A (yellow) Bear in Borneo

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by nickydwuk

Will it be on 'MovetoNZ Tube'?

It could well be if I can work out how to put it on there. Only problem might be that it could be 3+ hours long if the whole op was filmed and not just the bit where things started to go wrong. We took the video tape for converting into a DVD yesterday, so should have it back maybe Monday or Tuesday. We had to go for DVD because of the length of it and were shocked how expensive the process is. They charge about 7 quid per hour of film . It'd better be worth it and I'd better have the starring role or else.

Nicky and KG, one question I don't really want to ask but feel compelled is 'What happens when he removes the T tube?' He said it would be done under local anaesthetic but I'm wondering just how uncomfortable the process will be. When he took the drains out he just yanked them out. It hurt for a couple of seconds but it was more the very strange sensation that caused me to utter a low Uuuuuuuuh noise. It felt like he was dragging my insides out but once the tubes were out it was fine. Now, there's a bit of difference between pulling out 2 straight tubes as compared to a T-shaped piece of tubing. I'm trying to figure out how he gets the 2 branches of the pipe, that I assume are still inside me, out through one little hole without causing any major damage.

[selchie]

Wow, what an ordeal! Am I understanding correctly that they removed stones from the gall bladder, then removed the gall bladder itself? Or were all those stones from the bile duct? How big is the biggest? It looks to be a centimeter at least. It's hard to tell without something for scale.

Foo on the docs for not giving you better pain killers. I hope the T tube isn't doing something bad inside. I'm still pulling for you (though not on the tubes )

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by selchie

Wow, what an ordeal! Am I understanding correctly that they removed stones from the gall bladder, then removed the gall bladder itself? Or were all those stones from the bile duct? How big is the biggest? It looks to be a centimeter at least. It's hard to tell without something for scale.

I was only given a small selection of stones to keep, but I guess there were a lot more inside the gallbladder because the surgeon couldn't remove it before first emptying out the stones, as it was packed full with them. The gallbladder walls were very thick and inflamed so he had difficulty cutting through to make an incision to get the stones out. I would say the largest of the stones I have is the size of a very large pea and, apparently, they are made up purely of cholesterol. He says in his report that 2 of these larger stones were blocking my bile duct although both hubster and I thought he'd previously said 4 of them were in there. Because the op took more than 3 hours longer than it should have, I guess a lot of the time was spent raking around trying to get all these stones out bit by bit. After the op, the doc flew into my room and roasted me for having put him through an ordeal which had scared him half to death. He was still trembling. As I said to him 'What more could I have done other than present my GP with various symptoms over a period of time which should have pointed her in the right direction'?

Thank God I slept through it all. I wonder if I'm up to watching the DVD of the op when we get it. Could be quite interesting.

I'm a bit perturbed that no one has answered my question above yet. Does that mean it's quite an unpleasant procedure to remove the T tube and no one wants to alarm me?

[nickydwuk]

Originally Posted by MotherBear

I'm a bit perturbed that no one has answered my question above yet. Does that mean it's quite an unpleasant procedure to remove the T tube and no one wants to alarm me?

Nothing of the sort. I have been doing some researech for you. All the patients I have nursed have had all their drains removed prior to discharge and they were the bog standard straight wound drains. However I have found out that removing the T tube is quite painful and some doctors have done it without any anaesthetic. As you are having a local it should be more uncomfortable than painful. I could not find any reference to cutting you further to remove it so they should be able to pull it through the current opening. If that is the case then the 'T' part of the tube cannot be too long either side. Are you still draining a lot of fluid from the drain site?

[keeweegal]

Sorry for not replying earlier, MB - only just seen post.

I don't remember anything about having tubes removed. As Nicky says, maybe it was all done before I was discharged. I certainly don't remember going back & having anything removed, just a check up. I also don't remember having too many, if any, stones, so maybe that's the difference.

Hopefully Nicky's post has put your mind at rest

Sal x

[MotherBear]

I had the 1 drain removed the day I left hospital. It was the strangest sensation and, although I was trying to be brave, I still found I made this involuntary Uuuuuuuuh sound as it came out. As the T tube is in the same area as the drain was, I'm expecting something similar only a lot worse as the doc won't be able to quickly yank the tube out of me like he did with the drains. Please, please let the local anaesthetic work well .

Originally Posted by nickydwuk

Are you still draining a lot of fluid from the drain site?

No, there's very little oozing now. Wound looks quite clean and dry.

Sal, I may have had the T tube inserted because he had to cut into the bile duct to get the stones out. He said the tube has to stay in for 6 weeks to allow my cut tubes to heal properly and not collapse in on themselves.

I'm seeing the doc this morning for wound-checking so maybe I'll pluck up my courage and ask him what's involved. If the news isn't too good, at least I'll know to practice my screaming technique in the meantime .

Must say I was a bit concerned about a Google ad (at the top) that caught my eye and spouted the merits of dissolving gallstones without surgery. I would have thought, if it was that easy to dispose of them, the practice would be widely used to save patients the pain and discomfort of an operation. Sounds like a reckless money-making scheme to me and might waste valuable time getting a patient seen to.

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by MotherBear

I'm seeing the doc this morning for wound-checking so maybe I'll pluck up my courage and ask him what's involved. If the news isn't too good, at least I'll know to practice my screaming technique in the meantime .

OK, so I've been and had a lot of my sticking plasters removed from the keyhole surgery and also where the drain came out. He also shortened the bit of tubing from the T tube, so I'm looking very sporty and ready to go now. Have to go back in 2 weeks for another blood test to check how my bilirubin is doing. He still thinks I'm a little bit yellow. In 3 weeks I see him again and he will probably check me in for removal of the T tube in a week or so after that. Apparently I'll be admitted for half a day and will be sedated, he said. I wonder what 'sedated' means - relaxed but aware of what's going on or totally out of it? He did say I shouldn't feel anything, which comforted me somewhat.

The idea of the T tube is to hold the cut tubes in place and encourage them to form a 'chimney' through which the bile will pass. When he's sure this chimney has properly formed, he'll remove the T tube and allow my tubes to seal over. Sounds like there's quite a bit involved to see how it looks inside and then to remove the tube. After the procedure I will need 2 hours recovery, so it's quite full-on.

[Taffy]

What a fuss! I've got a pair of pliers and a soldering iron, I could have you fixed up in a few minutes

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by Taffy

What a fuss! I've got a pair of pliers and a soldering iron, I could have you fixed up in a few minutes

Yes, but do you have a sexy French accent like he does? (He's Belgian although judging by his name and his skin tone, his ancestors come from other parts.)

[Taffy]

I could put one on, but I doubt it would have the same effect. I'd most likely start sounding Indian after a while, like most other attempts at foreign accents!