Surgery update

[Guest guest]

Oh ! I cannot tell you how uplifting it was to read your message. A breath of fresh air and hope! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU! Our little guy loves music as do I and we've been concerned about his hearing loss. All hearing bones and much of the mastoid was removed from his ear and only vibrations can be heard we are told. It is SO encouraging to hear how your life is so full! Wonderful!

Praying the best for you as you continue on your journeys. Thanks for your encouragement and your proactive approach to life as you move forward with the doctors.

BJ

Surgery update> > > Hey all> > I had surgery on Thursday - mastoidectomy and tympanaplasty revision> surgery. When the surgeon opened me up, his first thought apparently> was "it's everywhere" - he meticulously cleaned it all out and then> discovered an open space in my ear with a golf-ball sized ctoma hiding> there. Nice!> > I ended up staying overnight due to extreme nausea from the anesthesia> (and a five hour surgery). That night was miserable, but I went home> the next day, and I have to say since mid-day Friday, I haven't had> any nausea or dizziness at all. Since I've been home I've only taken> the occasional tylanol for pain, along with my 4x daily antibiotics,> of course. Not too much drainage, either. > > I set up my post-op appt before the surgery (my surgeon's office is> EFFICIENT!) so I see him on June 5th...not too long to wait.> > The last time I had ctoma as a child, it had reached my brain and gone> down my esophagus - I believe it was an 8 hour surgery and I stayed a> week. This time around has been MUCH better! > > That's all from me for now - thanks for all the well wishes, and good> luck to all getting surgery soon, or going through recovery. Heck,> for that matter, good luck to everyone! > > >

[Guest guest]

Well, I talked with Dr. Hey and we made the decision to go ahead and

fuse down to the sacrum. He said the degeneration in the L5 and S1

vertebrae was so severe that they might not last very long, so he

thought it might be best to go ahead and fuse it too while he was

already in there. I agreed so that was that.

Thanx Cam for the post/study you found. It further validates this

change in plans.

And thanx to too for warning me about this possibility.

And , you can let go of the jealousy!!

Here's what I don't get: Even with fusing to S1, he's still

implying that this surgery is not a big deal......that I may only be

in the hospital 2-3 nights, no outpatient PT necessary. And that

since I'll be in much less pain, I may even be more flexible after

the fusion. (He did say that since I live so far away, if there was

any doubt about my stability, he would keep me an extra night. So,

that made me feel better.)

To give him the benefit of the doubt, maybe it seems like no big deal

since he does this kinda surgery all the time and he knows what I've

already been through. Yea, maybe that's it.

Meanwhile, I'm gonna trust The Powers That Be, as well as

you " revisionaries " here who have already experienced all this first

hand.

Right here, right now, I feel better.

Oh, and my doc here who prescribed the Lyrica said I could up it to

twice a day to maybe take the increased edge off. Strangely enough,

my neck and between my shoulder blades is what's most pronounced

now. Maybe I'll chalk it up to Tension.

Thank you all.

camille

and Peggy, how was your pre-surgery experience with Dr. Hey?

I like him and trust him, but am confused by his implications that

this is no big deal.

[Guest guest]

hi all,I had my surgery this monday just gone the 22nd november. I was in surgery for just 2 hours and had a right atticotomy. I don't know how the surgery went and if all was removed as I won't see my consultant until 13th December when I have to go back to the hospital for a consultation and to have the ear packing removed. I have to see the nurse monday to have my stiches removed. I am still in some pain and don't know whether this is normal as a lot of the messages I have read people have said they didn't experience much pain? The pain is inside my ear and head and sort of down the side of my face its a mixture of stabbing pains and dull ache. I am still taking pain killers. I also

am experiencing very bad dizziness and my ear keeps bleeding not pouring with blood but just coming out every few hours. Did anybody else experience any of these symptoms and how long did they last? This was my first surgery for cholesteatoma (hopefully my last) and don't know whether or not any of this is normal?Leeah (wales, uk)

[Guest guest]

I think that sounds normal. It will feel better after

the packing is removed. I think pain can vary a lot from one person to

the next, also it depends on the location of the c-toma, maybe the nerves are

affected with some patients. Before my last surgery, I had facial pain on

the affected side – especially when I was out in the cold. Eventually that

did stop following the surgery.

Jackie

[Guest guest]

Hi, Leeah. I also had cholesteatoma surgery this month, mine was on the 10th.

This was my 6th surgery. Each surgery has been different, but it seems to me

that the more infected the ear in prior to surgery, the more the recovery hurts.

I'm surprised your doctor didn't have you in for follow ups for at least 2 weeks

after surgery. All of your pain and stuff sounds fairly normal to me. You want

to watch for bright red blood, or profuse bleeding. A little bleeding is

normal. Also, it may sound weird, but have someone smell it. You can smell

infection, and as long as there is no infection, you should be ok. Having a big

hole cut into your head can hurt a lot, unfortunately.

>

> hi all,

> I had my surgery this monday just gone the 22nd november. I was in surgery for

> just 2 hours and had a right atticotomy. I don't know how the surgery went and

> if all was removed as I won't see my consultant until 13th December when I

have

> to go back to the hospital for a consultation and to have the ear packing

> removed. I have to see the nurse monday to have my stiches removed.

>

> I am still in some pain and don't know whether this is normal as a lot of the

> messages I have read people have said they didn't experience much pain? The

pain

> is inside my ear and head and sort of down the side of my face its a mixture

of

> stabbing pains and dull ache. I am still taking pain killers. I also am

> experiencing very bad dizziness and my ear keeps bleeding not pouring with

blood

> but just coming out every few hours. Did anybody else experience any of these

> symptoms and how long did they last? This was my first surgery for

cholesteatoma

> (hopefully my last) and don't know whether or not any of this is normal?

> Leeah (wales, uk)

>

[Guest guest]

> >

> > hi all,

> > I had my surgery this monday just gone the 22nd november. I was in surgery

for

> > just 2 hours and had a right atticotomy. I don't know how the surgery went

and

> > if all was removed as I won't see my consultant until 13th December when I

have

> > to go back to the hospital for a consultation and to have the ear packing

> > removed. I have to see the nurse monday to have my stiches removed.

> >

> > I am still in some pain and don't know whether this is normal as a lot of

the

> > messages I have read people have said they didn't experience much pain? The

pain

> > is inside my ear and head and sort of down the side of my face its a mixture

of

> > stabbing pains and dull ache. I am still taking pain killers. I also am

> > experiencing very bad dizziness and my ear keeps bleeding not pouring with

blood

> > but just coming out every few hours. Did anybody else experience any of

these

> > symptoms and how long did they last? This was my first surgery for

cholesteatoma

> > (hopefully my last) and don't know whether or not any of this is normal?

> > Leeah (wales, uk)

> >

>

[Guest guest]

I agree that the pain can be normal. My tip is to stay taking the pain pills on time as if I would ever try to skip one, it would be much more difficult to stay on top of the pain. At least for the first few days anyway.

IDQ Companies

[Guest guest]

WOW you are doing fantastic. Congratulations to you for your great success. I bet your body thanks you too. Keep up the great work.

Hugs,

Suzanne

In a message dated 1/9/2011 9:48:40 P.M. Pacific Standard Time, akitresssmith@... writes:

Hello just wanna give a update i have been out of surgery 11 months and to date i have lost 130 pounds, my year will be 2/6/11 and I'm hoping to drop another 20pounds. I just wanna say i love my sleeve and Dr. Aceves is the best!!!.

Sent from on Android

From: Marilou stone <terriertamer@...>; < >; Subject: Re: Re: Follow Up appts with A Dr? Sent: Fri, Jan 7, 2011 9:38:40 PM

Where in Montana. I used to live in town. Marilou

On Jan 6, 2011, at 1:43 PM, Sharon Hendricks wrote:

I could have had my f/u here in the states for about 1500.00 USD instead I am flying to Arizona and driving to Mexicali for f/u the whole trip and f/u is around $600.00 ($150 for the f/u test/and EGD rest is travel, car and hotel). I live in Northern Montana. Good luck, Sharon

[Guest guest]

WOO HOO 130 pounds is amazing. That was such a great week for surgery!MarilouDr. AcevesVSG~February 5, 2010 220-140-127start goal nowOn Jan 9, 2011, at 10:34 PM, Akitress wrote:Hello just wanna give a update i have been out of surgery 11 months and to date i have lost 130 pounds, my year will be 2/6/11 and I'm hoping to drop another 20pounds. I just wanna say i love my sleeve and Dr. Aceves is the best!!!.