A different type of bridge plate

[hilo_kawika]

Today I had day surgery to repair an umbilical hernia. This is when there is a vertical slit below the skin above the belly button that goes through the abdominal wall and peritoneum allowing first intra-abdominal fat and then possibly intestines to work their way out. Undesirable...

The surgical solution is to use a circular, flexible polypropylene screen (the patch) with a stiffer but still flexible thickening near the perimeter (binding/purfling?) to block the hole. The surgeon cuts through the skin and separates the peritoneum from the abdominal wall in an area slightly larger than the patch. The patch is then artfully crumpled to enter the small incision and re-opened with the help of the perimeter stiffener. The abdominal wall and skin incision are closed and "bob's your auntie".

I arrived at the surgical clinic at 6:30AM (got to sleep late!), was prepped by 7:30AM, surgery finished by 8:30AM, awakened 9-ish and headed home driven by my wife Helen at 10:15AM with a whacking great white corset around my midriff. I have very little pain (probably because of judicious dosing with Percoset) and can wander around at will.

I really consider modern surgery such as this amazing in terms of its convenience and brevity.

The down-side is no fishing for a month...

[kiwigeo]

Hope youre back and firing on all cylinder soon David. Glad to hear the surgery wasnt for something too serious.

Did you have a left brain surgeon working on you?

Cheers Martin

[Paul B]

Ouch!

That sounds pretty nasty, hope you're feeling better soon.

Those Percoset, couple them and half a bottle of Jack Daniels, and Bob might very well be your girlfriend.

Take it easy Dave.

[Allen]

So, what's the problem with fishing? If Bob can be your girlfriend, then a rough day at sea should seem like a day off.

[sebastiaan56]

Get well soon. Yes it is amazing, I had a pin removed from my ankle under local anaesthetic and a sedative, not even a general, bloody fabulous!

Dont worry about the fishing, im sure there be time to work on learning some new chords,

[Kim]

Glad the turn around was so quick and easy David, take your time and let this heal well before you over go over doing it, a bit of patients now will allow you to get back to full speed down the track.

Cheers

Kim

[hilo_kawika]

Thanks very much all for your best wishes. Ah, the downside of the Percoset is no booze allowed while taking it. As a habitual plonker this is more of an irritation than the surgery... Now to find a clever way to put my socks on. I'm sure there's some jig I can create.

At the risk of being accused of being in denial, my relationship with bob is purely platonic.

One amusing part before the surgery was when a nurse came in with a magic marker and asked "Well, left side or right side?" When I replied "Center, and above the midline, please!" she said it was nice when they didn't have to choose.

OTH, not being able to lift the vacuum cleaner or lawnmower may allow me to temporarily foist those jobs on SWMBO for a week or two...

Yes, I will have time to work on the chords and strums for Waltzing Matilda for our Sunday finale in Albany - but I promise not to sing!

[Hesh1956]

Ouch!


Those Percoset, couple them and half a bottle of Jack Daniels, and Bob might very well be your girlfriend.

Feel better David and while on Percoset it's probably a good idea to avoid wearing wool........

I had a similar surgery in 1978 to repair a bullet wound to the gut. One of the last things that they did since they had to do surgery 3 times was install a stainless steel mesh as the hernia repair. The surgery worked great although the stainless is not as flexible and what you had. And it sets off airport metal detectors which is a pain to explain....

This is a good time to kick back and maybe watch all 3 of the Godfather movies in series. That's what I do when I am down for a weekend.

[Lillian]

David, you are in Hawaii, forget the socks and wear slip-ons. Be careful for a while please. Going back in to repair isn't fun. I knew someone who did this doing sit ups. Considering our boss a the time, Uncle Sam, he was pushing himself to do more sooner than he should have. The second time around wasn't nearly as fun as the first time.

Well, its a good thing that you and Bob are just friends. Long distance relationships are difficult when you are only a state away. That big puddle between you two makes things hard.

[Dennis Leahy]

David, your relationship with Bob, and or Jack is your own damn business!

Lillian's right! Socks in Hawaii! I thought there was a law against socks in Hawaii.

You neglected to mention how the 'bridge patch' was attached: CA? Sutures? Staples?

Heal up quickly, and eat at your favorite seafood restaurant a couple of times this month.

Dennis

[hilo_kawika]

Well my wearing socks in Hawaii probably tells you more about me than I wanted known. After 35-40 years here my blood is so thin that I have to rug up when I go in the fresh vegetable section of the local supermarket. Well, winter is coming and it's going to plunge into the 60's at night. What some locals term "two T-shirt weather".

Dennis, the surgeon assured me that the patch wouldn't wander and didn't need additional embroidery. That's because there is no pre-existing cavity between the peritoneum and the abdominal wall. So the circular separation that he made is apparently the only place where peritoneum and abdominal wall aren't naturally co-joined and the patch can't move laterally in any direction outside the incised (excised?) perimeter.

Slept last night on my beloved Barca Lounger since it's easier to enter and leave than the bed only to find this morning that both my calf muscles have more or less locked up leaving me to hobble around for about 5 minutes before they loosen up. WTH? Any thoughts on how that might have happened?

Dave Hurd

[jeffhigh]

Pressure from the legrest directly onto the calf for too long restricting bloodflow, try a pillow under the knees.

[Paul B]

For the record; I was referring to a nonspecific Bob-like entity.

Wouldn't want to upset our host now would we?

*Edit* Even further for the record; taking Percoset, or Percoset like substances with booze can very well lead to respiratory arrest. Just ask Heath. That's why they say no booze. Though they didn't say it to me, or maybe I just filtered that part out...

Can lead to an interesting afternoon, but the the death part can be a bit of a drag.

It occurred to me that there might be young people here too.

[Bob Connor]

For the record; I was referring to a nonspecific Bob-like entity.

Wouldn't want to upset our host now would we?

I was getting a bit nervous there.

[Allen]

I'm not so sure Bob. That raised eyebrow has a bit of a "Come Hither" look about it.

[Paul B]

I'm not so sure Bob. That raised eyebrow has a bit of a "Come Hither" look about it.

[kiwigeo]

Bring back the Giraffe!!

[Lillian]

Now that I have gotten my morning tea off the monitor.

Thanks. One should always start the day with a smile and a laugh.