Hello there. I'm a newbie so bear with me! Three weeks ago I had a small wedge resection and all went well. Had the op on Friday 7th July and was home on Sunday 9th July.
Has anyone had this type of procedure? How long did aches and pains last and did anyone have rehab suggested. I'm not quite sure what I should be doing in terms of exercise etc.
Many thanks for your help. Best wishes. Jan
Hi and welcome Jan, I can't answer your question other than to suggest that you take it easy in the first few weeks. Doing deep breathing exercises will help. Others may be along with more experience than me or you could phone the nurses on the help line for advice -
0300 222 5800
Best wishes, Carole x
Hi Carole. Thank you so much for your reply. I'll give the help line a call and see if they have any suggestions! I asked the consultant before I was discharged if there were any do's and don't's and he just said don't lift anything heavy. Not really much help at all 😊.
Thanks again Carole. Jan xxx
That sounds to me like he was telling you to just get on with your life as normal, but don't lift anything heavy. 😊x
Hi Donald. That's what I took from his comments 😂. Thanks so much for your reply.
All the very best. Jan xxx
Hi Handel I strongly suggest the following : 1)) shallow pursed lips breathing exercises throughout the day: slowly breathe in 4 counts , preferably through the nose, then slowly exhale to the count of 7 through your mouth with pursed lips. 2)) get from your Doctor, Respiratory Specialist or Pharmacy/Chemist a lung exerciser or ‘flute’ like device ( I used and can recommend the Aerobika device), and USE it throughout the day, great when watching television or relaxing to music. 3)) Walk, start slowly at first , then gradually quicken your pace and extend your distance . Before you know it you will be feeing great. I had an open thoracic lung lobe removal (lobectomy) in 2012 and am still here , hale an hearty, well anyway I’m still here, lol. Best Wishes for a smooth recovery! judg69
Thank you so much. I had a physio drop in for 2 minutes while I was in hospital and she gave me breathing exercises which I've been doing every couple of hours since I came home. I left hospital with antibiotics as my temperature was on the high side!! They recommended I buy a lung exerciser (good old Amazon) and while I was at it, bought an oxywatch and a digital thermometer😂.
I've been walking quite a lot as it's 3 weeks since I was discharged. I'm still having some pain and discomfort around the bottom of the right lung and around the scars and right shoulder (a small wedge was removed and the little lump was benign). I'm guessing discomfort is normal so soon after this type of operation?
The surgeon recommended I had the lump removed based on my history of non small cell cancer found at the top of my right lung/back of the shoulder in 2007. That was inoperable and huge but radical chemo and radiotherapy saw an end to that!!
Many thanks for sharing your experience. Love and hugs. Jan xxx
I had a small lung resection in 2020 to remove a fast growing rheumatoid nodule. I vaguely remember some breathing exercises but mainly my consultant told me to get back to using my lung as much as possible with things like walking and once the scar had healed swimming etc. obviously even a small resection is a big op and you will be sore and slow for a while but every day I did a little and built it up. Took me around six to eight weeks to feel relatively normal.
Hi grumpygirl (brilliant name!!). I suppose I was expecting far too much at such an early stage!! I'm a bit too impatient! I was given morphine liquid to help with the pain when I left hospital but just ended up taking paracetamol as morphine really didn't agree with me!
Thank you so much for getting back to me and for sharing your own experiences. Lots of love. Jan xxxx
No worries. I can empathise with the impatience - I have just had a new knee ( five weeks ago) and have been overdoing it a bit so that I have now got tendonitis and after walking without crutches for a bit am now back to needing them. So, so frustrating but a reminder that if you try and take it too fast your body will hit back! 😂
I couldn't agree more!! Hope your new knee starts behaving soon!! Lots of love and hugs. Jan xxx
Good morning Jan and welcome.
I had a section of my left lung removed at the end of April. Everyone is different with regards to recovery and pain thresholds but my experience so far has been okay although frustrating at times. While still in hospital I was given breathing and stretching exercises to do every few hours and get up and walk, I carried on once home. I was extreme fatigued for three weeks or so, probably due to 3 surgical procedure in 6 months. The feeling of numbness started to wear off after about 6 weeks and I could start to stretch and bend more. I avoided heavy lifting until my follow up appointment. I was given a sheet of exercises to do, mainly stretches but until my stitches came out I couldn’t do them as it made my wounds leak. Gradually I have been getting some feeling back, it still feels like I have something hard stuck to the inside of my rib cage with the odd needle stabbing pain, especially when breathing in but that apparently is normal as muscles and nerves repair themselves and can take up to 18 months for some to fully recover. I am now out for fairy long walks when I can, 3-4 a week and back to work.
Like I said at the beginning everyone is different on their road to recovery, just take it at a comfortable pace, I use ibuprofen gel now if I have over done things, and keep up any breathing exercises to work that lung!
Good luck with your recovery and please feel free to ask questions you may have, it may take a day or two for me to respond and I may not have the answer but someone else might. 🙂
Hello coughee and thank you so much for your reply. The lovely people on this forum have been such a help and comfort.
I wasn't given any exercises to do other than a very brief demonstration of breathing exercises which I still do every day. I was up and about almost as soon as I came out of the anaesthetic and the day after the operation, I was walking around the hospital and up and down stairs with an escort. I suppose with this procedure, I was unsure if aches and pains, numbness and a sore shoulder were the norm and you've answered that question for me.
I think I'm far too impatient but at least I'm being sensible. I'm walking longer distances every day and taking one or two paracetamol if I feel I need to.
I might well try Ibuprofen gel so many thanks for the tip!
Once again, thank you so much for your help. Lots of love and hugs. Jan xxx
Hi Handel and welcome, I can't offer any advice but wanted to say get well soon x
Hi Jan 🙋♀️, sorry I can't offer any advice but wanted to welcome you to this warm, friendly and supportive forum. Take care and hope you're soon feeling a bit better. 🙂 xx
Thank you so much. I know I've only just signed up to this forum but it seems so friendly and the lovely people are so helpful. Many thanks again Nula. Love and hugs. Jan xxx
Just to say welcome to the forum.
Thank you so much Alberta56. Lots of love and hugs. Jan xxxx
Hiya and welcome! I'm thinking that recovery will be hugely different between open operating & keyhole surgery 🤔. If open would they have to open out some ribs to get to the lung? If so I do think that it must be extremely painful and take a while to recover fully. I've fractured ribs more than once, 2nd time in 2022 and those are still very sore on occasion. Little and often I'd say Handel 💐
Hi peege. Many thanks for getting back to me. Thankfully, it was keyhole with a bit of robot help apparently 😂. To be honest, I've fractured ribs in the past and this pain and discomfort is not as bad as that!
All the very best. Jan xxx
Ah brilliant that it was keyhole, ain't it just marvellous our modern medicine 😀. Donkeys years ago I had an op and never forgot the surgeon telling me not to over do it even when the outside was healed it takes a lot longer for the inside to heal. I passed that on to two of my children who both had cesarean ops. I never think that 6 weeks is long enough for internal healing however, I'm definitely no expert! (I do know that vitamin C promotes healing though).
Take care, let us know how you get on. P
Hi peege. I had RATS surgery (Robotic-Assisted Thoracoscopic Surgery) so not a huge operation. I agree with you about internal healing though. Your tip about taking vitamin C makes a lot of sense.
I'll let you know how things progress. Thanks so much again. Love and hugs. Jan xxx
Hi . Just wanted to say welcome to the Forum.
As mentioned by our members, give us a call if you would like a chat with our Clinical Team.
They can answer your questions and talk through any worries you have.
Take care
Debs
Many thanks Debs. The forum members have been so helpful answering my queries.
It's really good to know you're all there.
Lots of love and hugs. Jan xxx
I don't have a lung resection experience to share but I just want to welcome you to the forum. You'll find a wealth of experience, knowledge and compassion with the folks here.
Many thanks dunnellon. I've found this forum to be absolutely brilliant. So many lovely and helpful replies from so many people. I'm so glad I thought to share a question or two.
Lots of love and hugs from a very grateful forum member. Thank you to you all.
Jan xxx
Welcome to this forum Jan. It is friendly, funny, informative and very supportive. I can’t help with your query but there will be some who can
Kate xxx
Thanks Katinka. I've found the forum absolutely brilliant and the lovely people on it so helpful. Many thanks again. Jan xxxx
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