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7 April 2005
My wife told me about this site about two months ago and said that it was an outstanding resource for, among others, survivors of aortic aneurysm surgeries.
On November 10, 2004, I began experiencing a pain in my lower back. I medicated with Advil, which initially relieved the pain. I took Advil every four hours, and gradually over the next three days the pain began to overtake the ibuprofin. On the evening of November 13, I worked a stint as a volunteer bingo caller at the local high school, and while there I asked a friend who is a physical therapist if lower back pain where I was experiencing it was an indication of kidney stones. She indicated it was. I took Advil before and after the bingo session.
The next morning a painting party was held at the new house my family had just purchased. After working for about thirty minutes, I told my wife and my sister that the pain had gotten bad enough that I couldn't continue, and that I would like my sister to take me to Huntington Memorial Hospital. By the time of arrival at the hospital the pain was nearly unbearable.
After first ruling out the kidney stones that I suggested, a CAT scan was ordered and performed. The scan revealed an 11 cm thoracicoabdominal aortic aneurysm, and within four hours, surgery was commenced. My father had had two bypass surgeries, and my older brother, six years older than my fifty years, had bypass surgery five years ago.
I had some sense of the seriousness of the surgery, but I did not contemplate that it would be necessary to inform my two teenage sons that there was a notable risk of failure, and that paralysis, loss of kidney function, and a number of other after effects were also possible.
I awoke approximately thirty-six hours after the surgery had begun. My wife explained that I would have been awakened earlier except that I had attempted to remove the breathing tube myself the prior day.
The surgery was performed by Drs. Roy Kohl and Ismael Nuno. I recall Dr. Kohl telling me that he and Dr. Nuno were pleased with their decision to proceed immediately, as "things would probably have not gone so well had we waited."
The post surgical care was excellent, and allowed me to recover well enough that after seven days I was restless, relatively sleepless, and anxious to get out. I was released eleven days after the surgery, on the eve of Thanksgiving, which was an opportune time to reflect on the gift of survival.
It is now about twenty weeks post surgery, and I returned to my desk job ten weeks ago.
I continue to experience pain, sometimes distracting, in the area of the incision (eighteen to twenty inches from thoracic spinal region to naval, and a beaut if I do say so myself.) The pain has been diminishing since the staples were removed in the week after the surgery. I am told by my brother to expect continuing pain for another six months or so. My kidneys which were problematic immediately post surgery and for two months post-surgery have returned to a normal 1.2 creatinine reading.
Some things I want to note for other readers: I asked my friend about kidney stones most likely because I wanted the problem to be kidney stones. After life-threatening surgery the recovery is many ups and downs, and I imagine this to be true of almost all patients. I empathize with all of those people who have had more negative outcomes than this writer, but this condition seems to be still unpredictable, and not uniformly appreciated for the risks it engenders.
In last week's ER episode, a patient presented with an abdominal aortic aneurysm. There's nothing like having the medical condition of the week.
Discussion, comments, or questions: David Angel
© Copyright 2005 David
Angel
