Getting My Throat Cut

[gsmittle]

Some of you will remember that about three years ago I had some back surgery. Well, tomorrow morning I get more of the same type of surgery, only on the neck. Fusing three cervical vertebrae means cutting my neck open and pushing aside all the plumbing to get at the spine. Unfortunately, I had to shave my luxurious and very manly beard down to a wimpy little soul patch. Or I could have let the nurse shave it, which meant I would have had a split-level beard.

Upside: I miss the last two days of school before the winter break.

Downside: I miss the last two days of school before the winter break. (I usually make out like a bandit on cookies and other goodies.)

Upside: The recovery period is much shorter; two weeks instead of six, so I'll be ready to go by the time school starts again.

Downside: I can't do any work in the shop for two weeks and no lifting anything heavier than a glass of milk for six weeks. That's also an upside, since I can't do any housework.

Upside: I'll be rid of a huge nagging pain in the neck.

Downside: When school resumes, I'll have 200 teenage pains in the neck.

Upside: Happy Pills.

Downside: Running out of Happy Pills.

Will return with a graphic, blow by blow description of the procedure--at least the part I'm awake for.

g.

[shoottx]

Take the time necessary for recovery, and enjoy the time off!

Best wishes for a full recovery!

[Uncle Cracker]

Good thing a shot of tequila weighs less than a glass of milk! Here's to a quick recovery...

[ironhat]

Blessings on ya, buddy!

[cabinetman]

Don't forget the pictures. Glossy 8x10's with arrows. Hope all goes well.
.

[Pappy]

It's 'tomorrow' morning so you may be sleeping already. Don't rush things on the recovery.

[crokett]

What Pappy said. Listen to your docs and don't push it.

[cgallery]

I knew someone that went through this. He had been a roofer. By the time I meet him, he was a roofing salesman.

ANYWAY, it went very well for him. He had thought his life was over before the surgery. Immediately after the surgery he felt better (he immediately regained some of the feeling in his hand/hands). But the improvement just kept coming for several months.

So I hope you progress just like he did!

Take care of yourself!

[Ed62]

Sorry to hear of your upcoming surgery. Hope you have a fast recovery, and don't need too many happy pills.

Ed

[stocktr8er]

I had one done that way in May. What a change..felt like a new man almost immediately. Thing is recovery is not 2 weeks. That is to just get over the surgery. The actual healing takes several months. Take it slow and don't let feeling better fool you into thinking you are 100%.

I hate to tell you - the other 200 pains in the neck probably won't go away until retirement.

Wishing you successful surgery and a fast recovery.

Curtis

[scmhogg]

g.

Some years ago I had a ruptured cervical [in the neck] disk. Initially, I was prescribed meds and physical therapy. The meds, Celebrex, really helped. The PT made things worse. The pain became unbearable. One day it would be my neck, the next my shoulder, the next my wrist. . .

My advice, find the best hospital based spine center in your area. I went to the Cedars Sinai Spine Institute in Beverly Hills, CA. They used Chiropractic, therapy and surgery. They had the newest diagnostic equipment. They felt my prescribed PT was potentially dangerous, particularly without the MRI that showed the ruptured disk was making a dent in my spinal cord.

I had the disk removed and a titanium plate installed, that is now overgrown with my own bone scrapings. The pain was gone when I came out of the surgery. Nasty sore throat though. The numbness went away at the predicted inch a month.

I was back playing tennis in 6 weeks. It's been five years now and I haven't even had a glitch since.

I was so impressed by the caliber of physicians a Cedars, I now drive 80 miles round trip, in LA traffic, for all my medical needs even my GP.

I wish you the best of luck.

Steve

[gsmittle]

Thanks to all for the good thoughts!

This isn't my first spinal surgery, so I'm well aware that it will take time to heal. Doc says I should be able to go back to work when school resumes in January, if I take it easy.

I do have a monster sore throat, but most of the spine/bone spur/disc pain is already gone. I can tell the neuro did some digging around in there, but it already feels a lot better.

He went in from the left front (anterior left approach; I love learning new vocabulary) to work on the right side of the spine. Fused C7, C6, and C5 using the ceramic disk-filler (my word for it) and a titanium plate over. The worst thing so far is the swollen tongue. Evidently the anestesiologist moved my tongue to one side while intubating and I bit it in my sleep. I have a very small airway, so intubation is always an issue.

Neuro doc also said I had a "fleshy neck" so it took him a bit longer than he expected, but everything went very well.

Right now I'm at home, and fixin' to take a nap when I finish this post.

Almost time for Happy Pills...

g.

[ragswl4]

Best of luck in your recovery and as said by others, "TAKE IT EASY"! I have been putting off the exact same surgery for 10 years now. Maybe I should just get it done, ain't gettin any younger.

[lrogers]

All the very best of luck for a smooth surgury and fast recovery.

[Ed62]

Glad everything went as expected. Good luck with a quick recovery.

Ed