Live from Surgery Part 3
Went for the third of the four surgeries for varicose veins in my legs. Tweeted the whole procedure again (see below). And since this procedure was soooo much more graphic, I got the pix and video to go with it. To bring everyone up to speed, the first two surgeries were laser ablation from the front and back of the legs. That sealed off the problem veins. The last two are the actual removal of visible veins which have proven to be painful. The pain was the result of phlebitis. As Dr. Bonau removed the veins, he asked if I had ever had phlebitis. The veins showed signs of it and the pain that I have had would be consistent with that diagnosis.
Fair warning: the pix and vids are pretty graphic. Not for the squeamish. All pix and vids were shot by me personally while they did the work on my legs. The areas were deadened so I felt nothing, but it was still a bit unnerving to watch the doc tugging on my body like he was.
Thanks agin to all of you following along and thanks for the supportive messages before, during and after surgery. A special shout out to @MindofAndre twitter and blogger trailblazer.
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Free valium!! My Rx for valium was free this time. Must have finally met my full deductible on the HSA
Got my snazzy blue paper shorts on. Ready for them to draw on my legs to mark the veins to “tease” out.
No valium…yet. A bit more nervous on this one. This time they make several small incisions about 2″ apart.
Then they tie off the vein and “tease” it out with a fishhook type device. Veins were sealed in 2 prior surgeries.
Incisions are small enough to not require sutures. Doc says this one is easier. He said that of second one. He lied.
Got sharpie marks all over the front of my thigh down the outside of my knee and down the outside of my calf
Will blog the tweets later and add photos. No pix live. I do not have a cam phone. Sorry, voyeurs.
No sutures. Just steri strips.
Ah the devil is in the details. Other surgeries I got up and walked out. This one I rest for 15 min after.
How long I rest depends on how much I bleed. Per the nurse. Doc is here now. Let the fun begin.
Lidocaine all down the leg. Lots of little injections.
Teasing…teasing…teasing. Odd sensation. Leg is numb. Don’t feel a thing
Finding the veins and putting a little hemostat on them. Strange. No feeling.
My right leg is having sympathy pains. Work is solely on left leg.
Doc and I are talking consumerism in healthcare. He is all for shifting more cost to consumer.
Doc all over the fact patients know nothing of costs due to mollycoddling of employees by their employer’s health plan.
Looks like the doc is pulling lots of little worms out of my legs. Got video of him tugging on them. YouTube later.
No pain. No pain. Just odd watching someone pulling on my legs like this. Just called the front desk at Dr Bonau’s office to ask them to change the OR music.
Operating room music is now Warren Zevon tribute album.
Done. Not bad at all. Except now I’m inclined with head down while they clean my leg and to stem residual bleeding.
Done. Unlike previous procedures they leave me laying down for 30 min post procedure.
@mindofandre went pretty cleanly. Thx.
Minor problem. Bit of blood at top of leg. Re-wrap and back in bed with head down 15 more minutes. (Sigh) Ready to go.
When I cough or blow my nose, the spot where they pulled out part of the vein in the top of my leg throbs and aches.
Applying pressure to the spot when coughing helps considerably. When standing its 10x worse than lying down. |
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Filed under Behind the Curtain, Healthcare, Insurance, Personal Stories, Transparency, change:healthcare
1 Comment »
Phew! Never an easy thing to go through – great that you can share the process with us though
Hope the healing/recovery goes smoothly Robert!