The Surgery

I was getting more and more excited about the surgery the closer the day came. It was pretty much the only thing I could think about. I was surprisingly not neervous - just excited.

The only thing that made me a bit nervous was the fact that I had strayed from my Optifast diet (even had some pizza and pasta the day before the op). Due to my fatty liver, my liver could have been too large to have been able to have achieved the operation laproscopically. If that had been the case, the operation would have been a lot more extensive (i.e. I would have had to have been cut open so that they could remove the organs out of the way). Optifast is a Very Low Calorie Diet (VLCD), and has the effect of shrinking the liver.

Thankfully, I must have been good enough, as it was apparently a very straight forward operation.

I had to be at the hospital at 6am, so taxi was the only way to get there (thanks to the annoying public transport). Everybody there seemed to be in good spirits, and I got two pleasant surprises - not only was there no excess being charged by my health insurance, but I got my own private room!!!

After I was all checked in, I set everything up, and used the spare time to restore my iPhone, and chatted to some work colleagues in NZ. I remember being given the stuff I had to wear during the op, and even had to wear some disposable undies.

At around 9-9:30 I got wheeled into the Operating Area. It was quite amusing as there was quite the queue of beds in that area. I started off by the door button, and was the honorary doorman for a while. I think it was about 30-45 mins before I was wheeled into the actual Operating Theatre.

After some jokes from the anesthetist and nurse, they took some blood (for some research I gave consent for)...they knocked me out not long after that.

I woke up feeling very drowsy - although I wasn't overly concerned. I remember what it was like from previous ops, and was expecting a rapid recovery. I remember the nurse saying to another nurse that it was was standard operation. I also remember being drenched in sweat, and heard that I my blood pressure had gone quite high during the op, but was ok. By the time I got to my room, I remember being quite achy, and was asking for some painkillers (wasn't able to have any though because it was too soon since my last dose). My throat was also a bit sore from the breathing tube.

I remember it was around 12ish when I got to my room, and managed to drift off for a few hours off. When I woke up (around 2pm), I remember needing to go to the toilet, and needed to be disconnected from my saline drip. I was allowed to get changed into my own clothes, so used the opportunity to check the wounds on my stomach - was very relieved that there wasn't a big slash up my stomach, and everything was just taped together.

I found that, although I hadn't eaten all day, I wasn't hungry, and was working my way very slowly through a cup of ice while watching TV. The nurses seemed to come in many many times to check my blood pressure and oxygen levels (I do remember being asked to take a few deep breaths at the beginning). By "dinner" time, I was feeling woosy (but not hungry). I got a meal of chicken broth, apple juice, and tea (no milk).

Because I wasn't feeling hungry, it took a very long time to work my way through the meal.

The surgeons like the patients to start moving around ASAP after the operation (e.g. a short walk), so, when I had some visitors, I requested that we go for a walk downstairs. We went to a cafe, and was bought a cup of tea. I wasn't even able to have much of that.

I eventually found that I was setting myself up for bed (around 11pm), and slept quite well (only got woken up once at 2am for some pain meds and my vitals taken).

At around 7:30am the next day, I got woken up by the nurse and my surgeon coming in to check up on me, and was told that everything was all good.

My breakfast was exactly the same as my dinner (with the exception that I had an additional lemon cordial). I found that I had to stop for about 5-10 mins after just the broth and the apple sauce.

I found the achiness was gone, and needed no additional painkillers - even though I asked for some panadene to take home.

I found I was able to catch the tram home (with assistance from my flatmate), and spent the day in front of the TV