10 weeks post op liver cyst deroofing/resection

[Surfrgirl]

I am 10 weeks out today from robotic liver resection 10%m gallbladder removal (lesion pressing on it killed it) and deroofing of an 8 cm cyst (formerly a hemangioma that turned cystic after 2 ablations). I have made some progress but still feel rather badly; still have pain/discomfort on right side, some shortness of breath, feeling of fatigue/weakness quite a bit and general abdominal discomfort. I am 55 and was in great health, very active, physically fit, until the pain of the lesion hit me suddenly. I know this is a difficult surgery and recovery; but thought being fit and with excellent eating habits I would be feeling better than I am by now. My daughter is getting married in October and I so hope to be much better by then. If anyone can share their experiences with recovery I would appreciate it!

[Summtyme]

I had the same surgery along with gallbladder removal. 2 tumors, they removed my entire right lobe of my liver and some. Recovery is slow. Fatigue is tremendous. And the pain on the right side takes quite some time to heal. As my surgeon used to say “of course you will have pain, you have no idea what we had to do”. That being said, you will heal. What really helped me immensely was physical therapy. I went 3 times a week. They took it slow but I regained all my strength and some!. I felt fantastic after. They got my core strength back, my energy levels went back up. All said and done by the time I was finished I felt like a new person.

It is a very taxing surgery regardless of what shape you are in. I had no idea, none what I was in for. Are you working yet? I would work but I was very tired. I had to rest frequently but I was lucky enough to have a job that allowed that. I even bought a recliner to sit in. 20 mins of work. Nap. Go back to my desk and when I was tired or sore and fatigued back to the recliner to rest. Baby steps,

Did they teach you the right way to get out of bed? Roll to your right and lift your body with your left hand. It took the stress off that area. How is your appetite? I had none at all. I never felt hunger for months.

Thinking back, 2 months after I went to a family members wedding and it was so hard. I was weak, tired, so sore. So what you are experiencing sounds the same. I stared physical therapy at about 4 months due to the pain on the side. It also started to mess up my hip and shoulder on the other side since I was favoring my good side.

You will get thru it and the fatigue will slowly go away!! If you have any questions just let me know.

[Surfrgirl in reply to Summtyme]

Thank you so much for sharing your experience - so helpful! I started back to work at 6.5 weeks post op. which was very tiring. Thankfully, I have been working the last 2 years from home and continue to do so which allows me to rest when I need to and by the nature of my work, I can be in a reclined position some of the time (I need to read very long documents several at one time).

I was definitely thinking about physical therapy since my core is definitely weaker. I had this done robotically, but I also had another laparoscopic surgery to remove my GB (damaged by an embolization procedure) in Sept. 2021 so the two combined have left me with lots of trauma in the abdominal area. I agree that 4 months post op is probably a good time to start the PT - enough healing will have taken place that I should get some benefit without damaging anything hopefully!

I have been rolling to my side pushing myself up to get out of bed for several years (no jack-knifing for me!) so good on that front -not stressing the area. Hoping to feel much better in the next couple of months for my daughter's wedding in early October! I can understand why you had a hard time taking a trip 2 months out - I don't think I could have done that so kudos to you!

Do you remember how long it was after surgery when you stopped feeling discomfort most of the time? Like when you didn't have constant physical reminder of having had the surgery? Thanks again so much for the reply!

[Summtyme in reply to Surfrgirl]

I had the surgery in mid March. By August I was doing well. Pool, some outdoor summer get togethers, dinners out sometimes etc. i went to another family wedding in October (that was nothing like the one I went to in May). So I’d say 5 months out I was on my feet and enjoying life. By a year I felt better than ever!