Question about Surgery

It is all the surgeons preference. It can be dependent on your skin thickness, durability, subcutaneous fat pad, incision location and more. Staples are fast and easy to remove. Stitches have to each be sewn and removed. It is amazing that having staples sounds painful. They aren't. Heck nowadays I see people with more piercings than you'll have staples. Just a minor pinch when they are popped out.

John has his done Monday.  Kidney, adrenal, buncha lymph nodes, and they opened him up further to check his liver and colon.  He has about 18" of staples.  It looks worse than it is because he had another scar about 12" long from being robbed and stabbed years ago, so they cut along the same one to save his muscles from worse damage and to cut down on scar tissue.  He said the cut isn't bothering him at all, but the spot around his back, where the tumor was pressing against a major muscle and some nerves, is killing him. He said it if wasn't for the back, he'd be good to go.

Staples are fairly small, much smaller than the ones he had years ago, and will be out in two weeks.

Good luck with the surgery; he had no issues, was in and out about as fast as could be.  I can shoot you a picture if you want.

lal_njl said:

Good luck with your scan!

i will probably be in my recliner for a few weeks I am sure!  I tend to fall asleep in it each night after dinner already! 

I have never had any surgeries prior to this.  Child birth is about the extent of my knowledge of any form of discomfort, and that was pretty easy!

Well, lal_njl, you seem to be well prepared with a realistic attitude. Good for you.

I have had several abdominal surgeries but that last two I wore a lumbar, velcro support wrap. It is for low back pain, but both surgeons stated it was okay for support following surgery. I also placed a dry ice block inside (over clothing) to help with the swelling from incisional area. It helped so much I  hardly need any pain meds after awhile.

Stay AHEAD of the pain by getting on a pain med schedule for awhile. Don't try to be brave. Many folks get constipated from Pain meds. I  rather use other non-opiates if I can but you may need them initially. I used Tramadol (narcotic but not an opiate) and then Gabapentin which I was on anyways. It is an anti-seizure med now used for nerve pain.

The "velcro wrap" helped me GET UP and down more  easily. It helped when I walked too. I even wore it to bed. I didn't have a recliner.

Maybe Fox can tell you the proper way of getting UP after surgery. I would hold my stomach IN, take a breath and let it out as I got up. But I use the "lamaze" childbirth breathing technique for everything.

The RNs will get you UP the usually the same day, just to stand, then eventually to make it to a chair to prevent blood clots from forming. Walking is helpful.

You can DM me if you want more information.

I'll be thinking of you, and hope to hear how you are doing.

Glad you found us!

Jan

I had a partial nephrectomy last year, and the surgeon chose an open procedure.  The incision was stitched through the various layers of muscle, the skin was then glued, and staples were placed over the incision.  You will most likely also have a drain tube in your side and a second smaller incision.  Once the tube was removed, they just butterfly taped it closed and badaged it.  It is not a fun surgery from which to recover, as if any surgery truly is, but it is managable if you take your pain meds and don't overdo it.  Good luck and keep us posted.

My stitches were all internal and then glue external with Steri-strips over that.  My abdomen now looks like I have 5 belly buttons instead of one!  Now that I'm 3+ years out, I've gotten use to the way I look and feel quite unique.  :-)  Bikini days are over.  Just kidding, I'm 62 and haven't been in a bikini for a while now.   Not sure if open vs closed is "better", sometimes it has to do more with the location of the mass and the comfort level of your surgeon.  Oh wait, maybe you were referring to stitches vs staples?  Either one, you'll feel little pinches when they are being removed.  In the grand scheme, no big deal.  Usually you'll have a couple of drains placed as well.  Again, not the most comfortable thing to have removed when the time is right, but you'll get through it.

I have been in the medical field for 30+ years, most of that time as a Respiratory Therapist.  My biggest pet peave is that most hospitals don't give their incoming surgical patients an Incentive Spirometer to practice with before surgery.  This is something that will encourage you to do deep breathing exercises after surgery, to prevent pneumonia from setting in by increasing your lung volumes.  When we are sedate and in pain we tend to breathe more shallow, not good for our lungs.  Of course I got my hands on one of these devices before surgery (which they usually send patients home with post-op) and was able to inhale a volume of approximately 4000cc.  If I hadn't known that before my surgery I would not have had a target to work towards post surgery.  Initially after surgery I could only achieve about 1000cc!  Big difference, so I knew I had some work to do. If they don't give you one pre-surgery, ask for it. (I did mention this fact to hospital management and got no where, they just kept referring to the expense involved)

Other things I learned, (the hard way) heed your discharge instructions.  After 2 weeks, I was still pretty weak but feeling better and I hate laying around so I decided to do some laundry.  Not a good idea.  That night I ended up in the ER due to excruiating pain and had a set back.  I thought I was taking it easy, one item of clothing at a time, I was wrong. 

I'll keep you in my prayers.  Best wishes and I hope your recovery goes well.  Let others do for you and enjoy your books, movies, puzzles or whatever your preference is.

Kidney and gallbladder at the same time?  Have your doctor go for a hat trick and get your appendix out too 

That incision size sounds right to me and I can almost guarantee that you will have staples.  You will definitely have some internal stiches and you might even have a drain.  Of course you will be sore so really watch what you eat until heal up.  After having my gallbladder out I had some issues with dumping syndrome when I ate foods that were high in fat. So that meant that I had to get to the bathroom quickly when I felt the urge.  I suspect that getting up and down may take a bit more time for a few weeks after you get home. 

When I was discussing surgical options for my tumor with my doctor he told me something that struck me very profoundly, he said "weather I do it open or robotically, in six months you won't care how I did it."  

Good luck to you and let us know how it goes.  

Jason