Can anyone advise me, my husband had his op week ago today , but had to go back to surgery 2 days later for a leak repair, he has chest infection and is very odd, has post op delirium , but now they say he had another leak and needs endoscopy and another op... I am very wortied, has anyone rake had similar problems ?
I am on the hospital now , waiting to see consultant.
Many thanks
Pam
Hi Pam, sorry to hear of this setback but if it is like me thats all it is .... I had similar issues immediately after my operation 8 years ago, was hullucinating and in the end they had to call my wife who was 40 miles away at 3 am to try to get me to settle down, I was paranoid, I was convinced that my 'operation' had been a set up to try to kill me ( organised by the IRA) none of it makes any sense but to me I can assure you it was as real as my chair. It turned out I was reacting very badly to the morphine they were using so it got changed to Oramorph (probably spelled it wrong) which I think is a man made substitute. My leaks caused concerns and I also had quite a few pints of blood due to internal bleeding (about 7 pints in all) but as I was in the hospital with the best trained staff and surgeons I was in the right place. They sorted me out and I was somewhat amazed to then leave hospital after 10 days - All I can say is stay strong , for both you and him He is in the right place and rest assured the surgeons really are stars!!!
all the best to you both RAy
Hi Pam,
Sorry to hear of your husband's problems, but with major surgery it happens sometimes. He's safely in hospital, and they will put it right.
I had a leak, and pneumonia and C Diff. and an acute duodenal ulcer which perforated just days after my surgery, leaving me with subphrenic abcesses, after my surgery nearly 7 years ago.
As for him being very odd, I had that too. The nurse told my family it was ICU delirium, and it's really frightening. I was sure the nurses were trying to kill me. I had terrible nightmares, and I could hear people whispering nasty things about me. I refused to open my eyes because everyone's face was distorted and scary. As far as he's concerned, this is much worse than his physical problems. But it will all go away as he gets better.
Just hold his hand and talk to him. Indeed, hold both his hands if you can, that's all I wanted for 11 days while I was on a ventilator.
You will have seen the consultant by now, I hope you've had good news.
Good luck,
Jane
It sounds very scary having to go for further operations, but these things are normally nowhere near as complex as the main surgery. It never seems like it to us, but the surgeons probably regard it as tidying up and adjusting things - they do not always go perfectly. I had a couple of further operations after my ruptured oesophagus was repaired because of leaks / infection. They both went smoothly although I would not have used that word at the time.
Many thanks for your replies, the 3rd op went well, he now has a feeding tube in and Dr said it is a bit of a set back as they want to let the leak mend without more chest surgery, so he will be nil by mouth for a few weeks and in hospital too, but at least it not major surgery once again.
What a hard time you have all had, it is humbling to read your posts, but so kind of you and so very helpful, this is an invaluable place for anyone suffering these problems, it is really just dawning on me how hard and how long the road to recovery is, so thank you all once again.
I just wait and see what the day brings and tackle it then, hopefully it is onward and upward.
Hi Pam. I had a leak after my op. The surgeon told me that it would heal itself but I had to remain in hospital being fed via tube. After regular checks he was happy that it had healed and I have been fine ever since. Instead of anticipated 10 days in hospital I was in for 30. Not much fun not being able to eat or drink for that period of time but the end result was worth it. Good luck to you
Many thanks, unfortunately the leak got worse and the join collapsed, my husband had to go back into surgery, he has got through it but is still in ITC on ventilator and Tracheostomy , they had to strip lung due to the infection the leak caused and total remove his oesophagus and bring the end out of neck and the stomach out in abdomen, along with feeding tubes,drains cheats etc… they are now trying to reduce sedation and move forward, he will need to have a big op in a year for reconstruction, it is going to be very hard and I am am concerned for hi, I am in shock teal,y as he was always so fit. Bless him he has hard a terrible time of it but is still fighting . I am at a loss now as to how to go forward and keep him healthy.
Thanks for all your support.
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