Nephrectomy and pneumothorax

Hi Don,

 i Had my right kidney removed about 12 weeks ago. I didn't know about there being a risk of puncturing the diaphragm. I had laparoscopic surgery. And with a remote robot apparently. 

A young Dr came around the ward. Doing the Drs 'round'. I asked him why i was sick some black water ? And could it be blood ?

He repiled that he attended my operation and it went really well. Truth be told he seemed blown away (impressed) by how it went. He told me there was very little blood loss (about 100ml).

Get a couple of really soft pillows Don. I found them really useful for bumpy car ride home, And i could hold them tight to my tummy if i sneezed, hiccuped, or burped. All these things pulled on my wounds and the pillows helped.

For a heads up i was a little emotional, completely out of the blue, when i came out of hospital. And i've been surprised at how easily i became tired during my recovery. I'm a fit healthy (apart from cancer lol) 62 year old and found the tiredness would appear out of nowhere and knock me right out. Not like any tiredness i'd experienced before.

Good luck. If you think i can help just holler....Del.

Many thanks Del for your reassuring words and advice.
I talked to a specialist nurse today and she hadnt heard of that so I guess it’s one less thing to worry about. Still not sure what procedure I’m going to get. I’m down for a laparoscopic procedure but the surgeon I talked to 3 weeks ago said open. I guess I’ll know by Thursday afternoon. 

thanks again, Don

Hello Don, I had my radical nephrectomy just over 7 weeks ago and have to say, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I had no post op complications.

Wishing you all the very best for your op. The waiting is the hardest part…..on the day of my op having felt anxious before, I was very calm and just had a ‘let’s get it done’ mindset….hopefully you will feel calm too.

Big hugs Jules x

Hi Jules,

many thanks! I also want it out so I can move on to the next stage. 3 days to go to, It’ll all be done by this time on Thursday

Best wishes,

Don

That’s the spirit Don….onwards and upwards, although it is okay and natural to feel anxious. As Del has said, take a big cushion for the return journey home, it really helps…..it’s the best bit of aice that I received on here  We are all rooting for you. X

I’m back home after a five day stay and on the road to recovery. Still sore and tired but that’s to be expected. One step at a time. 
It turns out the treatment to pneumothorax is important. The anaesthetists plan was to inject local anaesthetic into my pleural spaces to help control pain. I don’t have those spaces, so a quick change of plan was to Inject a spinal block. I think the pleural injection happens after you are out, the spinal is done while you’re awake. This freaked me out a little but he did a brilliant job of making light of It and  relaxing me. Even cracking jokes and making me laugh. The block wasn’t to bad and my feet were asleep before the rest of me. 

Great news Don.

It's so good to get home. Well pleased for you that everything went ok.

'one step at a time' indeed. Give yourself time. You will get better and less tired. My recovery took  longer than i thought it might.

Hope things continue to go well for you....Del.

Fab to hear that you are home Don…….I had a spinal too.

As Del has said…..one step at a time

Thanks for letting us know how you got on xx