A (yellow) Bear in Borneo

[nickydwuk]

Just the edited highlights would be good. Just interested from a nurses point of view

[selchie]

I don't mind hearing about surgeries, but am not fond of watching all the moist, pulsey bits of someone's insides.

[MotherBear]

There wasn't much pulsing, not by me anyway, just an occasional slight movement of the rib cage to show that I was still breathing. There was plenty of moistness though, especially when he turned the hose pipe on and gave my insides a good washing down. I must have the cleanest insides going . There was some blue dye introduced into the T tube to check for leaks in the bile duct, which added a bit of dramatic colour to the scene.

[selchie]

Blue dye on top of bilious yellow - that must have been colorful . Did the T tube thingy come out yet? How goes the healing?

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by selchie

Did the T tube thingy come out yet? How goes the healing?

Healing is going well, thanks Selchie. Only got one scar showing now, the others have disappeared. The T tube is being inspected on Thursday, which I'm dreading as it could be a tad uncomfortable. If all is well he should give me an appointment for the op to remove the tube in the next week or two, which I'm also quite (read 'very') worried about because of the risk of rupturing the duct when the tube is yanked out . Had a blood test last week to see how my liver is recovering and I'll get those results on Thursday. I'll be glad to get rid of the tube because the large plaster covering the external bit tends to slowly slide down me as I sweat in this hot summer climate. As it slides down it tends to pull on the tube as I move about. Not good. Hubster will have to put his nurse's uniform on again and replace the dressing.

[MotherBear]

For the odd one or two who are following this (you know who you are ), I had a check up today and all was well and my blood test results were excellent. Bilirubin levels aren't properly down yet but won't be until the tube is out.

The doc explained what should have been happening inside me over the last 4 weeks ready for the removal of the dreaded T tube on 18th June. The tubing is rubber, specially chosen because it irritates the parts of me that it's in contact with and is, apparently, the cause of the bits of pain I've been having. This irritation is causing fibrous growth to develop around the tube to form a protective barrier between the tube and my internal organs. It's hoped that this fibrous stuff will, by the time the tube is removed, have coated it all the way up to my abdomen wall where the tube exits my body. The tube will be withdrawn from the bile duct and then pulled up through this new 'chimney', as it's referred to, and out. The opening of the chimney will be on the surface of my abdomen and will seal itself in a short time. I'm still not convinced about how he'll get something that is T-shaped through something that is l-shaped but he's done it before so I have to trust him.

Now, the dodgy part comes after the op. I have to stay in hospital for another couple of hours to check whether there are any leaks in the bile duct or the chimney. If bile leaks inside me I will have severe stomach pains and he will have to operate on me again to go in and seal the leaks himself plus drain the bile out, otherwise peritonitis will develop which is really bad news. Thankfully, he's knocking me out while he removes the tubing as it's very painful but I can imagine lying there afterwards waiting in trepidation for any signs of stomach pain, even if it is just wind. Boy, will I be glad when all this is over.

[nickydwuk]

Sounds rather complex. Sounds like he knows what he is doing so just lie back and take it easy Do you want the tube presented to you afterwards as a keep sake? After all you have been inseperable for a while now!!

[ebianca]

Im sure all will be fine MB- like you said- he's done it before so knows what he's doing.

[MotherBear]

Originally Posted by nickydwuk

Do you want the tube presented to you afterwards as a keep sake? After all you have been inseperable for a while now!!

I think I might have it stuffed and mounted, then I can hang it on the wall surrounded by my gallstones. Should make quite a feature. Well..... a talking point, anyway.

[MotherBear]

Just when you thought it was safely put to bed, I'm resurrecting this briefly to announce that all went well during the T tube removal. I must have been knocked out for a short while although, once again, I had no sensation of having 'left the room'. The doc was sitting beside me in line with my tube and busy doing stuff. He then asked me if I was happy now. I didn't quite understand why he was asking but took a chance and asked him if the tube was out, which it was. I truly don't even remember going to sleep or waking up. I thought I was awake all the time and waiting for him to start. It's really weird this anaesthetic lark, but who am I to complain? It was brilliant.

Anyway, here's some still shots taken from the video for those who are medically inclined. I tried to keep the lurid ones to a minimum to spare the squeamish and I promise there's no bikini in sight . Click on the Next icon by the thumbnail photos. Quality isn't very good as there was a lot of movement much of the time. The shots outside my body were taken when the camera was pulled out of me several times and I did some sneaky tweaking to acquire shots that aren't seen on the film because the operating theatre was mainly in darkness or the camera was moving too quickly for the human eye to catch what was going on.

I have to take my hat off to the doc and his team for doing a great job against all odds. It really was a difficult operation for him under the circumstances, but he did me proud and restored me to good health in spite of everything.