Surgery Report

HO Surgery number 3 is in the books, and I got to keep the leg.  As I lay here in my hospital bed the day after surgery, I feel like I should post an update.

I was able to talk to Dr. Dahners before the surgery, and explain my concerns about what I wanted to remove.  We agreed that he would try to get all the pieces.

The last 2 HO surgeries have caused relatively little pain for me, but I think I have been steadily regaining a small amount of sensation in my right hip.  It's what has allowed me to feel pain from the HO, and after this surgery, I was in agony.  A day after surgery, I'm still very reluctant to try to move this hip at all.  I doubt it will damage anything, but it hurts really really bad.

I talked to Dr. Dahners this morning, and he told me he thinks he was able to remove all of the bone we talked about.  I had been wondering since the first surgery what sort of tools he uses to cut bone, so I asked him.  Hammer and chisel is the answer.  That would explain the pain.  I wish I could get another CT scan to confirm the results, but he says he tested the range on the OR table and it was in the 125-130 degree range.  That's all I could ask for.

I lost a lot of blood in the operation.  When he removed the piece attached to the femur, it cut a lot of blood vessels.  I ended up losing 900cc of blood which is about a quart.  So twice what you would give to the Red Cross.  They wanted to avoid giving me a transfusion because it increases the risk of complications, so I've been very tired today.  My blood pressure has been coming up slowly over the last day.  Right after surgery, it was at about 84/43.  It's now up to around 89/47, but that's still really low.  So I get light-headed whenever I exert myself at all, but the pain has been keeping me from exerting myself.

I know they are going to send me a physical therapist tomorrow morning to evaluate my strength and mobility.  I'm expecting to go home tomorrow, but it will be interesting to see how that happens.

If this post seems a little loopy, it's because I have been taking the narcotics this time.  The past two surgeries, I was able to avoid the good stuff, but this time, I'm taking whatever they offer me.  So far it has been Oxycodone and a slow release morphine pill.  The morphine particularly helps, but it makes me a little loopy.  Tired mostly.

Mom and I are getting pretty good at this surgery thing.  We have gotten really good at packing for these short hospital stays, and really good at remembering what to ask for and when.  If you ever need to go in for a surgery that will result in a night or 2 in the hospital, I can help you out.  For instance, bring ear plugs.  It can make all the difference in letting you sleep at night.  Also, bring your own pillow.  Hospital pillows are made of plastic for easy cleanup, but that makes them as uncomfortable and sweaty as they could possibly be.

I'll probably be going home tomorrow, but it will be interesting to see how active I'll be when I get there.  I'm taking some of these drugs home with me, and I may end up sleeping the rest of the week.  I guess it just all depends on how quickly the pain subsides.