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DaVinci surgery yesterday, awaiting pathology

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Posted 4/16/2013 7:36 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you all so much, for all the input and advice beforehand!! We sooo appreciated it all!!!

We got back home about 2pm today. smile
His surgery yesterday morning was just a bit over 2 hours. I had been warned by the doctor to expect his head to be 'big', from being in the angled position - but it looked exactly the same to me afterwards! smile
Between the doctor being done and recovery room time was 2 hours. He was taken to his regular room about noon, and wasn't fully alert/awake til about 3pm.
He was in quite a bit of pain after, and still is to a bit lessor degree. He thinks he also had a pulled muscle in his upper chest going on, but I'm wondering if it was gas pains... He was sent home with a prescription motrin like pain pills, and antibiotics to begin the day before getting the cath out.

He got the JP drain removed about noon today, and has a huge awful bruise around that area. No bruising at any of the other incision sites though. Those were sealed with glue! He can begin showering tomorrow. smile

So far not a bit of scrotum swelling/bruising, or any penile shrinkage.
His doctor said to use triple antibiotic cream around the penis/catheter, when I asked about lidocaine cream as you all suggested, he said just use the triple antibiotic as ease in movement (being 'greased') of the cath sliding in and out the bit it does was the biggie. When he keeps it 'greased', there's not been any complaints of pain.

And - a biggie for hubby - with the exception of jello and coffee right after being fully awake - he got to eat whatever whenever he wanted! So he had a full regular dinner last night, breakfast and lunch today so far! smile They also started him on stool softners this morning, which he'll of course, continue.

The doctor said the 'next hurdle' is getting the path report back... But that'll be back in one week. He also took out some lymph nodes as I requested. Then cath out on the 25th!

One extra thing I got was alcohol wipes, they come in a roll like lysol wipes, for wiping off the cath when emptying or changing bags. smile

Thank you all again, so much!!!
Posted 4/16/2013 7:50 PM (GMT 0)
Hi,
Glad to see you both on the other side now.
Yup, the jell will help instantly where the catheter emerges. There is no actual pain involved, but sometimes a bit of irritation. The jell will be very effective.
Tell your husband that, along with being able to eat whatever he wants -- for the next week he can also DRINK AS MUCH OF whatever he wants without worrying about having to run to the bathroom. LOL
I kind of had fun with that with my catheter. Got to drink gallons of coffee, etc., without the usual "rental aspect" of running to the bathroom as a result.
Good luck with the path report!
Chuck
Posted 4/16/2013 8:38 PM (GMT 0)

Serenity712 said...
I had been warned by the doctor to expect his head to be 'big', from being in the angled position - but it looked exactly the same to me afterwards! :)

Ha ha. Glad he made it okay. Happy for both of you.
Posted 4/16/2013 9:09 PM (GMT 0)
good report. Sounds like you have all angles covered and that he's in great hands.
Posted 4/16/2013 9:31 PM (GMT 0)
Good news, welcome to the other side.
Now it is time to start drinking water and walking, drink, walk, etc.
Good luck with the path report.

Bill
Posted 4/16/2013 9:35 PM (GMT 0)
You all are awesome!!!
He's having pretty bad gas pains now, so I've been nagging for him to walk... It sounds logical, seems like that would help the bowels get back into position... But it seems hard for him to 'fart'.
Posted 4/16/2013 9:42 PM (GMT 0)
Glad you are back and it sounds as if you have done a great job supporting him. The gas stuff is VERY painful. The guys will chime in here. Yes! Walking helps, but he has to be able to do it.
Posted 4/16/2013 9:45 PM (GMT 0)
Yeah, walking is still kind of hard, still sore/very tender.
Posted 4/16/2013 10:57 PM (GMT 0)
Having that first BM is another major milestone.
Once he gets through that, he will be ready to
really begin recovery. I took the stool softeners
for a couple of days after my first one to be
sure everything was getting back to normal.

Bill
Posted 4/16/2013 11:08 PM (GMT 0)
Just got back from getting the real grape juice he asked for, as that always seemed to have a 'cleansing effect' on him...
Posted 4/17/2013 1:05 AM (GMT 0)
Good luck. It was 5 days before I had a BM with the help of a suppository. Stool softeners- VIP.
Posted 4/17/2013 1:15 AM (GMT 0)
Best of luck! Definitely use the cream, and make sure the cath has plenty of "wiggle" room. The OR had mine a little too tight, never had one before, thought that's how it was supposed to be! Eventually went back and got a velcro leg brace for the Foley cath, allowed me to move it to whatever position I wanted. Life was so much better afterwards! Good to hear he's got some great help there! Know my wife was my angel..couldn't have done it without her! Art
Posted 4/17/2013 1:50 AM (GMT 0)
Good luck with your husband's recovery. One step at the time, least he's on the other side now.

david
Posted 4/17/2013 3:05 AM (GMT 0)
Stool softeners are important. I am taking Colace 3 x per day. My doctor also recommended warm prune juice to help get things moving, which did the trick.

Welcome to the post-surgery side of life!
Posted 4/17/2013 4:29 AM (GMT 0)

Serenity712 said...
You all are awesome!!!
He's having pretty bad gas pains now, so I've been nagging for him to walk... It sounds logical, seems like that would help the bowels get back into position... But it seems hard for him to 'fart'.

Yes, they pump quite a bit of CO2 (or whatever it is) into the abdomen to inflate the surgical field & give a better view & access to the prostate area. It is this gas that has to be "exhaled" over the days following the surgery.

As I recall, it IS much nicer when it is all gone. LOL

CHuck
Posted 4/17/2013 11:55 AM (GMT 0)
Morning Two, and he's feeling quite a bit better, had a few good 'farts', and seems more like his usual self. :) :) He's having his coffee, getting psyched up for his 1st shower.... I'm dreading changing the bandage where his JP drain was, bleeding from it was a bit of an issue while in the hospital. They changed it right before we left, but used a tape that blood wouldn't show through, so no idea yet how saturated it might be. We're really hoping it's now just the slight 'ooze' that they predicted.
Posted 4/17/2013 1:36 PM (GMT 0)
Well done (to both of you)
This post-op week with the cath in is the next part of the journey.
Nothing too much happens, but plenty of fluids and plenty of short walks will help. And don't start cutting down on the paon meds too soon.

Best wishes
Alf
Posted 4/17/2013 2:11 PM (GMT 0)
Thank you, Alf! He's still taking the pain meds, but asked for them after his shower, not first thing this morning. :)

Changing the drain bandage was awful, the old bandage was quite saturated, and fresh blood coming out; but not alarmingly so. I put clear tape over the middle of the bandage so we'll be able to 'see' what it's doing this time! I had thought it would be just a slight ooze... Ha.
Posted 4/17/2013 11:01 PM (GMT 0)
Glad you r on our side now ,be careful of the food , stay with bland stuff yet or the gas will get worse ,stool sofners definitely help as do gas reducers .I stayed with mashed potatoes and mushroom soup gravy for 3 or four days ,cheese raised the roof for me . Pain pills are good ,no need to be in pain that's why thet give them to you . He is so lucky he has you ,you are to be commended ! Keep walking and moving it speeds up healing a lot.
Good Luck!

gams
Posted 4/18/2013 12:30 AM (GMT 0)
Thank so much, Gams. I read him your post and he said - what does he mean cheese raises the roof? lol!!! He loves cheese, but hasn't ate any yet. I told him I assume it increase gas/constipation?
Posted 4/18/2013 2:13 AM (GMT 0)
..Glad surgery went well and recovery is going as to be expected, great job. Hope the pathology comes back clean. I will be going under the robot May 8th. Thanks for sharing......Nick.....
Posted 4/18/2013 12:12 PM (GMT 0)
You will be in our hearts and prayers Nick, on May 8th! I know you will do just fine! :)
I love and so appreciate this site for removing so much of the 'unknowns' of it all.
The only 'surprise' I got was how much bleeding/draining (I had thought it'd be more of a slight 'ooze') from the incision where the JP drain was. ~which I guess is normal, I just hadn't read that much regarding it. And that's almost stopped now. :)
Hubby's starting to get bored now, four days post-op. ;) And frustrated sometimes that he can't just bend over to pick something up, etc, cause he's still quite tender. Frustrated that he can't do all the 'husband' things right now- our sink drain was leaking a bit out of the blue yesterday, the serpentine belt fell off our car on the way to his surgery for no reason; things he can't 'fix himself' right now. But he knows it's only for awhile. :)
He had been really dreading having a catheter, and we now almost joke about how something becomes almost 'normal', and isn't really so bad. He keeps it 'greased' with triple antibiotic cream where it goes into the penis, and really hasn't had any pain, etc from it at all. ~ except for the time I forgot it was 'attached' and jerked it a bit while moving the tubing for him while he was in the reclinor... ooops!!
We're both still surprised that the surgery is already over, something we had been dreading.... And Life slowly returns to 'normal' again. :)
Posted 4/18/2013 8:32 PM (GMT 0)
its a bigger deal that he probably thinks it is.  I had mine march 8th, and I am still very tired and a little sore in the plumbing department.

buy him one of these: "bladder and prostate friendly chair cushion"  Sitting upright is important, but you do not want all that weight on the urethra!

He will have some days where he feels pretty good.  DO NOT let him pig out on food that day!!!  The digestive system was shut down by the operation and drugs, believe me it is not ready!  Go slow or he will have very painful gas and constipation for 4 days afterward!

Keep that catheter clean--you do NOT want a UTI.

Get a BIG bottle of Tylenol.  You want to get off the narcotics quickly, as they really add to the constipation problem.  But there will be plenty of pain--Tylenol worked best for me, with alleve added once I hit my max # of Tylenols in a day.

Get him lots of great dvds to watch, he will need something to get his mind off of everything.  It is pretty depressing to be looking at wearing diapers and having no sex for the foreseeable future!

Posted 4/18/2013 8:39 PM (GMT 0)
Also, when they give you antibiotics to take (like when you go for the catheter removal) do not take vitamins before or after you take the pill....it will interfere with the antibiotic action.

a high fiber diet for at least the 1st week is a good idea!

Walking is pretty important to the healing process.  But he will NOT want to walk around....you need to encourage him!

I see a lot of posts about wives not supporting their husbands in the sex department.  There are some good books out there, like "intimacy with impotence".  There are some ickie aspects and techniques involved--it is important to be very supportive!

When he gets the catheter out, have him ask for Viagra.  The doc will probably have him cut the pill into quarters.  There is some anecdotal evidence that you need to get the blood flowing again or the tissue will atrophy.

Post Edited (spanz) : 4/18/2013 2:49:24 PM (GMT-6)

Posted 4/18/2013 8:55 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks so much Spanz!!
We're vegetarians (almost vegans) so he has the vegies and fruits covered. :)
We had one of those cushions, and I just returned it last night, he said he didn't need it!
He's still waiting for his first BM, but isn't uncomfortable from it yet. Took some Citrate of Magnesium last night, didn't work; so just took some Milk of Magnesia....
And we use alcohol wipes on the cath each time. :)
His pain pills aren't narcotics, and he decided not to take any since this morning so he can celebrate tonight with an Oberon.... ;)
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