Jennifer George

It’s been two weeks since I had the procedure and I feel good.

The procedure was scheduled for Friday and I got the call Thursday telling us to be at the hospital at 7:30 am. The procedure was to be done in the ambulatory surgery area of the hospital. My wife was coming with me for support and to drive me back home. The hospital is about a 45 minute drive, so we left at 6:30 and arrived in good time.

The check-in procedure was very smooth and I was taken back in short order. I was seen by several people, the nurse coordinator, the OR nurse, a P.A., the anesthesiology residents and the anesthesiology attending. Finally the surgeon appeared and we discussed the procedure and made sure I still wanted to go through it.

The anesthesiology resident started my IV and gave me some sedative and I got wheeled to the OR. I remember moving myself from the stretcher onto the table and that’s about it.

I don’t have a strong memory of the early time in recovery. My recovery nurse was wonderful. As my head cleared I was visited by many of the same people I saw before the procedure. I was told it went perfectly.

We waited until my head cleared. It took a while for my blood pressure to chill out. My nurse kept asking me if I needed any pain meds and I kept saying no. Finally I started to feel some discomfort and agreed to some meds. She gave me some oxycodone. This was the first time I ever had it and it seemed to work.

Finally I was given the ok to go home. On our way I we picked up some oxycodone that had been prescribed. We got home about 12 hours after we left. I settled down for some tv and to relax. I wasn’t in pain but the area was quite swollen. I should have been icing the area, but I didn’t. By bed time I decided to take some Tylenol. I never touched the oxy.

Saturday and Sunday I just lazed around the house. The swelling decreased every day. It was sensitive and my skin was a painful. I also felt the feeling I expected. That feeling you get after you get kicked in the groin, not the initial pain, but the later nausea and discomfort. I felt that constantly. It slowly waned over 4 or 5 days.

The incision was glued closed, so there are no stiches. I was told to just go easy on the area. Don’t scrub it in the shower. It has been quite secure and not painful at all. It feels like there is some harder tissue right under the scar which I assume is more glue or scar tissue. It too is getting smaller with time.

That was the way it was, just getting better each day. Now, 2 weeks later, I had a follow up appointment with the Urologist. The swelling is almost all gone. There is no pain. The incision is healing well. No infection. I’m cleared for most activity, except riding a bicycle.

The whole process was easy and not painful. I really hope the swelling continues to go down and the all the stuff down there continues to shrink. All in all it was a generally easy experience.