Surgeries and what to expect/ask/consider

K

Knytestorme_sl

shitlord
532
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I noticed there was thread about vasectomies already but I thought a more generalised thread might be useful as well for getting general experiences, questions and answers out of the way as well as a place for less common conditions that wouldn't really require a specific thread (little biased though as I have one of those to start this off).

As I mentioned on the morenetz sex thread I have been diagnosed with low testosterone likely related to a pituitary tumour that will have to be removed. We won't know until I can get to the specialist next year and get the MRI done but will likely need to have acraniotomyperformed to get it all removed so I'm wondering what sort of questions I need to ask about, what I might need to be aware of for before and after the surgery, what sorts of issues might arise generally with being hospitalised, etc.

I realise that no-one here most likely has gone through the procedure but I do recall we have had some medical staff on the board before that might have answers and I'm sure others have at least spent time in hospital (only ever spent ~2 days in one in my life) that could give general advice on what to expect, what to take with you, etc.
 
D

dolaan_sl

shitlord
62
0
4 knee surgeries, 3 right shoulders surgeries and surgery on nose to fix deviated septum, but never have my skull opened. I was nervous for my fist surgery and now it is routine. In my experience hospitals and surgeons are REAL good at what they do, just do your part by following any directions they give and everything will work out. A little pain for a solution of the problem.

Good Luck.
 
B

businesscats_sl

shitlord
102
0
I injured my knee playing hockey 2 years ago pretty badly but never bothered going to a doctor since I had no insurance aside from what the rink offered: you pay to get fixed, we reimburse you. The pain for the first few months was 9/10 and ever since has been a constant 7/10. About a year ago I landed a job with great benefits and have been thinking about going to a doctor and seeing if surgery was the right path. Now January is when my work slows down and was when I wanted to get this done. However, I'm facing a furlough at the start of the year and my insurance runs out after 30 days of not working. Basically, should I even bother with doctor visits if I'll be shit out of luck after January? Yes I can take medical leave while I'm actively employed but it seriously cuts into my income.
 
Alex

Alex

Still a Music Elitist
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It's not going to get any better. Years from now your knee will be far worse.
 
zzeris

zzeris

King Turd of Shit Hill
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businesscats_sl said:
I injured my knee playing hockey 2 years ago pretty badly but never bothered going to a doctor since I had no insurance aside from what the rink offered: you pay to get fixed, we reimburse you. The pain for the first few months was 9/10 and ever since has been a constant 7/10. About a year ago I landed a job with great benefits and have been thinking about going to a doctor and seeing if surgery was the right path. Now January is when my work slows down and was when I wanted to get this done. However, I'm facing a furlough at the start of the year and my insurance runs out after 30 days of not working. Basically, should I even bother with doctor visits if I'll be shit out of luck after January? Yes I can take medical leave while I'm actively employed but it seriously cuts into my income.
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It depends on how soon you want it done. Im in the same situation except it's been 7 years and my knee is still shot. It has adjusted since the human body is amazing but it needs fixed. I'd try to take the leave ASAP before you have to try and fix it during busy times at work. Recovery for most surgeries like that is 6 weeks and you need to see rehab after surgery to improve your mobility and encourage the healing process. What kind of insurance do you have by chance? Is there a gatekeeper because certain insurances require you to work with him first anyways so might as well get the ball rolling.
 
W

Wintermute_sl

shitlord
61
1
I've only been in for one surgery but I felt better once I asked questions and understood more about my anesthesiologist. They are, to my knowledge, responsible for treating all the changes in vital functions, so if you want to get comfortable with the idea of surgery get to know your anesthesiologist.
 
D

dolaan_sl

shitlord
62
0
I have has 4 knee surgeries. ACL on each knee and just come cleanup on each.

I first blew my Right ACL in 10th grade and because I did not want to miss a year of sports I would not have surgery, after was done playing competitive sports I had the surgery. So I walked around for 12 years with a torn ACL. If I had it to do over again I would have had the surgery right away mainly because of stability in the knee. The pain will go away but it will be MUCH easier to injure again, and it may involve additional ligaments and you will need surgery right away. At minimum I would have a ortho surgeon look at it and get a MRI. That way at least you will know what is wrong.
 
B

businesscats_sl

shitlord
102
0
zzeris_sl said:
It depends on how soon you want it done. Im in the same situation except it's been 7 years and my knee is still shot. It has adjusted since the human body is amazing but it needs fixed. I'd try to take the leave ASAP before you have to try and fix it during busy times at work. Recovery for most surgeries like that is 6 weeks and you need to see rehab after surgery to improve your mobility and encourage the healing process. What kind of insurance do you have by chance? Is there a gatekeeper because certain insurances require you to work with him first anyways so might as well get the ball rolling.
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For the remainder of 2012 I have United Healthcare, though I couldn't really tell you much about it other than we pay very little, if anything, for most things. Starting January 1st we switch over to Aetna to whatever plan we want or whatever we used to have will just carry over. Think the most I'd be paying, for anything, would be around $100 so it's not like I'm saying I can't afford it. The main downfall to everything, I guess, is that I pretty much 'walk' from LAX to Seattle, Chicago, or New Orleans and back for work every 4-6 days (long haul passenger trains), so I realize how stubborn I'm being regarding this situation.

dolaan_sl said:
I have has 4 knee surgeries. ACL on each knee and just come cleanup on each.

I first blew my Right ACL in 10th grade and because I did not want to miss a year of sports I would not have surgery, after was done playing competitive sports I had the surgery. So I walked around for 12 years with a torn ACL. If I had it to do over again I would have had the surgery right away mainly because of stability in the knee. The pain will go away but it will be MUCH easier to injure again, and it may involve additional ligaments and you will need surgery right away. At minimum I would have a ortho surgeon look at it and get a MRI. That way at least you will know what is wrong.
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When I wake up in the mornings or get up after sitting for awhile my knee is pretty stiff and I walk around like my 95 year old grandpa. The pain is located below the knee cap in front, front inside next to the knee cap, pretty much entire backside of the knee, and sometimes along the outer side of the knee. To further prove how stupid I am I ran 3-4 10k's/wk for a year on this and continued to play hockey, so I'm sure there's even more damage to the area.

I will definitely get it checked out once my plan switches over at the start of the year.
 
Stosh

Stosh

Bronze Knight of the Realm
201
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Knytestorme_sl said:
I noticed there was thread about vasectomies already but I thought a more generalised thread might be useful as well for getting general experiences, questions and answers out of the way as well as a place for less common conditions that wouldn't really require a specific thread (little biased though as I have one of those to start this off).

As I mentioned on the morenetz sex thread I have been diagnosed with low testosterone likely related to a pituitary tumour that will have to be removed. We won't know until I can get to the specialist next year and get the MRI done but will likely need to have acraniotomyperformed to get it all removed so I'm wondering what sort of questions I need to ask about, what I might need to be aware of for before and after the surgery, what sorts of issues might arise generally with being hospitalised, etc.

I realise that no-one here most likely has gone through the procedure but I do recall we have had some medical staff on the board before that might have answers and I'm sure others have at least spent time in hospital (only ever spent ~2 days in one in my life) that could give general advice on what to expect, what to take with you, etc.
Click to expand...
I had surgery last February. It wasn't elective, but it wasn't an emergency either so I had a few days to do research and ask questions. Here are some general questions to ask:

* Are you board certified?
* How many of these procedures have you done, how long have you been a surgeon?
* What are the possible complications?
* What is your complication rate? (If the surgeon does not give a straight answer or claims to not know, run away. They most certainly do know the answer to this question and a reputable surgeon will have no problem answering this.)
* Do I as a patient have any specific or greater risks?
* What are the risks for having and not having it?
* Is this surgery a cure/how long will the benefits of the procedure last?
* How long is the surgery?
* How long will I be hospitalized?
* How long until I can resume normal activities?
* How invasive is the procedure? (Open, laproscopic, etc.)

If you like to read, I recommend reading "Confessions of a Surgeon" by Dr. Paul Ruggieri.
 
W

wacky_sl

shitlord
18
0
Anaesthesia is awesome and disconcerting at the same time, or at least it was for me. One moment I'm counting down from 10 (I think I hit 8 before I went out), and the next memory I have is being mid-conversation with a nurse in recovery. Apparently I had been awake for about a half hour before that, talking like a loon to the nurses and anyone that wandered past my slot in the room. This was about 5 years ago and it still bothers me a little that I can't remember that half hour. I also still get the occasional pain in my abdomen where they cut me open, but it's gotten better over the years. It occurs most often these days when I turn too quickly without warming up or when the barometer drops rather quickly.

Stosh_sl said:
If you like to read, I recommend reading "Confessions of a Surgeon" by Dr. Paul Ruggieri.
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I've never before heard of this book, but it is now on my reading list.
 
Void

Void

Experiencer
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I had shoulder surgery two months ago for adhesive capsulitis (frozen shoulder), and I'm glad I did. It is something that might (usually does) go away in a couple of years, but the excruciating pain during that time would have been too much for me to handle. Not being able to raise your arm more than 45 degrees from straight down just doesn't cut it.

As far as the actual surgery, everyone I had was fantastic, and the last thing I remember was scooting from the bed they rolled me down the hall in to the one they were going to do surgery on. Don't remember the guy putting the mask on me, or counting backwards, or anything. I do, however, remember almost everything about waking up, and how fucking bad that hurt. The nurse kept giving me shots until I could handle it though, and I was still pretty loopy, so it wasn't as bad as it could have been. I was also freezing and shivering despite being covered in heated blankets, but I understand that is fairly common as well.

Overall it wasn't bad at all, and I'm glad I did it. It is significantly better than living with the condition I had previously (although I may not ever get full range of motion back despite physical therapy twice a week for the last two months).
 
Noble Savage

Noble Savage

Kang of Kangz
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I've never been able to understand how people get injured and they don't even find out what exactly they did, opting instead to just let it heal on its own; assuming insurance of course. Go find out what you did, then you can start contemplating surgery.

Businesscats-

It could be something as simple as scar tissue. When the body is healing an injury it lays down fibrous tissue in a haphazardly fashion without taking anything into consideration like the motion or function of the tissue it's replacing. So optimally before the scar tissue is fully healed, you want to be stretching it on a regular basis along what would be its normal ROM. So instead of the healed tissue looking something like

_/|--|\///\-- with shit going all which way; it is stretched and formed to look like

----------------------- so you maintain full ROM post healing.


It is also possible that at this point you may have something as simple as a loose body floating around the joint space in your knee. Relatively simple surgery, go in clean it out and close shop; and that's IF the Doctor even thinks it warrants surgery.http://www.mdguidelines.com/loose-bodies-knee

It's possible you tore the inner portion of your meniscus. As amazing and resilient the human body is, there are some things it just can't do, such as healing the white portion of the meniscus.

rrr_img_2323.jpg



So, you see the outer red portion? That gets an ample supply of blood and thus can repair most damage, but if you tear that inner white portion it is unable heal because it gets so little blood. So people injure their meniscus and think they can walk it off, but it never heals and they essentially have this flap of tissue interfering with the knees normal motion and function.


Anyway, it is impossible to know exactly what happened until you see the Doctor, just wanted to kind of give you an idea of the range of things that are possible and their severity. So hurry up and get an MRI before your insurance runs out. Then at that point, when you're actually diagnosed and given a recommendation, you can start thinking about surgery or not.

The thing about injuries too that not a lot of people consider, is as you age old injuries that you thought you had dealt with 20 - 30 years ago tend to start causing more issues. Whether it be just pain/stiffness or actual loss of mobility or function issues.

rrr_img_2323.jpg
 
zzeris

zzeris

King Turd of Shit Hill
<Gold Donor>
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Stosh_sl said:
I had surgery last February. It wasn't elective, but it wasn't an emergency either so I had a few days to do research and ask questions. Here are some general questions to ask:

* Are you board certified?
* How many of these procedures have you done, how long have you been a surgeon?
* What are the possible complications?
* What is your complication rate? (If the surgeon does not give a straight answer or claims to not know, run away. They most certainly do know the answer to this question and a reputable surgeon will have no problem answering this.)
* Do I as a patient have any specific or greater risks?
* What are the risks for having and not having it?
* Is this surgery a cure/how long will the benefits of the procedure last?
* How long is the surgery?
* How long will I be hospitalized?
* How long until I can resume normal activities?
* How invasive is the procedure? (Open, laproscopic, etc.)

If you like to read, I recommend reading "Confessions of a Surgeon" by Dr. Paul Ruggieri.
Click to expand...
This list is really good but most of it should be required teaching before a surgery. It's part of your informed consent decision making process before any surgery. Questions 1,2, and 4 are good questions they wouldn't answer without being asked.
 
B

businesscats_sl

shitlord
102
0
The Noble Savage_sl said:
I've never been able to understand how people get injured and they don't even find out what exactly they did, opting instead to just let it heal on its own; assuming insurance of course. Go find out what you did, then you can start contemplating surgery.

The thing about injuries too that not a lot of people consider, is as you age old injuries that you thought you had dealt with 20 - 30 years ago tend to start causing more issues. Whether it be just pain/stiffness or actual loss of mobility or function issues.
Click to expand...
I grew up on a farm so 'walk it off unless it's cut off' is kind of carved into my head. Bad excuse, I know. The old/young bit is definitely true and is why I wanted to do it now rather than 10+ years from now if it'll avoid me having to get a knee replacement (job=lots of wear and tear on the body).
 
M

Morphyous

50
0
Knytestorme_sl said:
I noticed there was thread about vasectomies already but I thought a more generalised thread might be useful as well for getting general experiences, questions and answers out of the way as well as a place for less common conditions that wouldn't really require a specific thread (little biased though as I have one of those to start this off).

As I mentioned on the morenetz sex thread I have been diagnosed with low testosterone likely related to a pituitary tumour that will have to be removed. We won't know until I can get to the specialist next year and get the MRI done but will likely need to have acraniotomyperformed to get it all removed so I'm wondering what sort of questions I need to ask about, what I might need to be aware of for before and after the surgery, what sorts of issues might arise generally with being hospitalised, etc.

I realise that no-one here most likely has gone through the procedure but I do recall we have had some medical staff on the board before that might have answers and I'm sure others have at least spent time in hospital (only ever spent ~2 days in one in my life) that could give general advice on what to expect, what to take with you, etc.
Click to expand...
I don't know if you could share more information, but what I would ask your doctor is the possible complications from the surgery. The pituitary is a very key part of regulating hormones in your body. It has the front (anterior pituitary) which is works through a small blood system with the hypothalamus to work together. The back (posterior pituitary) is connected to the hypothalamus as well, but transports hormones through neural signals.

They key thing is the surgery needs to not disrupt the function/balance of the other hormones. You mentioned that your sex hormones are lowered, which is fine because there is treatments to replace it. I'm just a third year pharmacy student, so just trying to help if no one has replied back so far.
 
Kuriin

Kuriin

Just a Nurse
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I just had a bilateral fasciotomy on all four compartments. What Stosh suggested is the most accurate. Just an FYI, doctors generally have to be board certified to even practice. I don't think private practices would allow non-board certified doctors (especially surgeons...) practice without passing the boards.

For my anesthesia, they did both IV and used a mask initially (oxygen). The shivering is because they're injecting very cold fluids into your body and it's direct. If you were still shivering despite being covered by multiple heated blankets, that could cause for alarm. It might have been you were unconsciously anxious/nervous.
 
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