Surgery Day!

Day before surgery: Tuesday, July 8, 2008

I scheduled my pre-op appointment for the day before surgery since my implant center is one and a half to two hours away depending on traffic. We were hoping for an early morning surgery so we didn’t want to get up before the crack of dawn to drive down so we stayed the night in Ann Arbor.

At my pre-op appointment, I saw a physician’s assistant, a nurse and my surgeon, Dr Telian. They each asked various questions of me and answered questions that I had. My blood pressure, pulse and weight were checked. I had some blood drawn for tests. I received the news that I would be the first CI surgery of the day! I was to report to the hospital at 6 am with surgery to start at 7:30 am. I could eat up until 12 midnight, only water after midnight and nothing after 4 am. That wasn’t hard at all. Once I received instructions for surgery the next day, my husband, Bill, and I were free to explore the Ann Arbor area. Bill treated me to ‘Real Seafood’ and then we explored a bit before heading back to the hotel to use the pool and try to relax. Relax, right! Didn’t really happen! I didn’t sleep very well either.


Surgery Day: Wednesday, July 9, 2008

5 am – Per instructions I showered at the hotel using antibiotic soap. Dressed in loose clothing, making sure my top was button down so I could not be trying to pull something over my head after surgery. Worst part of this was no morning coffee!


5:45-7:30 am – Bill and I reported to the hospital about 5:45. Yes I was eager! I pretended to watch TV while waiting for them to call me. After a short wait, my name was called. Bill & I proceeded to the pre-op area. Here I was asked to put on a hospital gown and given some nice fuzzy socks to put on.


I must have had a ‘visitor’ every five or ten minutes! The pre-op nurse put my IV in. The anesthesia team of three each stopped by at least once to introduce themselves and ask me a few questions. My surgical nurse stopped by to introduce herself and to tell me that she would be with me through the whole thing. She advised me to think of something happy when they started to put me under so that I would think of this happy thing all through the surgery. She told me my current CI would stay on until I was asleep, then she would take it off and put it into the bag that had my clothes which was under the bed. After surgery, she would put it back on, slipping it under the pressure bandage, and turn it on for me. I would not need to be without my CI at all. Awesome! She also explained that she wanted me to say my name and what I was having done and that they would also ask me to do this once I was in the operating room and just before surgery started.


I had a visit from another young lady asking me if I’d like to participate in a study of a new anesthesia monitor that would be used in addition to what they were currently using. I agreed to participate so she stuck some funny looking monitor things to my forehead. The pre-op nurse was in and out taking my blood pressure, pulse, and generally getting me ready.


My surgeon, Dr Telian, stopped by to say hi and to answer any questions I might have before the surgery. He explained that they would mark my right ear just to reassure everyone and me that the correct ear was being worked on. It was really nice to meet all the people who would be there at the surgery doing various jobs. Very reassuring! Bill stayed with me throughout this time.


7:30-8:30 am - Promptly at 7:30, the team came to take me to the operating room (OR). Bill gave me a good luck kiss and left for the waiting room. Once in the OR, I was asked to slide over to the operating table which I did without incident. Sorry, no funny thoughts about the table and whether I could make the slide without incident. I just did what I was told. I’m sure I looked terrified. Considering that the only time I have ever fainted is when I say my own blood running out of one of my fingers after a cut, you can imagine how I felt. Not that I wasn’t sure I wanted to do it or that I wasn’t confident in Dr Telian and the surgical team. I was sure!


They began positioning me, padding my left arm which I’d be lying on while they operated on my right ear. The oxygen mask was put over my face and I started trying to think of sitting out on the bay with the water stretched almost as far as you can see and a warm breeze… I was out!


8:30-10:30 am – Surgery actually started at 8:30 and was finished up at 10:30. Dr Telian talked with Bill after and let him know that everything went really well with implanting the Advanced Bionics HiRes 90K cochlear implant.


10:30 am - ?? – I have no idea what time I woke up! I have this feeling it was after noon but I don’t really remember now. What I do remember is that I was in this beautiful meadow and didn’t want to leave but someone (the post-op nurse) was saying ‘Janet’, ‘Janet’… So I opened my eyes. Back to reality, I was in a hospital bed and my head really hurt, except it’s not my ear, it’s my forehead! The pressure bandage has a knot in it and that is what hurt. I told the nurse that it hurt and she pushed it up a bit. Then everyone that walked by gets shown my red bump from the pressure bandage. I noticed my ear was roaring and it lasted for about 5-10 minutes then quieted down. I did wonder who was whispering in my ear about a meadow when I was trying to think about the bay. LOL

I was offered a beverage. Only a soda, no wine, yet! So I sipped a Sprite and boy did that taste sweet and so very good. I was offered crackers so I nibbled one but it was very hard to get it down because my throat was so dry and sore feeling from the tubes. Then I had a sudden feeling that it was coming up! The nurse jumped and got me the barf bucket in time. She gave me something in my IV for nausea. After a while, I was moved to another post-op area and had a different nurse – who actually was my pre-op nurse too. This is unusual to have the same nurse both pre and post op. It was at this point that Bill joined me again.


1:30? –3:30 pm – Bill explained that Dr Telian could not wait for me to wake up because he had to be over at the new surgery center to do the next two CI’s of the day. The nurse continues to be in and out checking on me. I received the post op instructions. Bill got the honor of taking the pressure bandage off after 24 hours which will be just before we leave the hotel the next day. I can’t shower or bathe for 24 hours. After 24 hours I was to still keep the incision dry by holding plastic over it when I wash my hair. Bill goes to get my prescriptions filled. There are two prescriptions, one for pain medication and one for an antibiotic.

The nurse offered me a wheel chair to go to the bathroom, but since I know I am going home, I wanted to walk so I’d know if I was going to be dizzy. The nurse assisted me in getting up and walking to the bathroom, still with my IV pole. I did fine on that little. I was asked if I’m ready to go and I’m sure they wanted me out sooner than I actually left. I was told by the nurse at my pre-op appointment the day before to make sure I was ready before I left. I took her advice and stayed until I was sure I felt ok. My IV was removed just before I left. I took a pain pill to ward of any possible pain on the trip back to the hotel. Bill and the nurse helped me into a wheelchair. Bill took me up to the car which was parked in the parking ramp and we’re on our way!


3:30 – 9:30 pm – I tried to eat a bit of chicken soup, crackers and applesauce when we got back to the hotel. I started vomiting though and couldn’t keep anything down. A pain pill every four hours but every time I took one, I vomited shortly after and it was getting worse over time. Bill called the clinic to get a prescription for anti-nausea medicine, and then went out to a nearby pharmacy to pick it up. While he was gone, I huddled on a towel on the hotel bathroom floor thinking it was probably one of the worst places to be right after surgery (germ wise). Thank goodness I would be taking an antibiotic! Once Bill returned, I took one anti-nausea tablet and within minutes my stomach was settled (magic stuff!) and I was able to take my antibiotic. It stayed down. I tried to eat a little more. Everything tasted too salty or too sweet though so I didn’t eat very much. This time I had no metalic taste and no numbness in my tongue, just everything tasted over-seasoned. I propped myself up with pillows and did a pretty good job of sleeping that night. I’m sure the pain medication helped!


Day after Surgery: Thursday, July 10th
When I woke up I felt pretty good. Bill went down to the hotel breakfast bar for coffee. I felt good enough that I switched to extra-strength Tylenol and eliminated the anti-nausea medicine. Bill took a picture of my bandaged head and wild hair with my phone because I forgot the camera. I didn’t bother looking too close at the picture to see how it turned out because the pressure bandage simply had to come off. It was really hurting my forehead where the knot was. I kept trying to move it around but by that time it hurt no matter where it was. Bill cut the bandage off and, whew, what a relief that was! He declared that the incision looked good.

We hung around until it was time to check out and then I took some more extra strength Tylenol just before leaving. I used a neck pillow to help on the ride home so my head would be supported a little bit more. It was an uneventful drive home. I was feeling very alert on the ride home. When we got home I felt strangely energetic and yet sort of shaky from the surgery. I’m sure this was in part because the anesthesia had not worn off completely. I took it easy the rest of the day.


Day two after surgery: Friday, July 11th

At about midnight I woke up with a horrible migraine-like headache (the hang over? LOL). I took more extra strength Tylenol, but the headache kept getting worse. By the time Bill got up at 8 am I was in a lot of pain. He called the clinic and the nurse directed me to take two pain pills, which I took with one of the anti-nausea pills. I went back to bed with the room darkened. I spent the entire day taking a pain pill every 4 hours and an anti-nausea pill every 6 hours. By 6 pm I was beginning to feel better and was moving around a little bit. By the next day I was no longer taking any pain medication.


After that, every day, I felt a little stronger. My stitches came out on Thursday morning a week after surgery. I went back to work on that same Thursday, but it really was too soon. I only worked 4 hours on Thursday and 4 hours on Friday. Monday was a day off, so by the time I went back on the next Tuesday, July 22, I felt good. If I ever do this again, I will plan on taking two weeks off.

Less than 48 hours to hook up on August 7th! I'm looking forward to getting started on rehabing my ear and being bilaterally bionic!