posted Wednesday, 4 April 2007
After several weeks of needing to stab my back with a syringe to drain off the fluid that's collected there, we decided to re-insert a drain in my back. Boo.
After administering some local anesthetic, Dr Singer opened an inch-long spot along the incision in my back (to prevent additional scarring). I laid on the table, on my stomach, craning my neck, trying to get a glimpse of what he is doing back there (I should have asked for a mirror so that I could watch).
It took a while for him to find the seroma, or pocket of fluid, that was in my lower back. While I couldn't really feel the poking around he was doing, it was a bit uncomfortable and I knew it would be sore once the anesthetic wore off... He finally found the pocket, inserted the tubing, connected the jp drain to the end of the tube, stitched everything shut... and then found out that there was a problem with the tube. The drain would not hold any suction. He had to reopen the incision, pull out the drain and start over again... can't anything be easy?
Charlene was a dear, as always, and came with me at the last minute. A night owl, Char finds herself up in the wee hours of the night, watching surgery shows on TV -- Dr 90210, Code Blue, Critical Hour, Real Life in the ER, etc... she's got a pretty strong stomach and decided to stay with me through the procedure. Unfortunately, when she noticed that I had gotten uncomfortable -- her face went white, she got a bit queasy and she excused herself into the hallway for a few minutes. Thank goodness she didn't pass out! She came back in as Dr Singer was finishing up inserting the drain the 2nd time. He taught her a few things about the stitches he was using to close up the incision (she even assisted a bit, getting something out of the cabinets for him while the nurse was out of the room. He offered to let her throw in a few stitches (jokingly, of course... but I was afraid for a second that she was going to agree!).
Fortunately, the worst pain I felt was due to the fact that I had tucked my arms under my chest to cushion the expander as I lay on my stomach... which would have been fine if the first drain had been successful... unfortunately, we were in there for longer than expected and both arms fell asleep! Ouch!
Best guess is that this drain will be in for 10 days. If this doesn't do the trick, we plan to leave the fluid there until my exchange surgery (in June), at which time he will have to open up my back and put in a few sutures to hold the pocket closed. Hopefully, this will not be necessary. Positive thoughts that today's little procedures will do the trick!
PS - Today was Dr Singer's Birthday... Happy Birthday!
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