amazing, thank you! =)
xx
Last edited by pixie*lyssie : 25-02-2008 at 09:18 PM.
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