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Who is brave enough to post a selfie?

Locheeboy said:
5 days after the op…
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5 years after the op…

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Wee lump on the left will disappear over next year, according to the surgeon…:cool:
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Makes my heart surgery zipper look a bit pathetic! :eek:

(I'm still proud of it though) ;)
 
Locheeboy said:
Aye, it is ...but is yours as tidy as mine ? :cool:
PS ...staples and lotsa morphine... 🤒 ?
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Yes, and almost 6 years later it is almost invisible. Like you, I had the "new style" incision. Before, they usually did a 3-pointed star cut, known as the Mercedes cut. I'm not sure if I had staples or black thread, can't remember. Yes, morphine is lovely. I think they gave it to me during 2 days in intensive care afterwards, which was the worst time for me, and a bit when I was in a normal room in the hospital. I think I was about a week in hospital afterwards.
When I went home they gave me paracetamol, and another pill which was paracetamol+codeine to take as needed. But I only used it once or twice. I had to wear an elastic thing around my waist for several weeks.
Is this something recent, for you, or an old photograph?
 
PaulMB said:
Yes, and almost 6 years later it is almost invisible. Like you, I had the "new style" incision. Before, they usually did a 3-pointed star cut, known as the Mercedes cut. I'm not sure if I had staples or black thread, can't remember. Yes, morphine is lovely. I think they gave it to me during 2 days in intensive care afterwards, which was the worst time for me, and a bit when I was in a normal room in the hospital. I think I was about a week in hospital afterwards.
When I went home they gave me paracetamol, and another pill which was paracetamol+codeine to take as needed. But I only used it once or twice. I had to wear an elastic thing around my waist for several weeks.
Is this something recent, for you, or an old photograph?
Click to expand...

Interesting stuff - as the liver is a big old unit, I've often wondered how a transplant was undertaken.

After my Quad bypass in 2022, they had me on Fentanyl in ICU; was in there for 9 days (48 hrs on the vent) owing to complications post-bypass as the grafts were bleeding. Had to be re-opened after 24 hours to have those grafts re-done. After a few days they rigged me up to self-administered morphine but each time I needed to press the button, I threw up a few mins later.
 
After one of my surgical experiences I was given a self administered morphine driver, and the nurses emphasised that I should not wait for the pain to be evident but should try to forestall it. At the next visit, the nurse said you’ve used a lot! What I remember was amazing waking dreams. One involved 2 cats that swam through the air towards me, gazed into my eyes then turned and swam off. I remember thinking seriously I didn’t know cats could do that…
 
PaulMB said:
Yes, and almost 6 years later it is almost invisible. Like you, I had the "new style" incision. Before, they usually did a 3-pointed star cut, known as the Mercedes cut. I'm not sure if I had staples or black thread, can't remember. Yes, morphine is lovely. I think they gave it to me during 2 days in intensive care afterwards, which was the worst time for me, and a bit when I was in a normal room in the hospital. I think I was about a week in hospital afterwards.
When I went home they gave me paracetamol, and another pill which was paracetamol+codeine to take as needed. But I only used it once or twice. I had to wear an elastic thing around my waist for several weeks.
Is this something recent, for you, or an old photograph?
Click to expand...
Aye Paul, nearly 5 years ago. Was kept in a coma for nearly 48 hours and gradually revived during the last 12 hours. Was around 10 days in hospital. They kept me in longer as I live in Dundee and the op was in Edinburgh. As Gavin A said above...fabulous dreams! When I came around, still had 7 needles in my neck with all my intravenous meds. 1st 4 weeks home, was on 31 different tables... these were gradually reduced to 7 (still on them) anti-rejection etc. Afterwards , the chief surgeon says my op was only 9 and a quarter hours instead of the usual 11-13. He said that when they opened me up, inside was like a lego set. Everything was exactly where it should be - which he said is rarely the case.:cool:
 
GavinA said:
After one of my surgical experiences I was given a self administered morphine driver, and the nurses emphasised that I should not wait for the pain to be evident but should try to forestall it. At the next visit, the nurse said you’ve used a lot! What I remember was amazing waking dreams. One involved 2 cats that swam through the air towards me, gazed into my eyes then turned and swam off. I remember thinking seriously I didn’t know cats could do that…
Click to expand...

I was warned about post-heart surgery delirium before my CABG which I poo-poo'd at the time. Truth was, I suffered really badly with it, even becoming agitated and quite violent at times (ie the polar opposite to my usual self!). Some of the delirium was harmless, funny even but occasionally it was absolutely terrifying. Unlike normal dreams, I can remember every single detail, nearly 2 years later. Apparently it can be down to 'pumphead' which is caused - they believe - by the bypass machine introducing micro-bubbles into the bloodstream.

A couple of the funny ones...

On arriving at the ward, I was flying around the room on a drone looking for my bed. On reaching said bed, Boris Johnson was occupying it, surrounded by kids to whom he was reading bedtime stories. Another was a party for rabbits on the ward, accompanied by a young child who was albino, floating around in a giant Easter egg. Was lying in my hospital bed on the forecourt of a fuel station in Lewes (I've never been there) drinking milk out of cartons, watching people come and go, every person driving a white van; I was convinced they were all criminals so kept shouting at the kiosk staff to get the Police.
 
Gromit said:
Interesting stuff - as the liver is a big old unit, I've often wondered how a transplant was undertaken.

After my Quad bypass in 2022, they had me on Fentanyl in ICU; was in there for 9 days (48 hrs on the vent) owing to complications post-bypass as the grafts were bleeding. Had to be re-opened after 24 hours to have those grafts re-done. After a few days they rigged me up to self-administered morphine but each time I needed to press the button, I threw up a few mins later.
Click to expand...
What a nightmare! Sorry you had to go through all that.
 
Locheeboy said:
Aye Paul, nearly 5 years ago. Was kept in a coma for nearly 48 hours and gradually revived during the last 12 hours. Was around 10 days in hospital. They kept me in longer as I live in Dundee and the op was in Edinburgh. As Gavin A said above...fabulous dreams! When I came around, still had 7 needles in my neck with all my intravenous meds. 1st 4 weeks home, was on 31 different tables... these were gradually reduced to 7 (still on them) anti-rejection etc. Afterwards , the chief surgeon says my op was only 9 and a quarter hours instead of the usual 11-13. He said that when they opened me up, inside was like a lego set. Everything was exactly where it should be - which he said is rarely the case.:cool:
Click to expand...
My surgeon just said that my being thin made everything easier. I'm now taking 0.75 of Tacrolimus/Envarsus and 1 Lamivudina and a mini-aspirin.
What I remember vividly is how weak I was afterwards. Walking 10 meteres, then 20, then 50....
I also remember waking up, like you with half a dozen tubes coming out or going in, and the immense joy as each one was subsequently removed.
Best wishes!!!
I don't think our surgical experiences can be of general interest here, but if you ever want to compare notes or something feel free to PM.
 
PaulMB said:
What a nightmare! Sorry you had to go through all that.
Click to expand...

The registrars (and other doctors involved in post-op care) were very unhappy about it, recommending I take action as it was clear there were issues with the surgery - ones which shouldn't have happened. Truth is, yes it wasn't my idea of fun but I was alive, and on the road to recovery. In ICU, I was under 1-to-1 nursing care and remember my own nurse (who was absolutely brilliant) kept saying to me 'don't let this lie'.

Anyway, back to the plot...

In Milan last summer, modelling for Prada...

My modelling face :) by Boxertrixter, on Flickr
 
Suffolk Tony said:
Celebrating the tenth birthday of my right prosthetic knee, this after about three weeks. Nowadays the scar's barely perceptible -



O3sdJQA.jpeg
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Tidy job that, Tony. Where did you have the op done?

Whilst we're on this brief journey down surgery lane, just one of my zipper which was re-opened last October. The join in my sternum had failed form the bypass in Apr 2022, through which an epigastric hernia had formed, so had to go back for a re-do. Praying the wires are a bit tighter this time! :D

The secondary scar was from the extra chest drain apparently.

Zipped by Boxertrixter, on Flickr
 
I’ve got a good selfie pic but I better not post it as it shows what happens when you face plant at 25mph on a bike and split from eye down nose and into lips minus teeth.

2 nose jobs, 36 stitches, one constructive surgery on jaw, 3 teeth implants and I was good as new. ;)
 
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