Airway surgery.

AIRWAY SURGERY

 

 

I had one more of these horrid surgeries on January 8.  This time in office, with only some numbing agent spray into my nose, vocal chords and airway.  All of which wore off before this experience was over.  

 

They lasered cuts into my airway, a procedure which is very hot, temp hot, not cool hot.

 

They start with spraying a numbing agent into my nose, then they insert this hose into my nose and work down toward my vocal chords and then they start inserting more numbing agent into me via the hose, all while I am saying "eeeeeeeeeeeeee" over and over - it helps to numb the chords especially if you can make the chords vibrate like gargling kinda …  then once my chords are numb, the surgeon came in, pushed the hose on down past the chords into my airway, found the trouble spot and had his assistant – a “fellow” – medical term -  to insert the laser down through the hose to the trouble spot and then proceeded to burn strips into my trachea.  I am watching all of this on video as there is a big flat screen TV directly across from my patient seat and one above my head for the surgeon.

 

Gary is with me on this appointment – thank goodness.   About halfway through all of this procedure, I start having anxiety, cough, sweating – well, the sweating actually started as soon as the numbing agent was given to me, because I know what is coming next.  But now I can feel the heat of the laser in my neck, my anxiety is making me feel like I can’t breath, and Dr. C is having to stop and assure me I can breath, just to calm down its alright.  I ask for Gary to come by me and he stands there and holds my hand through the remaining part of this procedure  - can I say right now that I love that man!  I manage to choke out at this point, maybe I should have been given a little something to help me to be calm.  Duh!  He apologizes because he thought I was, but now he is too far in and just needs a little more time, so he give me more numbing agent, and back in he goes, finally, after he starts his second cut, I let him know I can feel the heat, and I can, it is very uncomfortable, but not unbearable yet, so back in he goes and within minutes the pain from the heat is too much and I have to ask him to stop.  He wanted to get 3 cuts done, but only gets two.  Thinking now, yay, its over, he says just a few steroid shots and we will be done.  Those are the worst, because I can feel every single injection he gives me and there are several  - I want to break down and cry so bad.  

 

I think I wore the doctor out, the room is so hot that they had to open the doors to let some air circulate, that is from the laser – it get very hot!  I had on a sweater dress, leggings, knee boots – it was cold outside …  I sweated through all of it and had no make up on by the end of this torture … But thank goodness it is over.  Took 2 hours.

 

And, even though it was horrible, I would do it again, if it kept me out of the hospital.

 

And, I can breath a whole lot better now.

 

Maybe I’m not such of weanie after all.

 

 

 But next time I get Valium.