Before and After

[MikeHeim]

I just saw these pictures and one thing stood out:

I don't see a wire in your neck - did you have one and they had already pulled it out by the point the picture was taken?[/LEFT]

 

[davidfortune]

Thanks all,

I felt great at that point and still continue to (knock wood).

Mike,

There was a swanz-ganz catheter (that's bandage on the right side of my neck) and a main chest tube (that's the single black hanging thread suture in the middle of my stomach - just to my right of the secondary chest drainage bulb). Both the swanz-ganz and the main chest tube, as well as the foley catheter, were all removed prior to my release from ICU.

Those waiting,

Don't let the scary pics with holes scare you. None of the tubes was very bothersome for me (the foley isn't fun cause it is never very exciting to have a catheter in your yaya - but it wasn't terrible as I imagined).

For those that care to know my measurement on removal discomfort of the various tubes and wires.....

For me the most unpleasant during removal were the two pacing wires (the little orange wires in the glass "test tubes". They actually hurt just a little coming out but nothing terrible and lasted only 2 seconds. The next worst was the foley catheter. Again mild/moderate discomfort (not even pain really) for a few seconds. The swanz-ganz felt "weird" coming out since it is about 2 feet long or so - but not painful. The chest tubes didn't hurt either, just a mild discomfort and weird feeling to feel the tube sliding for a couple of seconds. The central line didn't really feel like anything.

David

 

[mmarshall]

good stuff dave. looks like everything is going well and before you know it, you will be back to normal. i went back to work 5 weeks after surgery...i actually started working from home a little sooner than that but i held off on going into the office due to driving. for me, around the 8 or 10th week after, i felt like i was completely healed and could not tell that i had surgery....i was told it will take 3 months to feel that way so i was around that time frame. oh yea, that lump at the top of your incision, it will go away....lol it looks like they have changed things up since i had mine a year and a half ago. here is a pic about a week after surgery....and one about 3 months after. so it does get better...actually the scar looks even better now. enjoy...lol

 

[mmarshall]

ok, here is the 3 months after.

 

[Mary]

ok, here is the 3 months after.

Nice . . . . scar!