I was diagnosed with a hepatic adenoma measuring 7.5cm and have been referred to Freemans hospital in Newcastle to the liver surgeons. They have put me down for surgery and I’m awaiting a date.
I won’t lie and say I’m not terrified but I’m more so concerned because I still feel like I have a lot of unanswered questions and don’t know what to expect.
Can anyone tell me abit about their surgery/ recovery? How long surgery took, how long were you in hospital for afterwards? Time off work?
I have a desk job but I’m not sure on how long I may need off from it?
If anyone can share their experiences that would be amazing.
Thanks for reading!x
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Aims2407
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Hi AimsI am at present recovering from a liver resection, it was done 5 weeks ago. Mine was a tumour 11cm x 6cm on the front of my liver, so it was a wedge resection.
It was part keyhole and part hand assisted, so I had a small incision in my navel, an inch incision on left where I had a drain to remove blood and bile and a 7" incision where the hand went in.
After your op it is naturally pretty painful, however they will have you on strong pain meds for a few days, take whatever they offer you and dont try to be a hero. They need you to be able to breath deeply without pain so that you dont get a lung infection, they will also be getting you out of bed and moving around within a day or so, even if its just to sit in the chair for a little while.
As you can imagine, to start with walking around is painful, everything feels really tight inside, but the more you do it, the easier it gets.
I was in hospital for 6 days, at home for the first 3 weeks it was still pretty hard going, I made sure that I went to bed every day for 2 hours early afternoon as your body and liver needs rest to heal.
I am now 5 weeks on, I am not needing any painkillers, I have started driving short distances and am walking (slowly) for approx an hour a day. But I am still being very careful about not lifting anything heavy.
There is still a tight feeling inside but it is improving.
I am retired so dont need to worry about work, however I used to have a desk job and I know that I would only now be thinking that I may possibly be ready to go back to work. This is major surgery, I was told by my surgeon that it could be up to 3 months before I feel fully recovered.
Thank you for your reply! I’m glad to hear you are recovering as well as can be!
Thank you very much for sharing your story it’s been really helpful to hear so I know a little more of what to expect. I have had my pre op assessment and although they did explain alot of the process I feel like since the appt I have had a lot more questions.
Do you know how long you were actually in theatre for if you don’t mind me asking?
My op took about 5.5 hours apparently, I think it was relatively straight forward as my tumour was on the surface of the liver at the front, so it was easy to get to.
You will have the telephone number for a specialist nurse, who is brilliant for if you are worried about anything.
When I was about 2 weeks post-op I got worried as I felt like my insides were tightening up even more and I started getting stabbing pains when I moved in my right hand side, they reassured me that it was all part if the healing process.
I am now just waiting for my follow-up appointment, when I will find out if it was malignant or benign ( they didnt biopsy it first, just went straight to surgery). Fingers crossed.........
Try not to worry, and if you think of anything else, ask away.
morning aims. I am under freeman hospital. Do you know it is one of the best liver and heart hospitals in Europe. If you phone the liver team up someone will talk with you and I am sure they will relieve you of your worries. You have the best hands in Europe looking after you. Try not to stress it will take as long as it needs to do op. They don’t take any risks. Try to keep everything into perspective, and definitely try to reduce your stress levels as it doesn’t help. Just think how much better you will be after surgery. You’re a lucky man . Good luck.
Thank you so much for your reply. It’s very reassuring to know I’m under such a good team at Freeman. I do have a lovely specialist nurse but I always feel so bad for ringing up especially if she is in clinic so it’s just nice to be able to hear others’ experiences here.
Thank you for your advice and I hope you’re doing well x
I am lucky. I am very positive and I accept what I’ve got and basically face it. Have good days and bad days. Most important of all I have the best supportive husband in the world. I’m blessed in many ways. Remember worry is a wasted emotion because you can’t do anything about it. Every negative thought has a positive side . Try to follow positive logic. I was a counsellor for many years. So have had fantastic training that I can use on myself. Cry shout swear stamp your feet but don’t give in. Be in controll of it , don’t let whatever be in control of you including your emotions. Sorry for above thoughts but that is me. Good luck for the future. Thanks for reply. Hope I’ve given you something worthwhile.
your in good hands, they did my cholecystectomy, not as important as a liver resection but the team where wonderful, if you have questions the secretaries are normally quite good at answering some concerns you may have.
I would suggest 6 weeks off work, but when you have our consult with surgeon before the surgery ask him about time of work and letter or sick note of the time frame of being off and they will provide one for you.
purplecatlady1 has pretty much explained it very well I hope all goes well and you have a speedy recovery.
Thank you very much for your reply! It’s good to hear such positive things about the hospital as it’s not my local one! Thank you for your well wishes x
Hi Aims. I had full right liver lobe resection surgery in 2019 due to a hytatid cyst. It was a complicated surgery which took around 7 hours and involved a cut from just below my sternum to just above my right hip. I had high doses of pain relief including spinal block and was in hospital for 10 days, but, unfortunately I suffered complications which ment I was very slow to recover, particularly healing. I did go back to a desk job after 3 months, more out of necessity than being ready. So I would say 3 months will probably be just enough if you are having open surgery like me, and otherwise healthy. But listen to your body, its important to read when you need too. Good look, keep us posted. X
Hi... so sorry to hear that you will need to have a resection but I'm sure you'll be in great hands and everything will be fine.
My daughter has multiple hepatic adenomas. She was diagnosed just under 3 years ago and she had 10 of these benign tumours at the time. She had a massive resection two and half years ago, because the biggest one was haemorrhaging at the time. They removed the right half of her liver, which contained the biggest tumour and two others. The resection took over 5 hours with two surgeons working on her. Thankfully her recovery was fine but took around 6 months or so.
The biggest tumour was over 12cm at the time. Now the remaining 7 tumours have further grown and multiplied. She must have around 20 tumours at the moment. Thankfully you are in a far different situation, with one single adenoma which is more common than her unique case. Your resection will be more straightforward I'm sure, with a good recovery too.
Unfortunately, my daughter's case is tragically incredibly rare and unique, as the tumours have been acting like malignant ones from day one, with the rapid rate of growth and proliferation. Benign tumours most certainly don't usually behave like this. She has developed more complications and has sadly gone into chronic Iiver failure. Only a transplant will save her life now, which is also very unlikely to happen as she has other serious underlying health issues.
I really wish you all the very best with your resection. Hope all goes well, so you can carry on enjoying the rest of your life.
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