Husband is Recovering - Trach Question

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kimmygarland
kimmygarland Member Posts: 312
edited March 2012 in Head and Neck Cancer #1
My husband continues to recover and seems to be getting better every day. He had first post op appt with surgeon Friday and he said he is doing well. Only issue he is having is he gained TWENTY POUNDS of water/fluid from fluid retention. Needless to say, he is on lasix and it is slowly coming off. Doc said not unusual when someone is on IV fluids?? Wow... Anyway, we are managing and I haven't killed him yet with my nursing skills. He still has one drain that has to be emptied and logged, and there's the trache care, which I am slowly mastering. It's not complicated, it is just, frankly, a pain in the arse!

Question on the trache - he is coughing up a lot of mucous thru the trache which everyone says is normal and it's good that he has a good, strong cough. I was wondering from those that have had a trache - how long does this last??? Is it a permanent situation with the trache? Doc told us he will likely keep the trache in through his upcoming radiation in case of swelling, but it can come out after that.

Doc gave us the operation report (not sure of formal name, lol) that indicated what pathology showed, what they did, etc. Of course I am not a medical expert but I have read a lot of these over the years and it appears from the report that there are two places that indicated SCC malignancy still remains, and that surgeon put in clips so they are easily identifiable for radiation. He had told us as much, but something about seeing it in writing was upsetting.

Doc also indicated if Bob continues to do well in recovery, they will start radiation/chemo in next 2-3 weeks. I don't see how his body is ready for that, but what do I know, lol.

I think I have rambled on long enough... it's so nice to have this community to come to and know that there are people here who understand.

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  • fisrpotpe
    fisrpotpe Member Posts: 1,349 Member
    #2
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    pretty much
    the mucous cough is pretty much the normal, for me one day was less and then the next may be worse. so much unknown as there is no rhyme nor reason why more mucous at one point than another. for me i learned just live with and know at some point the trace will go. i know for me the trach helped with breathing.

    there is no good time to start rad and chemo at some point it becomes tougher than one thought it would be. for most the first week or two the radiation side effects are not a problem. my thought has always been the sooner they start the sooner your well on your way to what feels like a long recovery period and is just not fast enough.

    you can not ramble on here to much, we all understand.

    john
  • zipperneck2012
    zipperneck2012 Member Posts: 27
    #3
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    fisrpotpe said:

    pretty much
    the mucous cough is pretty much the normal, for me one day was less and then the next may be worse. so much unknown as there is no rhyme nor reason why more mucous at one point than another. for me i learned just live with and know at some point the trace will go. i know for me the trach helped with breathing.

    there is no good time to start rad and chemo at some point it becomes tougher than one thought it would be. for most the first week or two the radiation side effects are not a problem. my thought has always been the sooner they start the sooner your well on your way to what feels like a long recovery period and is just not fast enough.

    you can not ramble on here to much, we all understand.

    john

    I only had my trach in for a
    I only had my trach in for a week, but I coughed until I got it out. They said that the trach itself can really irritate your windpipe and make you cough. I've had it out for about 2 weeks now, and I'm still coughing a few times a day.
  • Noellesmom
    Noellesmom Member Posts: 1,859 Member
    #4
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    zipperneck2012 said:

    I only had my trach in for a
    I only had my trach in for a week, but I coughed until I got it out. They said that the trach itself can really irritate your windpipe and make you cough. I've had it out for about 2 weeks now, and I'm still coughing a few times a day.

    thanks for the post, kimmy
    Jim and I were wondering how Bob is doing - and you, too, of course.
  • George_Baltimore
    George_Baltimore Member Posts: 303
    #5
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    Trach removal
    Your doctor is wise to leave it in until all swelling is over. I had mandible reconstruction surgery June 24th of last year. They put in a "temporary" trach because of swelling. I was in the hospital seven days. They removed the trach right before I was discharged. I was continually using the remaining hole to cough out the ton of mucous so it took a while for the hole to close up. When the opening got very small, I no longer could get the mucous out. Also, I could not get it up quite enough to cough it out my mouth even though, to this day, I have a strong cough. To make a long story short, I ended up having to have the tube put back in two months later while I was awake. I NEVER want to go through that again!! I still have it in. I am not rushing my doc to take it out even though the swelling has finally gone down quite a bit due to lymphedema therapy. Once I get rid of this blasted sinus infection though, I am going to have it taken out. As you say, they are a pain in the tail.
  • rdbaughman
    rdbaughman Member Posts: 35
    #6
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    Trach & Mucas
    My trach came out the day I was sent home from the Hospital after my Total Laragectomy. As far as the mucas goes, I believe it will be an ongoing thing. I had my surgery about 12 weeks ago & I still cough up mucas all the time but it's nothing like it was to begin with. It is very managable now. My routine is this to keep my stoma clear. I take two hot showers each day. I take one in the morning when I first wake up & one an hour or so before I retire for the night. The showers really help to clear my STOMA passage & to controll the mucas. If I don't takle my showers to clear the STOMA I seem to have a rough time of it, I highly reccomend these showers to controll the mucas.
    Hope this information helps your husband.
    Roger

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