A Long Outpatients Visit

Last Friday afternoon we visited the surgical outpatients clinic for a checkup with the liver surgeon.  I was still not feeling great, and really struggled to walk to the clinic.  As usual we were early and as usual the surgeon saw us early, he seems to mostly work ahead of the clock.

The X-ray from the previous visit to the oncologist showed fluid build up around my right lung.  The X-ray result, plus my general condition was of real concern so I was promptly admitted to the Surgical Assessment and Review Area (SARA), a 12 bed unit attached to one of the surgical wards.  I must admit that I was expecting this and both Teresa and I were quite relieved that things were happening.

Very shortly after being admitted I had a chest and abdomen CT scan.  The scan showed the liver was recovering well but confirmed pleural effusion, a build up of fluid around the lungs, in my case it was a substantial build up around my right lung.  The indicated treatment was to insert a drain and let the fluid out.  Sounds easy so I agreed to the procedure.  This was done on my bed in SARA by a resident doctor assisted by nurses and watched by about 6 other people, including Teresa.  The drain would go in on my back, at the rear of the lung cavity.

I was told that I would get a local anesthetic, which would be the most painful part of the procedure, followed by a numb feeling and much pushing and pulling.  I don't know how many times I have been told that the stinging injection of local would be the most painful part of the procedure, and it was very wrong.  The initial puncture through to the pleural space was OK, but then the "hole" had to be stretched out to allow the drain tube to be inserted.  This proved to be very painful, I think the whole procedure took about 20 minutes.

About 2.5 litres of pinkish fluid was taken out and I was left with a drain attached.  I found my breathing was getting easier as the fluid came out, but there was some pain at the drain site and where my lung was touching the drain tube.  The time would now be about 6:00 PM, it had been an interesting few hours since I came in to the hospital.  Later that night I was moved to a general surgical ward

Over the next couple of days I started to feel much better and on Sunday afternoon I was released from hospital.  The most significant change in my condition was that I now have a real appetite, for the first time since my liver surgery, however my weight has still not stabilised.

Tomorrow morning I have a chest X-ray scheduled, then another follow up meeting with my liver surgeon, hopefully that will be a short out-patients meeting.

I am feeling much better now, but still low on energy.