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Awaiting Robotic Surgery!

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User
Posted 12 Aug 2014 at 19:10

Hi Jacey,

Theirs one thing about having a forum we can all help each other and try to put minds at rest, I don't think I would like to be awake during the OP I had GA. I went down for my OP at 0800 and didn't get back to the ward till 1800, no problems with sickness, but I do remember my tummy bigger than normal due to it being inflated for the OP so the Robot can do its job tummy it went down the next day. I had some pain killers first night but that was it, they want you up on your feet asap which was ok the sooner you move around the sooner get out of the hospital. Good to get home.

all the best

rodders

User
Posted 12 Aug 2014 at 21:04
That was what I was trying to say Rodders.....it's great to get home. I wouldn't have wanted another night away in a hotel after nights in the hospital.
User
Posted 13 Aug 2014 at 17:39

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
That was what I was trying to say Rodders.....it's great to get home. I wouldn't have wanted another night away in a hotel after nights in the hospital.

Steve,

Gauging from your and others experience, the idea of returning home ASAP certainly appeal to me even though we live 150 miles away from the hospital.

It should be quite an interesting but, hopefully, not too eventful experience for me as I have never been hospitalised before!

Jacey

User
Posted 14 Aug 2014 at 18:43

Hi

Jacey you are not on your own it was my first time under GA, all I wanted was it to be over and get home you will be fine.

Regards Rodders

User
Posted 17 Aug 2014 at 13:10

 

Jacey - I hope you're reassured by fellow-posters who've gone down the robotic LRP route. I had my encounter with the robot six weeks ago - see the Da Vinci thread on this forum - & this was my first GA since a childhood tonsillectomy. The weeks of waiting & psych-ing myself up for the op had me champing at the bit somewhat, but once in theatre I was immediately reassured by the friendly & laid-back approach of the anaesthetists at my local hospital. Apart from a slight sore throat I had no post-op pain, & only mild discomfort from the catheter when sitting. Bear this in mind on your long-ish car journey home & equip yourself with a variety of cushions. By the way, this discomfort will magically disappear when your catheter is removed. At home I found that leg & night-bags were no problem once I got used to them, but fear of infection kept me to a strict ritual of steri-swabbing the nozzles when changing & emptying bags.

Regarding anti-DVT compression stockings - do take extreme care when putting them on. I'm a stone-&-a-half over my ideal weight - I'm 61, by the way - & I ricked my back quite badly just before being trundled in to meet the robot, so was bizarrely grateful for the pre-op spinal injection ! Post-op I received Clexane and had a pneumatic massaging-machine attached to my calves for the first 24 hours or so, but wasn't offered any thinning shots for self-medication at home. Hospitals differ on their post-op routines, but make sure your discharge nurse gives you enough sterile swabs & dressings to manage the small port-wounds until the closures are removed, especially if you're not scheduled to have a visit from a district nurse. We were also given alcohol hand gel and surgical gloves, a staple-removal kit to take to our GP nurse, plus an informative incontinence & ED starter-pack from P Ca UK. Six weeks on & continence is slowly improving -  pelvic exercises adhered-to rigidly.

My GP obligingly prescribed Viagra, which RP patients are eligible to enjoy free on the NHS, regardless of age. I haven't used it yet, but live in hope...

Good luck & all the best for the op, & for a quick recovery !

Morris

 

User
Posted 17 Aug 2014 at 14:59
Hi Jacey,

As you already know, my husband had his op at UCH and I can confirm tbat when we attended the pre-op patient surgical school we were informed tbat ALL men undergoing robotic surgery would be sent home with a supply of injections.. In my husbands case this consisted of 26 injections (one per day ) starting the day after the op.

Jane

User
Posted 17 Aug 2014 at 15:01
Tbat ??? Lol sorry but this blooming i.pad has a mind of it's own ;)
User
Posted 17 Aug 2014 at 22:28
When I woke up, the wind was amazing. To the nurse, it must have looked as though I was simulating love making due to the discomfort. As soon as that died down with the peppermint tea, I had virtually no discomfort. I certainly didn't feel as though I had had a major operation. I was playing golf again 6 weeks post op.

Make sure you are sorted re post-op referrals for incontinence and ED. Pads should be on prescription - I must have spent over £150 before my referral - and what tablets , ciallis, viagra, vacuum pumps etc to get things moving. Remember it can take a year or even much longer to have natural erections even with nerve sparing surgery.

I had my blood thinning injections for 28 days, during which time I also wore the stockings. Travelling home was far worse after catheter removal than after the op! I was leaking like mad, but over 15 weeks post catheter removal, I have much more control and hope to be dry by the end of the year.

Paul

Stay Calm And Carry On.
User
Posted 17 Aug 2014 at 22:35
And who knows 6f2, if you hadn't rushed back to the golf so quickly you might even be dry now!
"Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." Soren Kierkegaard

User
Posted 18 Aug 2014 at 07:11
I think you've done really well Paul, hope you're enjoying your golf :)
User
Posted 18 Aug 2014 at 07:12
I think you've done really well Paul, hope you're enjoying your golf :)
User
Posted 18 Aug 2014 at 08:46

I might be dry, but a bloody site more miserable!!!!

 

Or even a sight more miserable!!!!!!!!  (Post made in a hurry, hence the silly error.)

Edited by member 18 Aug 2014 at 14:41  | Reason: Not specified

Stay Calm And Carry On.
User
Posted 18 Aug 2014 at 15:58

Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
When I woke up, the wind was amazing. To the nurse, it must have looked as though I was simulating love making due to the discomfort. As soon as that died down with the peppermint tea, I had virtually no discomfort. I certainly didn't feel as though I had had a major operation. I was playing golf again 6 weeks post op.

Make sure you are sorted re post-op referrals for incontinence and ED. Pads should be on prescription - I must have spent over £150 before my referral - and what tablets , ciallis, viagra, vacuum pumps etc to get things moving. Remember it can take a year or even much longer to have natural erections even with nerve sparing surgery.

I had my blood thinning injections for 28 days, during which time I also wore the stockings. Travelling home was far worse after catheter removal than after the op! I was leaking like mad, but over 15 weeks post catheter removal, I have much more control and hope to be dry by the end of the year.

Paul

Thank you, Paul, for sharing your experiences.

I shall certainly bear in mind the bit about the journey home following my catheter removal!

Incidentally, what's your handicap? Not that I play any golf ... a mate of mine does. His is 8 or 9 I think!

 

Regards,

Jacey

User
Posted 20 Aug 2014 at 22:41
Originally Posted by: Online Community Member
And who knows 6f2, if you hadn't rushed back to the golf so quickly you might even be dry now!

Life is for living......

Steve

 
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