I am happy to report 4 weeks post op a totally successful outcome. The surgery was done at Dartmouth Hitchcock Hospital in NH by Dr. Laycock. I had a very large (according to my surgeon it was 3/4 of my stomach) para esophageal hital hernia that had moved into my chest cavity and was upside down. I lived with it for several years until I was pretty much unable to eat more than a few bites of food and subsisted mostly on a liquid diet....I had sever mid chest pain, bloating and gas, with occasional reflux symptoms ( I was on 30mg of Prevacid 2x daily and lots of gaviscon, zantac, alka seltzer, etc.). At any rate a repair was done including a partial wrap or Toupet and it went great. I was determined to get up and promptly as I was told that was crucial to going home the next day following surgery and so the moment I got to my room I started to walk and did so almost hourly throughout the night....I was able to belch, pass gas, go to the bathroom, swallow and had no sore throat. They started me on soft food the next day and it was great. Pain wise I did not take any narcotic medication as I don't like how I feel on it so I only had liquid Tylenol and Advil which worked fine. I had pain from the gas you use to expand the chest cavity but it was minimal. I had postoperative myalgia that made my neck and shoulder painful for about
a week or so but heat, a neck collar and massgae helped. I had pain in my chest going to my back but that was caused by the sutures that hold my stomach to the diaphragm at and will remain there. The pain has eased slowly but surely. The surgeon told me yesterday that they had to go up under my heart to get at the entire stomach to move it and once moved there was a large space where it had been. As a result over the next several weeks/months organs that had been pushed and cramped will move back into that space and my left lung will reexpand. I already feel a significant difference, feeling the best I have felt in 4 years! I am a swimmer (I have Rheumatoid Disease and it is the perfect exercise for that) and he believes that helped me to cope with the fact that essentially only one lung was working properly....it was all done with 6 laproscopic incisions all of which have healed nicely. Bottom line: I had a very serious and large hernia and it was the best decision I could have made...not only do I have no regrets, I wish I had done 3 years ago! if any one want to char further email me privately and I would be happy to answer any questions.
I edited your email from the post. please add it to your profile so only members can see it. Thanks.
Post Edited By Moderator (opnwhl4) : 4/10/2014 12:17:34 AM (GMT-6)