Surgery number… lost count

 

I have had another surgery. This one was so that my new surgeon could examine me under general anaesthetic through the vaginal hole into the pelvic infection, and see what is really happening in there and also flush it out to give me a few days leakage grace, we hope.

I  got there at 7am as per letter and I waited a little while before being called. After observations were done I met the anaesthetist, and we had a chat and he said if I wanted to, I could probably be awake and have a spinal block as it wasn’t a big operation in my terms of past surgeries. We checked with my surgeon and he agreed and said he could also talk to me and let me know what was happening.

On with the sexy socks.

Off I went to theatres with a very lovely ( but slightly overly chatty about death of his family members and the rest of his family not having a great time) porter and I went into the little pre theatre room with the anaesthetist. After a try at getting the cannula in my hand, it did eventually work and then it was the spinal block time. It was reasonably painless and I then laid down waiting for it to work. This is a very strange feeling, as your buttocks go numb first and very warm. Then your feet, and I saw them wiggle at first but didn’t really know that I was doing it.

In the theatre they just got everything in order then put my legs in stirrups, last I had seen of them they were lying flat so when I looked at them legs akimbo, it was so bizarre as they just didn’t look like my legs.

After a lot of rummaging and feeling the table wobble about, I was advise that as first thought from the MRI results, I had a chronic pelvic infection that had found it’s way out of a large hole in my vaginal wall. I know, fun right?

We have a few options, he could feel the top of my coccyx almost in the cavity and sometimes you can get an infection in it that could cause this infection. The only thing with that theory is that I would have thought it would have been spotted when they did the flap and muscle transfer surgery.( the coccyx is sometimes removed then, and it had been a  possibility in my case but they decided against it). If it is this ( it’s called osteomylitis ) they will first try long term intravenous antibiotics that I can also do at home enabling me to go about my life. If this fails they would probably have to remove my coccyx, which would mean going in from the front scar AND my healed flap, eeek.

If it isn’t the coccyx then who knows what it next. It’s back to the drawing board to see if they can work out what is causing this awful constant leaking of pus and fluid, sorry it’s too much info, but thats what it is and that is what this blog is all about.

Off I went to the recovery then the day ward to wait for the spinal block to stop working. This took longer than I thought and I was there for about four hours, as it took some time to clear fully. My legs were not my own and had a mind of their own. But the tea, coffee, tuna sandwich and flapjack made things better. Thanks girls x

Half way through waiting and being given refreshments, I realised I was drenched. This was the flush that my surgeon have given me now deciding to give me a bath, the nurses were fabulous for my entire stay and they changed the sheets, nightdress, dressing, bed floor ward hospital…..and all was well again.( It was just like water, nothing grim.)

I can honestly say that that I had the best care from that day ward at QMC Nottingham. They are going through some big changed to their wards but it made no difference to my care. I am going to do a shout out to them at the Queens day care unit admissions and discharge A45 block. Well done gorgeous nurses and HCA’s.

A slight bruise from the cannula and a massive dressing just to make sure 😉

I am now home and reasonable ok, still some slight blood and leakage, a bit of backache and some slight pain, so it’s feet up and cups of tea for me.