Laparoscopic hernia repair
July 1, 2008 My body has told me in no uncertain terms that even though laparoscopic surgery might not slice one open as widely as 'regular' surgery, it is still definitely surgery.
I had an inguinal hernia on the right side. I was born with it, it was repaired many years ago when I was 3 years old, and now it was in need of repair again. Last Monday I visited the surgeon (Dr Ronald Delgado in Brandon Florida, and he is wonderful!). He discussed the procedure, we scheduled the time, and I went for some pre-op tests (EKG, chest x-ray, and some blood tests). I was told to have no food nor drink of any kind (not even water) after midnight prior to surgery day, and yesterday arrived at the hospital at 6:30am to prep for the 9am procedure.
There were various forms to be signed (of course :) ...then an IV catheter was inserted. My veins tend to hide when it is cooler, and Shirley and I did feel that the room temp was rather frigid ...so the poor nurse had to abandon the first attempt and go for the side of the wrist (which is usually a good spot on me, but she wanted to try the wider part of the forearm first).
After meeting the nurses who would be in the operating room and the anesthesiologist and the surgeon, they hooked me up to the IV bag. Since it was known by that time that I was missing my morning coffee, they kindly labeled the IV bag "COFFEE" ...it still wasn't the same. And they wheeled me towards the operating room.
The next thing I knew I was in post-op. Apparently, after knocking me out, they shaved my "down-under", inserted a breathing tube down the throat, a catheter up the urethra, made 4 incisions, inflated my belly, and repaired the hernia, then closed me up and removed the catheter and breathing tube (I'm glad that I don't remember getting those inserted!!).
The pain has been manageable, thanks to generic Vicodin. I've started easing off of those ...very carefully. The hardest part by FAR was peeing. I don't know if it was due to everything being numbed, or what, but I was warned about this by several others. They did have me pee before leaving the hospital, but it was probably no more than a spoonful; that at least showed that things were working, albeit nowhere near normal. We were probably back home by 1pm yesterday afternoon, and by mid-afternoon I felt like I had a gallon in my bladder. I tried various things to help the flow, but I think the main thing that helped was just time. By early this morning things were much closer to normal -- thank GOD :)
OK, this will get a little graphic now if you're squeamish. I had a devil of a time finding details and pics from folks who had had this procedure done, so I wanted to provide the details that I had been wanting prior to surgery. The first 2 pics are pre-op. The 3rd pic was provided by the doc, and shows a great view of my appendix, and of the nylon mesh that was used to patch the hernia. Then there's a pic post-op at the hospital. The last two pics are of the wounds ...one with the incisions covered by bandages, and the final pic with just the "Steri-Tape" covering the stitched incisions (I was told to leave the Steri-Tape in place, but to change the gauze daily). I've got some extra fat, but I'm not as round as the images make things appear. Honestly :) ...The final pic shows a little 'deflation' as compared to the pic from yesterday afternoon. I don't know how long it takes for the air/gas that was used to inflate the belly to dissipate.
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Reader Comments (2)
In a couple of weeks, I have a colonoscopy and a general GI scoping scheduled - getting it from both ends at the same time.
What a drag it is getting old...unless you consider the alternative.
Get well soon.