Had Surgery and Feeling..........

[JT]

GREAT!!!!!!!!!! I got home about 2:30 today. Surgery itself took about 10-15 minutes. Took me a while to wake up though, I woke up with some double vision so I was in recovery a little longer than expected.

My surgeon talked to me, but I was a bit out of it. I go and see him on Tuesday for him to check everything out.

He told my wife that he made an incision from the top sinus to the bottom. He DID NOT remove any tissue like most excisions surgerys do. He opened me up and cleaned everything out. He said there was (TONS) of hair. There was no tunneling to the side or anything just down the midline. He did tell me wife he gave me a few locals in that area. Just because of the hour drive, I did ask the nurse for something for pain just in case in the car ride the locals had worn off. My pain pill wore off about 5 P.M. tonight and I have no pain whatsoever.

They did repack me before I left the hospital I was bleeding through just a little bit. My wife couldnt see the full length of the new opening, but the nurse told her its about 1 inch in depth. I Personally dont think thats very deep, so hopefully that will help me recovery time.

The surgeon was very pleased with the surgery and what he found and said I shouldnt run into too many problems. He said the first few days that I shouldnt soak the packing with saline just yet. He said its going to be wet and messy for a couple of days so it wont be needed. I felt no pain when the nurse took the packing out, but that could be cuz the local was still working. My wife will see how well things go tonight shortly, I have some liquid Hydrocodone, so I might take a little before she packs just in case and plus it would probably work faster than the percocets.


So Sasha, Linda, Cathy, Ladyleekz, Qwest or anyone else who might read this. What kind of procedure did he actually do on me. I do have an open wound, but again all he did was cut me from Top Sinus opening to Bottom Sinus opening and went in and cleaned everything out, and again didnt actually cut tissue out. What would this be called??

 

[Linda]

That's great that you are already feeling well enough to let us know how the surgery went! I figured there HAD to be hair in there that was keeping you from healing. A wound that is 1 inch deep isn't very deep compared to some people. My son's was 2 inches deep. That's good that there wasn't any tunneling to the side. I don't think you ever said what type of anesthetic you were going to have. Did you have a general?

 

[RonAllenby]

That almost sounds like a glorified lancing to me? Sounds interesting to say the least. So he just excised the contents of the cyst and not the actual cyst?

 

[JT]

Linda.... I dont know what they used. All I know is when I got in the operating room they game me some medicine through my IV and I pretty much instantly noticed something. I didnt even realize he gave me anything. Right before he put the mask on me to breath into, he told me that he was going to give me something else and that I might have a sharp pain in my arm. Then I continued to Breath into the mask and the next thing I knew I was waking up. Linda Hair was definitly the problem. And there was only ONE tunnel going down

Ron, I'm not really sure. He really didnt say anything to my wife about the cyst. I will find out Tuesday though. I think I remember Sasha mentioning something about a method where the cyst is opened up and not fully removed and its just completely cleaned out. NOt sure though, I guess I could've imagined it

 

[RonAllenby]

Actually if it's an uncomplicated cyst(no tunnelling, etc.) sounds alot less invasive. I had and axcision and they took a tenderloin out of my back, and a bite out of my butt larger than the one my first wife took. I'm anti-pain, and these lil bastids is evil. [}]

 

[RonAllenby]

*excision I dinnit want y'all to think I was st00pit... [(o)]

 

[JT]

Well, I took a shower and had my packing changed. Everything went smoothly...Still no pain at all even when removing packing. Really doesnt feel any different than it did before.


Ron, my surgeon told me that even if I had several tunnels this is the way HE personally handles all these cases for Pilonidal cysts and disease, unless maybe alot of tissue around the area is infected or whatever. He just doesnt see the point in taking Tissue out that doesnt need to be excised. He says as long as he cleans everything out and takes care of the sinuses then everything will heal as an open wound. The healing time will also be considerably less by doing this method, thus the more tissue you have removed the longer it takes for your body to replace that tissue and completely heal.

I really like this surgeon. He seems to have a good answer for every question that I have asked from the information I have received from this board

Thanks again Sasha for this board

 

[ladyleekz]

since he did not take any tissue out I also would call it a lancing of types thats what I called all the mini procedures i had in between my first and second surgery. I would it was when my wound was open from the first surgery and not healing so the doc would numb my butt and cut in spots to promote healing or in so cases to open a pocket so it could heal properly although they were probably tracts more then pockets since there was a cyst in tact taken out in the surgery to follow. But that is great that you have no pain yet. hopefully it will heal real fast now since all that hair was removed and now there is nothing in the way of your body healing.

 

[Sasha]

What he did is something along the lines of what Bascom does. It's not unroofing, but it's more extensive than a lancing. I think you got a good guy....

 

[Qwest]

I'm so happy for you, I can sense the relief in your summary! You are finally rid of the monster and will be able to go on with a normal life soon. How is your wife holding up? Keep us posted on your progress with healing -- and remember, each day is a step toward complete healing. Get lots of rest and take care of yourself.

 

[Linda]

JT,
You said that you remember something about a method where the cyst is opened up and not fully removed and it's just completely cleaned out. Bascom said that during surgery, he found that almost all of his patients had an abscess cavity not an actual cyst. A cyst is a closed sac having a distinct membrane. He said if someone has an actual cyst, it must be removed. Bascom said when there is an abscess cavity, an incision can be made, the cavity cleaned out, and then left open to heal.

When I first read the pathology report I requested shortly after my son's surgery, something really struck me. It did not say "cyst". It said there were two "cystic areas". Then, under microscopic description, it says a section of the tissue shows a "tract lined by squamous epithelium leading to cyst like space partly lined by squamous epithelium and partly lined by granulation tissue with acute and chronic inflammation. The cyst contains shafts and clusters of bacteria." It does sound more like an abscess.

Your surgeon told you that he has never had to do surgery twice on a patient and there have been no recurrences, so it sounds like he has found a method that works.

What do you mean when you said that there was only ONE tunnel going down? There were two sinuses.

 

[JT]

Thanks all, I think I got a good surgeon too. Yeah my wife was fine as soon as she saw me after surgery.

Linda, he said there was only one tunnel that went straight down my midline and it actually opened up the two sinuses.

I woke up this morning with my entire body aching. Still no pain though. I think my neck is more sore than anything. I'm getting ready to go have my packing changed it leaked through some throughout the night.

My wife is handling the packing pretty good too, she doesnt seem to have any problem doing it and making sure its touching all the sides. He did tell me that I dont have to pack it real tight though, just to make sure that packing is touching skin all around

 

[JT]

My wife changed my packing this morning and still no real pain. Packing came out pretty easy, bloody but easy. When she did pack it, I could tell that when she pushed the packing in that my tail bone was a little sore, nothing I cant handle.

I've started taking the vitamins that Sasha suggests on this site, If i'm missing anything else I should take, please let me know

1. Liquid Centrum- It doesnt have the appropriate amounts of the other vitamins so I'm taking them separately.

2. Zinc- 50mg
3. Vitamin C- 2000mg
4. Vitamin A- 25,000 I.U.
5. Vitamin E- 400 I.U.

I'm not taking all of this at the same time, I tried to do that Thursday and it made me sick to my stomach. So this is what I am taking throughout the day.

I'm really not keeping track of my protein intake too much. I eat alot of Chicken, Fish and Beef, so I dont think I'll have trouble reaching that 60 grams a day. I'll probably exceed that, but I see that as a good thing.

 

[Sasha]

If those vitamin amounts continue to make you ill, start backing off on them. Especially the Zinc. I found that I can only tolerate about 15 mg of zinc before getting nauseous. Everyone is different and has different reactions to any substance we put in our bodies....

 

[JT]

thanks Sasha....I dont have a problem with them making me nautious as long as I eat. I have already taken most of the vitamins and doing fine with them. So, there is nothing else that I am missing?

 

[JT]

Things are going pretty well today. I still dont have any pain when I have the packing taken out, now when I'm being packed thats a different story. When my wife is packing its more of a throbbing pain on my tailbone. I havent taken any pain meds today and I'm gonna try not to if I can. I'm also going to lay down more today, I think I might of over did it yesterday, I actually tried to go out with my wife in the car. I guess I wasnt really ready for that yet, I started to bleed through my packing when I got back home.

My knees and hips hurt a little from laying on my sides, but other than that I'm doing pretty good

 

[JT]

I guess the honeymoon part of my surgery is over.....I've been in alot of pain this evening. It actually hurt when the packing was taken out tonight and that was even after taking pain medication. I guess I need to get some Saline and start soaking the packing now. The pain was so bad it actually made me feel nautious.

What kind of time frame am I looking at for Pain with the packing?? A few days? A week?

 

[Linda]

For the first several days, my son would take Vicodin 1/2 hour before each packing change, but it was still extremely painful. So one of the home nurses suggested that besides taking the Vicodin, my son take a shower right before each change to soak the packing really well. This really made a big difference and the pain was much more manageable. You should try this. It will help.

As far as the time frame that you will have pain, my son stopped taking pain medication after 2 and 1/2 weeks because the pain was much less by then. Since your wound is probably 1/2 the size of my son's or less, I would guess that the worst of the pain will probably be over in a week or sooner.

 

[jakemrjr]

I took vicodin for two weeks after my open procedure. I would take the pain meds about 45 minutes prior to a packing change.

 

[JT]

Thanks Linda and Jake

I was given percocet I have taken it before changing and it doesnt do that much for me. My wife went out and got some Saline solution for me so I can start having the packing soaked before putting it in.

Its not removing it that is the most painful, its when my wife packs it. Today will be the first day we soak it with saline and see how that works. My nurse called me from the hospital to see how I was doing. The everyday pain is just kind of dull, not too bad and I told her its when my packing gets changed is when it really hurts. She asked on a scale from 1 to 10 how is my pain when changing my packing. I told her when I am having it removed its only about 3 or 4, but when having it put back in, its a 10. Hurts so bad it makes me feel nautious. She told me to tell the doctor when I go see him tomorrow and he might give me something else to help me deal with it.

It says I should take 1 to 2 percocets every 6 hrs as needed. Do you think I should just take that on a routine until I start to feel better, like take it every 6 hrs even if I dont need it? I just really hate taking that type of medication and I dont like feeling doped up.

thanks all