Operation date

[Tikaneko]

My granddaughter has finally got the date for her operation, Thursday 29th at Leeds General. Although we are all concerned comments made on my my previous post makes us feel more positive, thank you. As she has just left home and living with friends and her parents still have 3 more children at home and they have a great bi dog we decided that she come to my house for recuperation, is there anything any one can say to help me make this go as smoothly as possible and what is the best way we can support her. Thank you for being there.

[Silversmith2000]

Best wishes for your granddaughters operation, I am sure she will be in great hands! Good idea to give her a quite place to recover, this will help a lot.

I did guided pre-op meditations that helped me go into my op very relaxed and ready.

I had a translabyrinthine operation due to the size (3cm) and location, this completely removes hearing from that ear, I have not found this to be much of a problem except when in a noisy environment.

I do not have tinnitus or headaches at all!

I had my op on Monday and was home on Friday. When recovering, the first 2-3 weeks I did not want to see or talk to anyone other than my partner who was taking care of me. I needed compete rest, however I was also suffering from sciatica from being on the operating table for so long (13 hours) so that was nothing to do with the AN op!! (The sciatica went after about 4 weeks).

My partner got me cod liver oil supplements to help nerve healing, I am still taking them (4 months on) as nerves can heal up to a year or more.

I took a photo every day of the wound to keep an eye on it, it started to go red after about 2 weeks so we went back to the hospital and I was given antibiotics which did the job. I stopped taking photos after about 6 weeks.

Also, the docs took some fat from my stomach to put into the void left by the tumour, to stop the brain from moving around too much and also to seal the hole the drilled through my ear bones/ skull.

One other thing that happened to me was that I got delirium directly after the operation, apparently this can be quite common after a traumatic operation, don’t worry it fully goes away if she does get it (mine lasted about 2 days), we were not pre-warned about this and it was very scary for my partner. I am totally fine now😁

I hope that gives some insight, any more questions, just ask on here 😀

Best wishes to you all x

[Tikaneko in reply to Silversmith2000]

That is really helpful, thank you. Her tumour is just under 5 centimetres and like you she will be having fat removed but from her leg to fill the Gap! How long did that part take to heal. Delirium wow that’s certainly worth knowing. Thank you.

[Silversmith2000 in reply to Tikaneko]

Do you mean where they took the fat from? That was just a regular wound with a slight dent underneath, they put butterfly stitches on that and it is healed. Or do you mean the fat they put in my head to seal the skull? I don’t think that has sealed yet because when I gently tap my head behind my ear I can feel it gently ricocheting in my head as though it’s a balloon filled with water, the other side doesn’t feel like that. There is no pain or strangeness and my balance is almost perfect, I only slightly notice an instability in the dark.

I’m not sure how long that fat will take to seal the hole, I’ll ask in December when I have my first follow up MRI.. 😀👍

[Tikaneko in reply to Silversmith2000]

Yes where they take the fat from. But it sounds like you are doing really well. Thank you. Good luck on continuing success in your recovery.

[Silversmith2000 in reply to Tikaneko]

Thank you, and good luck with your granddaughter as well, keep positive 😀

[Sassy77]

Good luck with the operation. I hope it all goes well

[Kristyll]

Rest and quiet is all Ineeded but move a little further each day. Good luck x x

[mountainbrown]

I had the translabrynthine surgery about three weeks ago. I am 41 yrs old and had a 2.6 cm tumor. Prior to surgery, I had been suffering from vertigo from the tumor pressing on my balance nerve, due to that following surgery I have barely suffered from any vertigo. I had my surgery on a Wednesday and checked out of the hospital on Friday. I have recovered very quickly and have been doing great. I am now deaf in my right ear and have some tinnitus. I lucked out and barely have any facial weakness. My eye dries out so I use drops to keep it lubricated. The site on my stomach where they took the fat is healing great. I don't suffer from too much pain or discomfort on a regular basis--nothing Tylenol can't handle. I will be returning to work at four weeks recovery, although I'm expecting to put in a few half days initially due to fatigue.

The younger your granddaughter is, the better she should bounce back based off what I've been told. Since it's larger in size, she may have facial weakness, so be prepared for that. Hopefully she's in very experienced hands, and clearly her family loves her very much. She might just surprise you with how she bounces back.

Good luck!

[Tikaneko in reply to mountainbrown]

Thank you so much for your lovely reply. I think that the fact she is young helps tremendously where as we older ones are more realistic. They did tell her she will definitely have facial paralasys and of course total deafness. I am really pleased to read your recovery is going well, I do hope it continues.mtake care and thank you

[redday64]

Good Luck

[Tikaneko]

Unfortunately due to a major accident her operation was cancelled as there was no ICU beds. Put on urgent list. So frustrating and stressful

[mountainbrown]

I’ve been eager to hear how things went. I am sorry the surgery was delayed, but take heart. Soon enough all of this will be a memory and she will be recovering. I do hope she is scheduled any day. Sending strength and support ❤️

[Tikaneko in reply to mountainbrown]

Thank you so much for your kind words, they mean such a lot 😘