So what's it like to have a lower right lobectomy? Here goes...

Not say.the other text meant x

Hi - yes it is a VATS procedure. I have not had a biopsy but opted to go straight to surgery as my consultant and surgeon both think my nodule is malignant so best to have it out at this early stage. The nodule will then be biopsied together with some Lymph nodes which will be removed at the same time. That's when the waiting game starts I guess. xx

You better off not getting biopsy they tried biopsy the first time I had the cancer and collapsed my lung was in hospital for 5 days that was actually more painful that the vats  soo 2nd cancer never done biopsy just waited to they took it out along with few nodules. X

My vats was so straight forward I was realy surprised, my open surgery 2nd time was lot worse that's because they couldn't get in due to the other lobe being removed but cause mine like yours was early on didn't need any other therapies afterwards , breathing was not affected with the first lobectomy but 2nd op has left me with problems. X

Sorry to hear that your 2nd op has left you with problems and hope they will improve for you soon. Do you think open surgery was what made the difference as it sounds as if your 1st VATS op went well.  From from your experience of a biopsy I probably made the right decision not going for a biopsy first. As mine is a ground glass nodule the surgeon said it would be difficult to obtain a definitive biopsy, hence the decision to go straight to surgery which I am hoping will be as straightforward as your 1st op. Fingers crossed xxx

Yeah it was because of the lobe  removed b4 it in 1st op so they had to tug n haul a bit due to where scarring and where it had been glued inside  with the lobectomy  x

i remember the morning off my surgery ,and in a way i was glad because i had already known the date for 8 weeks ,so i had 8 weeks to worry about it ,i only told my sister and husband the date ,my 3 children were not told until 5 days before because i knew i could not cope with them being over emotional .that morning i was lucky the surgeon came to talk to me before surgery ,she saw i was weepy and gave me great comfort in telling me that she did this nearly everyday of the week and if i died on the table she would look really bad ,that made me laugh ,what if s are things we all think about but after she told me that ,i got it into my head what i was going to do to make myself better after surgery ,and i kept thinking that till i came round ,we will all be rooting for you Pepper ,

Good luck for your lobectomy Pepper x

Oops, that didn't go to plan...

After my last post on Saturday 14th, things took a turn for the worse. At 9pm I strained too hard on the toilet. (LESSON LEARNED: THOSE MEDS SCREW WITH THE DIGESTION SO TAKE LAXATIVE EVEN WHEN THAT IS NORMALLY A NO-NO!) Everything is swollen from face to feet, I feel terrible, I look like the Michelin Man. It's 9pm so everywhere's closed. Ended up with dialling 999 and got taken to hospital A&E.

Being scooped up and taken off in an ambulance has meant I've been offline ever since, lucky to even have my phone (no charger). Finally got back on Tuesday 24th so I've been 10 days in limbo.

So what had happened? I had burst the stitches that sewed up where my lobe had been - not recommended. All that swollen stuff was air escaped from my lung and trapped under my skin (no worries, it's starting to absorb and go away now, my skin feels like bubble-wrap.) What they did in A&E was put in a new drain tube to let the air out - bit of a struggle, needed as much brute force as skill (I know, I was awake for it) and despite the local pain relief not entirely discomfort-free.

After that, back to the ward I had previously been discharged from for recovery. That 2nd tube must have been in there best part of a week, maybe longer? Hard to tell, I've been on meds and taking no notes. Anyway, eventually it stopped letting air out so my lung had re-sealed and the tube got pulled out (shorter tube than last time, so not such a big deal.)

The wounds on my side seem to have stabilised enough for them to let me go home again. There's still a bit of weepage so I have to keep the area well clean and let nature take its course. They gave me waterproof patches to stick on if I want to shower but I'm not going out anywhere if my bubble-wrap feet can't get into shoes so no pressure to get civilised anytime soon.

Silver lining: this time around I've been released with lots more useful stuff to take home with me...

Kind regards
Steve

Ouch!! That sounds horrendous Steve! Thank goodness you are back home and on the mend now. X