O/T - surgery a few days ago, it hurts and need advice

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weisssoccermom
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O/T - surgery a few days ago, it hurts and need advice

Postby weisssoccermom » Sun May 31, 2020 3:42 pm

Sorry for the O/T rant/vent. This is hard to type with one hand so likely won't be long. I had surgery on Tuesday (5/26) and it is still so swollen, ugly and totally bruised. When I wad around 9, I shattered my wrist pretty badly. Bones repaired themselves but the blood supply to one bone didn't. Eventually, that bone died so when I was about 32, I had the dead one removed and a prosthetic bone put in. All seemed well...fast forward 31 years to 6 months ago. I started to notice pain in my wrist but not in the middle ...this time towards the outside of my wrist...on my little finger side. After a few weeks, I called my family doc and asked for an x-ray..thinking maybe I had cracked something. No such luck. My prosthetic bone had apparently dislocated. Ok so just put it back, right??? NO! They don't do that anymore and it was very likely that the rubber & silicone 'bone' was disintegrating! WHAT? First hand surgeon wanted to do a fusion to which both my GP and I said NO. Second hand surgeon gave me a few other options....steroid injection first...didn't work. Next option was what I had done on Tuesday, He went in, removed the fake 'bone' which had begun to disintegrate, took out two other bones (surgery was labeled a proximal row carpectomy), cleaned up the area, cut a nerve to my wrist and released some tendon sheath near my little finger. What I wasn't aware was even a possibility was that I now have 2 pins in my wrist....pins that they will apparently pull out in a few weeks. I'm in a soft cast right now and my fingers and the part of my palm/top of my hand that I can see is black/blue and totally swollen. It looks like I stuck my hand in ashes or something. I've had way too many ortho surgeries to count and I'm well aware of the pain factor. The swelling/bruising took me by surprise.

Question.....has anyone had pins that were removed in the office? Doesn't it hurt like heck? I'm totally freaked out by the thought of using some medical pliers to pull them out. Surgeon said he used them to help put the remaining bones in the correct position because they had apparently turned or something. I made the mistake of watching a youtube video of the procedure and it looks barbaric! Any advice?
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NHMike
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Re: O/T - surgery a few days ago, it hurts and need advice

Postby NHMike » Mon Jun 01, 2020 7:52 am

I assume that they know what they are doing. I woke up with staples in my abdomen and the doctor said that she would pull them out with pliers in the office. I was pretty freaked out about doing that but she had me lie down and just grabbed them and yanked them out. It was not painful. People are very averse to pain these days and I think that doctors try to avoid it as much as they can.
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CRguy
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Re: O/T - surgery a few days ago, it hurts and need advice

Postby CRguy » Tue Jun 02, 2020 12:55 am

weisssoccermom wrote:Sorry for the O/T rant/vent.

Sometimes REQUIRED on this forum as we both know !!!! :mrgreen:

weisssoccermom wrote:I made the mistake of watching a youtube video of the procedure and it looks barbaric! Any advice?

1. Avoid Dr. Google / YouTube
2. Drink heavily and have a designated driver safe ride home ... :shock: :oops:
3. Trust your doctor ... BUTT if you have any issues or concerns ... Contact them just to be sure

If the bruising and swelling are not going down,
if you have any loss of sensation to the areas,
if the pain is getting worse or running a fever ? => CALL the Docs


Sorry Jaynee I have NO patient experience here for you regarding pins.
As for the staples, like NHMike said they have special scissor-like tools to remove them.
I have one of my own and actually removed a few of mine, myself = no big deal.
( YES I am a medical geek ! )

NOW for the doctor/surgery side, all I can tell you is that the surgical pins I used in practice were all placed under GA and removed under GA or heavy sedation type meds. Nobody wants the 200 pound Rottweiler objecting to your tableside manner for a procedure :twisted:
( For those reading this and don't know ... I am a Vet :!: and most Rottweilers liked me :D )

Depending upon size, location and orientation .... they may well be very easily extracted with little discomfort.
Sometimes they are actually more like "wires" than actual pins and removal is less of an issue.
There may be an option for a loco-regional nerve block / desensitization ? Ask your Doc before the appt.

With your history of having had orthopedic procedures you also know the drill here :
" Sometimes pain is inevitable on this Journey ...
SUFFERING FROM IT ... IS NOT !!!!! "

Get ahead of the issue and be proactive with the Docs.

Cheers and Harmony Jaynee

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KimT
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Re: O/T - surgery a few days ago, it hurts and need advice

Postby KimT » Wed Jun 03, 2020 8:09 am

My son had pins in his elbow when he broke it at the age of 6. He didn’t even flinch when the doctor pulled them out in the office after 8 weeks. They were really long too, like 6 inches.
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CRguy
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Re: O/T - surgery a few days ago, it hurts and need advice

Postby CRguy » Thu Jun 04, 2020 1:17 pm

Hey Jaynee

still sending best wishes and hoping things are going well with the hand !

Cheers and Harmony
CRguy
Caregiver x 4
Stage IV A rectal cancer/lung met
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my life is an ongoing totally randomized UNcontrolled experiment with N=1 !
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