Hi guys,
Firstly a huge thank you again for all the well wishes and support, it gave me a great boost to hear such nice comments from people in similar circumstances.
So here I am now on the ‘Other side’ – I mentioned on another thread that I had read many peoples experiences with the words ‘surgery was a breeze’, well if that’s the case mine was a sunny day! I didn’t leave the hospital until late last night but this was just because I wanted to chat with my CRS once he had finished operating for the day.
I understand that when people undergo LIS their fear is partly the surgery itself and partly due to fear of the unknown or the general anaesthetic so I am going to split my message into two parts. The first part being my diary and sequence of events and the second about how I am feeling, the pain, and my personal circumstances, etc.
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LIS DIARY 14th March 2012
So my pre-admission instructions were to eat and drink as usual up until bedtime the evening before the operation (excluding alcohol). On the morning I could eat a light breakfast such as wholemeal toast or cereal but this must be consumed before 8am. I was then allowed to drink clear liquids such as water or apple juice up until 12 noon. The reason behind this is to stop me being sick during general anaesthetic, during surgery and when I awoke after surgery.
My admission time was 11.00am and I was being treated at a private hospital which runs more like a hotel than a hospital. I checked in at reception, they swiped my credit card for any extras and then the receptionist escorted me to my room whilst the porter carried my bags!!!
I had a large private room with large bathroom, air con, a flat screen TV with all the sports and movie channels, a mini-bar and a full room service menu with 40 different wines, 10 beers and 15 Champagnes…. What the hell is that all about?????
Within 10 minutes the ward manageress came and welcomed me, she gave me a hospital gown, a dressing gown and slippers to change into. Once I had changed she took my weight, my height, my blood pressure and measured my calves and thighs as they provide fitted Deep Vein Thrombosis stockings to wear during surgery.
I was then introduced to Bill who was my Practice nurse – Bill was the happiest guy on earth (as if he was permanently on drugs), he would laugh at anything and was great fun which made the day quite memorable.
Then I was met by the Phlebotomist who came to take a few blood samples from my arm (About two small test tubes half full)
Next was a visit from the ECU guy to check my heart rate – he stuck ten little stickers all over my body and wired them up to a machine before telling me I was dead!!! (He then removed all the stickers and went on his way)
I was then visited by a Colo-Rectal Nurse who came to answer any questions I may have about the surgery or recovery. She gave me a pack of information giving instructions on what to do after my surgery and her telephone number & pager contact for any questions or emergencies I may have in the weeks following surgery.
So after meeting so many people that’s when the fun starts….. The fleet enema….. Urrghhhh! I had to lie down on my left side, raise my legs to my chest whilst Bill inserted a small (about 3” long) tube up my back side and squirted the entire contents of the bottle in there! He then pulled out the bottle and told me to hold my butt cheeks together and quickly run to the toilet!!!! So I ran, shut the bathroom door and sat down but nothing happened….. For the first minute or so that is…. until… I had an experience which I could probably only relate to Niagra Falls!!!! I didn’t know whether to laugh or cry so I just sat there laughing my head off at this uncontrollable ferocious bowel movement (Sorry for all the details there). After five minutes I used the bidet and returned to my bed.
We (me and my girlfriend) waited around until about 1pm when the Anaesthetist came to visit – he asked about allergies, if I had any dental work done, if I had a cold or chest infections and to confirm whether I followed the pre-admission instructions. He then talked me through exactly what would happen when they put me to sleep (explained below)
Finally at around 1.15pm my CRS came to visit, he fully explained the LIS procedure, stated why it was necessary, he told me that the incontinence risk was so low that its hardly worth talking about (but he has to mention it anyway) and he gave me the consent form to sign. The form basically detailed the operation I was about to receive, it showed that Botox was my alternative and it stated that we had discussed the incontinence risk. He then stayed a little longer to put my mind at ease, we had a joke and he told me about his background, etc. Ohh and he said the biggest risk from LIS is infection following surgery (fistula) – he did say that this is also very rare but it’s important to keep clean and make hygiene a priority. He left around 1.30pm and said that I was the second in the queue for LIS and they should come for me shortly after 2.00pm.
After my CRS visit Bill came back and fitted my DVT Stockings, which were quite tight to say the least!
At 2.10pm a jolly theatre guy came in all his scrubs and asked if I was ready to go – so I said my goodbyes and we both walked down to the anaesthetist recovery room. WOW what a place – lots of people scurrying about, people going in and out of operations yet the thing I noticed was how happy everyone was – I got a hello and a smile from about 10 different people before I entered the calm and tranquillity of the anaesthetic room.
I was asked to lie on a bed on my back and they place a lovely heated blanket over me, I had one guy on the left applying stickers to my chest and the anaesthetist (who I met earlier) on my right chatting away about the weather and life in general. The anaesthetist then put an elasticated strap around my right wrist so my veins in the back of my hand would be more prominent and he inserted the needle which just felt like a small scratch. He then attached the syringe to the needle and said with a big smile, “ok here we go, see you in twenty minutes” – The other guy then put an oxygen mask over my face, I took two breaths and it was lights out for me!!
What seemed like only 5 seconds later was a nurse looking down on me with a big beaming smile and asking me how I was? I actually felt really good, so relaxed, so chilled out and I just laid there daydreaming whilst waking up. The nurse next to me seemed to take my blood pressure every 30 seconds or so (or maybe that was just me half asleep) – Each time a nurse or different anaesthetist walked past they would come over for a chat and to ask me how I was, all very friendly. At this time my pain score was probably around a 4 out of 10 and the anaesthetist told me beforehand that if I felt any pain following surgery he would stop it immediately so they gave me a Tramadol tablet which stopped the pain in about 5 minutes flat! At this stage I also had a sore throat – this is because they insert a small tube in your throat whilst you are sleeping to help aid your breathing (the tube is removed before you awake)
I laid there about half an hour before they wheeled me back to my room so the surgery took 30 minutes, the recovery was 30 minutes and I was back in my room around 3.30pm.
I was then supplied endless cups of tea, coffee, juice or water and encouraged to pass urine before I left the hospital. When I did go I noticed that I was wearing what I can only describe as a pair of fishnet French knickers which had a wedge of cotton wool gauze down the back (Sexy I know!)
At 5.30pm they delivered my three course dinner to my room – Roast tomato soup, poached chicken with creamed mash & roast veg and coconut ice cream served with a pot of tea.
Bill then came for another chat and to give me my ‘take away’ medications after dinner – I decided to have a joke at his expense by mocking his beloved football team. He responded with, “today I gave you an enema and you are now lying in front of me wearing fishnet French knickers and a pair of stockings - do you think you are in a position to poke fun at me??” I guess he was right!
So I got dressed and then I was given a goodie bag full of instructions, different size gauze pads, elasticated underwear to hold the gauze in place, cotton wool, etc.
I was given four different medications:
1.Diclofenic 50mg – take 1 three times a day for mild to moderate pain
2.Tramadol 50mg – take 1 three times a day with Diclofenic for moderate to severe pain
3.Paracetamol 500mg – take two every four hours instead of the above once the pain decreases (after a few days)
4.12 sachets of movicol – take one daily with 125ml of water
Finally my CRS came to visit looking absolutely worn out (he had just completed a 4 hour major bowel surgery operation) we had a good chat about my fissure which I will mention below.
I left the hospital around 8.30pm walking in a penguin style fashion!!
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THE RESULT
So I stated in my previous GTN thread that I was pain free and nearly healed – how wrong I was!!!
My fissure was a nasty one – very deep but not very long. My CRS said that when he opened it up he could see right through to the white of the muscle and that it was quite simply too severe for any topical medication to heal alone. He said that I had made exactly the right choice to have LIS and if I relax, be strict with my hygiene and soft food I could clear it once and for all in 10-14 days. Although my fissure is very deep, it is quite short in length so he only needed to make a 4mm cut in the sphincter muscle. I didn’t have a skin tag and he said the edges were quite clean so no other preparation work was required – he did say that I had two external haemorrhoids but he doesn’t think they will cause me any bother in the future but if they did I just need to pop back and see him and he will sort them out.
So last night my pain score was between 1 and 2 out of ten, I did feel quite tender and was very slow to move about but I was never in any pain, more just a very very mild discomfort. The pain itself is not like fissure pain, if I was going to describe it I would say it is like the sensation you get if you gently press a nasty bruise so just a feeling of light pressure really. So I went to bed last night about 11pm and slept like a baby
So that sums up my surgery day!
I hope you’re all keeping well today guys!!
Davo