What Medical Surgeries and Procedures Have You Had?

[David]

I'm interested in hearing about all the various medical surgeries & procedures you've had. Please share.

When I was 11 years old, I was a Boy Scout. It was summer & my troop was getting ready for Scout summer camp on Catalina Island. I was up all night before, throwing up. I threw up 23 times. Naturally, the latter 18 or so times were just wretching basically. There was nothing left in my stomach to actually throw up.

Anyway, morning rolled around & I felt kind of weak but I didn't want to miss Scout camp. So our troop catches the boat to Catalina. We get there, set up camp, & go down to the harbor to take our swim tests. The water was ice cold!!

After my swim test, I went back to camp because I had a stomach ache. Well, it got worse & worse & worse. I thought my stomach was exploding. At first it hurt on the left side, & then it hurt on the right side. My dad, the Scoutmaster & a physician, & Joel Kramer, the assistant Scoutmaster & an optometrist, took me to the camp clinician. He had me lie on his examining table & he prodded me all over my abdomen. "Does this hurt?" YES!!! I screamed.

They carried me back to camp where I rested for a short time. The officials had to get a helicopter to transport me back to the mainland. By that time, my appendix had already ruptured, but all I knew was that my "stomach ache" was much better. I was feeling infinitely better. I got aboard the helicopter -- there are no doors on those damn things! -- & flew back to the mainland. We landed in the parking lot of Torrance Memorial Hospital, where an ambulance transported me just a few hundred feet to the emergency room entrance.

There was no room on the helicopter for my dad, so he was still stuck on Catalina. In the meantime, my mom was on her way from our home in Arcadia with family friend Marlene, our pediatrician's wife & a nurse. They had a long drive on the freeway.

In the meantime, I was in the ER having blood drawn & all sorts of tests. Finally, a doctor walks over to me & says, "David, my name is Dr. Ashe, & I'm going to operate on you."

I said, "You'd better ask my mom & dad first." He laughed & said they were both on their way to the hospital.

I was in the hospital for nine days, on I.V. for about four days, & had a drainage tube, too -- my appendix had ruptured, causing peritonitis. Surgery required two hours of "cleanup" of the abdominal & pelvic cavities.

I loved the whole experience! When you're 10 years old, you're King of the Hospital! All the nurses baby you.

Some other procedures I've had are: two endoscopies, one colonoscopy, one esophageal manometry & a 24-hour pH probe (MOST unpleasant), some ingrown toenail surgeries, four wisdom teeth out all at once (no problem), numerous EKGs & two stress-echo tests, not to mention plenty of blood lab work over the years.

I've also had a CT scan & an abdominal ultrasound.

So let's hear what you've had done.

[golddustdrummer]

I got diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis when I was 12. So I had numerous colonoscopies, barium sulfate suspensions, CT scans, x-rays, picc lines, etc.
Finally in 2000 they had to just go ahead and take my colon out because it was almost perforated.
it was an 8 hour surgery and it left me with an ostomy bag...just in time for junior high school! lol fun fun fun.

I had what they call a "reconnection" surgery to get rid of the bag about 6 months afterward. I now have an internal J pouch, so I'm halfway normal again.

In between those first two surgeries I had two infections: e coli and staph. Both infections had to be drained by tubes inserted into my abdomen.

I also had gallstones (found by ultrasound) so they took the gallbladder out when I was around 14 or 15.
Because of the scar tissue from the other surgeries though, he couldn't do it endoscopically and I ended up with another huge scar on my stomach.

I've also had my shins broken and screws placed in them.
I guess it was a birth defect and my shins went outward, making my knee caps grind against them.
Basically every step I took from the time I started walking to age 20 hurt really bad.
I got the screws taken out in November. 20 years....and finally, there isn't pain when I walk

[daniellaaarisen]

And I thought I had it rough with three knee surgeries....

[Ghost_Tracker]

I had scoliosis surgery when I was 14. That was . . . a little rough. During the two or three days after the operation, it occasionally felt like somebody was taking a pen and stabbing it into me. I wasn't in agony or anything like that, but there were occasional sharp pains that were a wee bit rough. I also kept dreaming, the following day, that this REALLY big, heavyset man kept coming into the room and sitting on me, and then walking out through a "secret door" behind my head. (Yeah - there was a LIIIIIIITLE bit of morphine involved LOL!) It also took awhile to recover after I left the hospital - I had to be brought home in the back of a station wagon that my parents had rented (which was VERY risky, due to the possibility of a car accident) and then I had to take a few weeks to be able to sit up and start walking again - first with a cane. Had to wear a brace for nine months after, until the spinal fusion healed completely. It wasn't THAT bad, though, more like just this experience I had when I was a kid - and the surgeon told me that I had the second-best correction he had ever had.
These days they use wires instead of rods, to support the spine - I don't know the details but I picture all these wires running in a spiral up the person's spine - that apparently gives much better support. I do feel the side effects of the rods at times; for example my neck gets sore sometimes and it escalates into a combined headache and very sore neck, and it's BRUTAL, but it's easily treatable with a couple of Advil so once that kicks in it's not too bad. Before it kicks in, honestly, it's "a little rough."

Little story to tell about the surgeon - this guy was GOOD. He did Medical School in three years (it normally takes four). Rubik's Cube was popular back then. Right before the surgery, he came into my room to review for me the details of the operation, and he saw a Rubik's Cube on the nightstand that my parents had gotten for me to help pass the time. He picked up the Rubik's Cube and started telling me the details, seemingly with almost 100% of his attention on the conversation, while "absently" playing with the cube - barely looking at it. He finished up telling me about the operation, answering my questions, etc. and returned the Rubik's Cube to the nightstand - with the first two layers correctly completed. Yeah. The take-home message was of course obvious: "You're in good hands, kid!" That confidence-builder was very much appreciated.

I also had surgery when I was 5 or 6 weeks old for something called "Pyloric Stenosis" - the valve between my stomach and small intestine got "stuck" closed and so the food wouldn't pass from one to the other. With obvious possible consequences if it wasn't fixed. An M.D. would probably get a chuckle out of me phrasing it like this, but I had an operation to "cut" the valve back open. I uhm, don't remember that one. ;)

I also had two "routine" operations, one to have my tonsils out when I was 2 years old - I remember that, believe it or not - and one when I got hit in the nose with a hockey ball. I was playing something called "deck hockey" which was popular when I was a kid - I had somehow ended up on the ground and I looked up to see where the ball was - well, some guy on the other team had smacked the ball with his stick to try to "clear" the ball out of his team's defensive zone - so the answer to that question was "headed right for my nose!" :rolleyes: So yeah, my nose got broken - had to have minor surgery to correct a "deviated septum."

That's about it though. Like I said, the scoliosis was kinda rough but other than that I guess I've been fairly lucky as far as this kinda stuff goes, at least compared to some.

[DavidMn]

The only major surgery Ive had is when I was 13, I was playing baseball with some friends and I was pitching(insert joke here:laugh:) this kid hit a line drive back at me and it nailed me on my left elbow and shattered it in 6 places. The doctors did the best they could but I can still twist my left arm really far.

[Musicman408]

I had scoliosis surgery when I was 14. That was . . . a little rough. During the two or three days after the operation, it occasionally felt like somebody was taking a pen and stabbing it into me. I wasn't in agony or anything like that, but there were occasional sharp pains that were a wee bit rough. I also kept dreaming, the following day, that this REALLY big, heavyset man kept coming into the room and sitting on me, and then walking out through a "secret door" behind my head. (Yeah - there was a LIIIIIIITLE bit of morphine involved LOL!) It also took awhile to recover after I left the hospital - I had to be brought home in the back of a station wagon that my parents had rented (which was VERY risky, due to the possibility of a car accident) and then I had to take a few weeks to be able to sit up and start walking again - first with a cane. Had to wear a brace for nine months after, until the spinal fusion healed completely. It wasn't THAT bad, though, more like just this experience I had when I was a kid - and the surgeon told me that I had the second-best correction he had ever had.
These days they use wires instead of rods, to support the spine - I don't know the details but I picture all these wires running in a spiral up the person's spine - that apparently gives much better support. I do feel the side effects of the rods at times; for example my neck gets sore sometimes and it escalates into a combined headache and very sore neck, and it's BRUTAL, but it's easily treatable with a couple of Advil so once that kicks in it's not too bad. Before it kicks in, honestly, it's "a little rough."

Little story to tell about the surgeon - this guy was GOOD. He did Medical School in three years (it normally takes four). Rubik's Cube was popular back then. Right before the surgery, he came into my room to review for me the details of the operation, and he saw a Rubik's Cube on the nightstand that my parents had gotten for me to help pass the time. He picked up the Rubik's Cube and started telling me the details, seemingly with almost 100% of his attention on the conversation, while "absently" playing with the cube - barely looking at it. He finished up telling me about the operation, answering my questions, etc. and returned the Rubik's Cube to the nightstand - with the first two layers correctly completed. Yeah. The take-home message was of course obvious: "You're in good hands, kid!" That confidence-builder was very much appreciated.

I also had surgery when I was 5 or 6 weeks old for something called "Pyloric Stenosis" - the valve between my stomach and small intestine got "stuck" closed and so the food wouldn't pass from one to the other. With obvious possible consequences if it wasn't fixed. An M.D. would probably get a chuckle out of me phrasing it like this, but I had an operation to "cut" the valve back open. I uhm, don't remember that one. ;)

I also had two "routine" operations, one to have my tonsils out when I was 2 years old - I remember that, believe it or not - and one when I got hit in the nose with a hockey ball. I was playing something called "deck hockey" which was popular when I was a kid - I had somehow ended up on the ground and I looked up to see where the ball was - well, some guy on the other team had smacked the ball with his stick to try to "clear" the ball out of his team's defensive zone - so the answer to that question was "headed right for my nose!" :rolleyes: So yeah, my nose got broken - had to have minor surgery to correct a "deviated septum."

That's about it though. Like I said, the scoliosis was kinda rough but other than that I guess I've been fairly lucky as far as this kinda stuff goes, at least compared to some.

I did NOT know that you had scoliosis surgery!!!! Glad to know that your surgeon was good!!

Just on the surgery front there was scoliosis surgery, but I was also born with a diaphragmatic hernia, so they had to repair that too. I had at best a 50/50 shot of living......

And here I am!

[Enchanted_Stevi]

WOW...

Um I only had my tonsils taken out when I was 9

[gretchen]

Bladder surgery when I was 6.

Two years ago - microdiscectomy on L5-S1...when neurosurgeon opend the area, found complications and surgery took 4 hours instead of 1. Ruptured disc material had fused to the spinal cord and scar tissue had already started forming. Neurosurgeon had to carefully remove the tissue and disc material from the cord (extremely delicate surgery at that point because of paralysis risk). I'm ok now but prob will never have full back flexibility.

[ragrsrocalot]

6 Surgeries

2- Right eye- detached retna
2- C Section
1- Right ankle- 1 plate, 8 screws, 2 pins
1- Right hand- Carpal Tunnel

In 2 weeks I will be adding number 7- and in a cast for 6 weeks
Left foot- need screws to fuse bone on forefoot

[Sahara]

I had a toenail removed when I was 13 ... how rock n roll am I? :rolleyes:
Definitely not complaining though!

[ButterCookie]

I had my ears pinned back when I was about 3 then my appendix out when I was 9 or 10 :laugh:

[WildHeart69]

broke my nose in high school playing basketball and they did some kind of surgery on it... it's never been the same since

[sara1998]

What an interesting query, David.

I've had 2 lumpectomy's. One when I was 16, one at 23. Both in my left breast. This past October, I had a tubal ligation, and uterine ablation.

Pretty boring stuff, but I was excited to get the ablation. :lol:

[holidayroad]

The only surgery I have had was a tubal ligation 7 and a half years ago. My son has had three open heart surgeries. He was born with the main arteries to his heart transposed and with a single ventricle.

[sara1998]

The only surgery I have had was a tubal ligation 7 and a half years ago. My son has had three open heart surgeries. He was born with the main arteries to his heart transposed and with a single ventricle.

Oh my... how is he today?

[louielouie2000]

The only actual surgery I've had was sinus surgery, eardrum tubes, and a tongue-tie correction when I was 7 (they did all 3 at once). I wasn't a very happy kid for a couple of days lol.

Other than that I've had some minor dental work done: had a procedure in my upper gums to remove a muscle so that I wouldn't have a gap between my front teeth (when I was 12 I think?). Most all of my baby teeth wouldn't come out, and had to be pulled lol. I badly need my wisdom teeth removed, but I'm a total chicken **** when it comes to anesthesia and surgery. :(

[estranged4life]

Throat surgery/biopsy back in June 2004 (2 days before seeing Fleetwood Mac in Dallas).

[David]

The only surgery I have had was a tubal ligation 7 and a half years ago. My son has had three open heart surgeries. He was born with the main arteries to his heart transposed and with a single ventricle.Is he OK now?

[markolas]

Root canal and a tonsillectomy are it for me. I foresee ingrown toenail removal down the road, and I've been contemplating Lasik surgery.

Also, it's not a surgery or procedure, but I am the only person I know who had scarlet fever as a child. :blob2:

[GypsyBlueEyes]

Wow. It's really interesting reading all of your stories. :nod:

I was in a car accident when I was 16. My ankle was broken in 3 places and the surgeon had to piece together 65 pieces of it. I had 9 pins and a plate but I've since had 2 pins removed. I'm really, really lucky. The doctor warned my parents in the emergency room that I probably wouldn't be able to walk on it but, amazingly, I don't even have a limp. I don't have quite the range of motion in it but its nothing that affects my daily life :)

[Sahara]

Throat surgery/biopsy back in June 2004 (2 days before seeing Fleetwood Mac in Dallas).
Wow. Did it affect your enjoyment of the concert? Cheering capacity?

[holidayroad]

Is he OK now?

Thanks for asking. He is doing very well, considering all of the heart issues he was born with. He has to take a lot of medication, but to look at him, you'd never know he was different than any other seven year old boy. My sister was also born with heart defects and compared to how she was when she was that age, there's a world of difference. They haven't ruled out that my son may need future surgeries, but right now, all is as good as possible.

[holidayroad]

Oh my... how is he today?

Thank you for asking, as well. He is doing better than expected. He has to take a lot of medicines. Hopefully, he will not need any future surgeries.

[petep9000]

I had a lump in my right groin that ached when I lifted or pulled heavy things. Turns out it was an 'inquinal hernia', I had it operated on in 1998. They insert some kind of a mesh screen to hold it all in. Same thing happened in 1999 on the left side of the groin, so I had the procedure done again. These were ambulatory surgeries in a hospital, and I went home the same day.

In 2003 I had painful hemorrhoids removed surgically. The non-invasive 'banding' technique wasn't appropriate to my situation, so I had to go under the knife. This was also ambulatory surgery, though I feel like they should have kept me over night due to the pain I was in post-op and the trauma I had when I had my first BM the next morning. Yeesh.
I was in pain for a whole week. The MD told me I would be on two painkillers: vicodin and toradol that I would alternate. I asked him, "well I could just take Tylenol, right?" and he said "no trust me, you're going to need these." And he was right, LOL.

Let's see, the only other surgery (if I can even call it that) was the 'wavefront' laser vision correction procedure they did on my eyes in 2004. Wavefront was the newest laser back then, my vision wasn't appropriate for the Lasik laser so I had to wait for this wavefront thing to be FDA approved. Piece of cake, and the results are great, no glasses in years!
Oh, and I had a cardiac catheterization in 2007 due to some cardiac symptoms I was having, but thank goodness, the vessels were all clear.

And that's about it..!

[daniellaaarisen]

So should I start to expect a ton of surgeries as I get older? You guys are scaring me! Especially since my dad got carpal tunnel surgery this morning and he's getting a double shoulder replacement in 4 months.... :(

In terms of my knees, the best part is that they still have no idea why I'm in this much pain. After fixing a miniscus tear and an ACL tear, they also went in and tried to work with my acute patella tendonitis.... nothing really helped. Ugh.

[HejiraNYC]

I was circumcized when I was 9. TMI, anyone?

[HomerMcvie]

I was circumcized when I was 9. TMI, anyone?WHY did they wait until you were 9?

:confused:

[holidayroad]

I was circumcized when I was 9. TMI, anyone?

My son is probably going to be in the same situation. They wouldn't do it when he was born because of his heart issues. His pediatrician says he will need it done, but we can't find a surgeon willing to do it because he would have to spend time off of his medicine before the surgery.

[HejiraNYC]

My son is probably going to be in the same situation. They wouldn't do it when he was born because of his heart issues. His pediatrician says he will need it done, but we can't find a surgeon willing to do it because he would have to spend time off of his medicine before the surgery.

Pray tell, why does one "need" to be cut? I mean, unless you are Jewish. :shrug: It is seriously one of the great traumas of my life. I think there's a part of me that deeply resents my parents for making me go through this. It is such senseless mutilation...

[HejiraNYC]

WHY did they wait until you were 9?

:confused:

I have never quite mustered the gall to bring this up in conversation with my parents. "So, why did you mutilate my pecker when I was 9?" I'm really afraid that they will say there was some kind of Old Testament motivation behind it. If that's the case, I think I would just scream. I mean, unless you are getting serious infections, or there is some grave deformation down there, it's SO unnecessary (I was neither, BTW). I would never do this to my kids.

[holidayroad]

Pray tell, why does one "need" to be cut? I mean, unless you are Jewish. :shrug: It is seriously one of the great traumas of my life. I think there's a part of me that deeply resents my parents for making me go through this. It is such senseless mutilation...

His pediatrician said it was because the foreskin was difficult to pull back. I don't feel he needs it either, but when your child has as many health issues as our son does, sometimes they don't give you a lot of choice in what they think needs to be done. You pretty much have to go along with it or fight with Social Services about it. I've already been through that :(

[jannieC]

Okay...ready?

Age 11 spinal fusion
Age 12 broken vertebrae (from diving into a pool)
Age 14 Tonscilectomy

In no particular order (because I'm bad with dates):

ruptured disc in neck
gall bladder removed
both fallopian tubes removed (different times)
chest tube from a collapsed lung

I think that's it. I've had lots of procedures for female/fertility stuff (little TMI probably). And sadly for me, I may be looking at another neck surgery within the next year or two.

Other than that I am healthy as a horse!

[Ghost_Tracker]

Pray tell, why does one "need" to be cut? I mean, unless you are Jewish. :shrug: It is seriously one of the great traumas of my life. I think there's a part of me that deeply resents my parents for making me go through this. It is such senseless mutilation...


I think maybe back in ancient times, the area under the foreskin
used to be vulnerable to infection. Maybe it developed into a religious
ceremony for exactly the reason you're mentioning -
people needed a little extra motivation and the "doctor types"
back then felt it would be healthier, so it got turned into a
religious thing. Just speculation and opinion, of course.

[David]

Pray tell, why does one "need" to be cut? I mean, unless you are Jewish. :shrug: It is seriously one of the great traumas of my life.An emotional trauma or a physical one (or both)? If the latter, were you circumcised with a clamp? The clamp is supposed to be quite painful, so its use is forbidden in Judaism.

[David]

ruptured disc in neckThose suck! What sorts of exercises did you learn from physical therapy?

[jannieC]

Those suck! What sorts of exercises did you learn from physical therapy?

The usual-stretching and strengthening. My Physical Therapist was also a yoga instructor, so we did a lot of all over body stuff. She was wonderful.