Have to have bronchoscopy,thoracoscopy, and thoracotomy

[westerncarribean]

I have to have bronchoscopy,thoracoscopy, and thoracotomy. They will be removing a single nodule from my lung. If malignant they will do lobectomy while i'm out. Because of position and the irregular edges they can't do less invasive procedures.

When i penned them down one radiologist says 40% chance for malignancy another that looked at it said 80%.

My family practice and pulmonolgy doctors both say doesnt matter 40 or 80% if it were them or family member theyd have removed. Surgeon was harder to get answer out of but said he'd want it out.

They said plan on 3 days in and it doubles if it is malignant .

Praying it isn't malignant what can I expect ? He said he'll order an epidural afterwards so i have pain relief, he wants me to be able to cough so I don't get pnuemonia. He said bleeding is minimal.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

[Dazy]

Hi there, WesternCarribean!

So sorry you find yourself in this position, however. How large is that nodule? Has it doubled? Did it light up on PET, or is there another reason why they aren't taking the "wait & see" path? Seems there must be a reason they are taking such an aggressive approach. Many of us with indeterminate nodules have to play "wait & watch" as opposed to having the li'l boogers removed. Personally, I'd love for them to be able to take a piece of my larger one - get some answers once, and for all!

That said...if YOU are uncomfortable with their decision pathways - ask questions, and get a second (or third) opinion, if need be.

Wishing you the very BEST outcome, whatever path you take, and a speedy recovery!!!

Yours in HOPE!

Stacey

[westerncarribean]

"Dazy"]Hi there, WesternCarribean!

So sorry you find yourself in this position, however. How large is that nodule? Has it doubled? Did it light up on PET, or is there another reason why they aren't taking the "wait & see" path? Seems there must be a reason they are taking such an aggressive approach. Many of us with indeterminate nodules have to play "wait & watch" as opposed to having the li'l boogers removed. Personally, I'd love for them to be able to take a piece of my larger one - get some answers once, and for all!

That said...if YOU are uncomfortable with their decision pathways - ask questions, and get a second (or third) opinion, if need be.

Wishing you the very BEST outcome, whatever path you take, and a speedy recovery!!!

Yours in HOPE!

Stacey

Said hard to get to and pet can't tell you conclusively that it isn't malignant

It is small 1.2 by 1.0

Thanks for any and all replies on what to expect

[Dazy]

Hi Again!

I wish I could be of more help, but since I haven't had surgery, I can't tell you what to expect. There will be those with experience along soon to help answer those concerns.

My nodules are peripheral, and also difficult to biopsy. My largest is just 1.1 X .8 cm. That is the reason they give for holding off - they say it is too risky if these ARE benign... Again, I'd personally rather have them out, and know for certain.

I am going for PET/CT tomorrow. I don't know if that is available to you, but my understanding is that PET/CT is FAR more accurate than even the plain PET of a couple of years ago. Maybe something to look into...?

Again, I wish you only the best outcomes, wherever this journey takes you. Please continue to visit...for answers, or just an understanding "ear" Hang in there!

~ Stacey

[Mendy]

I am sorry you are experiencing such uncertainty. Sounds like you surgeon will be using a minimally invasive approach. Surgeons in my experience are very precise and do not like to speculate. My husband was bronched 3 times during all the testing and surgery and only once did he have a sore throat. The epidural used after his thoracotomy to remove his left upper lobe took away most of his pain and the pain medication he had when he went home 3 days post surgery really helped him be able to sleep, take walks, and cough. His incision was under his left shoulder and is about 6 inches long. It healed very nicely in a few weeks. He actually had more pain from where the chest tubes were.

I wish you lots of luck and if it does turn out to be cancer a speedy recovery and no lymph node involvement.

Mendy

[chloesmom]

Hi there,

That sounds just about like the protocol I had. While I was under anesthesia, they did a bronchoscopy to check the airways for any tumors, took the tumor itself and then when the frozen section came back positive, they took the upper left lobe.

I had an epidural for pain (which took some adjustment once I woke up to be in less pain), and then a 3 night stay in the hospital. When I went home, I took tylenol with codeine for about 10 days and that was it....

My surgeon said 80% chance of malignancy, but either way it had to come out of there. You would not want to risk leaving a growing tumor in there and let it reach the point that it spread and you were no longer a candidate for curative surgery.

Looking back, I hate that it all had to happen, but I wouldn't have done anything any differently and could not have hoped for a better outcome.

Cindy

[Tami]

Hi..

Many of us have been through the same thing.. I think it's actually a good thing to have it out (if malignant, of course). I always welcomed any surgeryt hey would give me. I guess I just felt better knowing it was uot of there!

My surgeries were a bit complicated but I also had the bronch and a couple of thoracotomys.. and then a pnemonectomy. They will give you the epidual which will help with your pain. Yes, it still hurts but you will be able to move around a little and cough. which is what they want you to do so you don't get pneumonia. you will also no doubt have a drainage tube the first day. That will help so fluid doesn't accumulate in your lung. With every thoracotomy they left the drainage tube in for the first day and took it out the next day. After my first one I had terrible back pain etc. and I thought OMG I can't live like this for a few weeks till I'm healed I can barely take a breath! Well, no one told me that it was the drainage tube causing me the pain.. and once it was out I felt much, much better. So just be prepared.. I was in the hospital 2 nights each time and when I had my pneumonectomy I was in about 4 I think?? After the second one I was a little more prepared and was walking up and down the hall a little that evening after surgery. Just take it slow and do what you think you can do.. I used a pillow to hold on my incision when I moved around.

You'll have some good pain meds when you come home but I didn't need them after the first day or so. It is a miserable incision and surgery but you'll be fine with someone to help you around the house.

I (all of us) will be praying that there is no malignacy but if there is it is great that they are right there and can remove it.

Good luck and keep us posted.

Tami

[westerncarribean]

Thanks for all of the help, advice, and encouragement.

How healthy do I have to be to go thru what I am scheduled to go thru.

I woke up yesterday coughing up some pretty nasty stuff and don't want a delay. I have about 10 days until surgery.

If you have a little cold do they let you have the surgey or delay you? I'm hoping I'm better by then anyway but wondering. Wish I could turn the clock forward 10 days.

Thanks all TGIF

[Mendy]

I think that only your surgeon can give you an accurate answer on how healthy you have to be. You should have a Pulmonary function test prior to surgery to determine if and how much lung you can stand to lose. You will have bloodwork taken to make sure your levels are good. Your temperature will be taken before they take you to the o.r. My husband had an xray taken in the o.r. as well as another bronchoscopy before the thoracotomy so any infection should show itself.

If you are concerned the week before your surgery, call your surgeon for peace of mind.

HTH

Mendy

[Don M]

Hi: since your nodule is bigger than 1 cm, they are concerned that it may be malignant. I would want it out if it were I. I have had 2 thoracatomies. It is good that you are having the epidural, because it also helps reduce or eliminate any post op pain in the future. Just be sure to cough a lot and blow into the spirometer and get up and walk around as much as you can. When I went home I took pain pills for a week and then used ibuprofen. I could sleep in my bed, but had to stay off the sutures side. I went back to work in the office after 3 weeks. You will heal faster if you walk a lot during your recuperation too. Just don't overdo it.

I hope it is benign so that you can just forget about it and get on with your life. If it is malignant, you caught it very early and have an excellent chance for a cure.

Don M

[westerncarribean]

I have a week to go, will be a long wait. SO it took 3 weeks to go back to work How long did you have to have someone around after you got home 1 day or ? Want to be able to tell my spouse what to expect. Thanks

[Don M]

I was able to take care of myself when I left the hospital. My wife and I are legally separated and live in separate houses. However, I stayed at her house for 2 weeks and then went to my own house. I did not really need any attention while I was there. She went to work as usual and checked in on me when she got home. I live in the country and she lives in town. It seemed sensible to be closer to medical help in case something went wrong and I was able to suck up a lot of loving concern.

It has been almost 3 years since my original diagnosis. One good thing about it all is that my wife and I are much closer now, but we remain in separate residences.

Don M

[recce101]

I had a thoracoscopy and thoracotomy on Aug. 31, with a planned hospital stay of 5 days, and was able to come home a day early with no complications. Recovering from the surgery was much less painful than I'd been led to believe from my reading. In the hospital I had the epidural drip initially, but never used/needed the bolus button, so they took the tube out after a couple of days and just gave me oral pain medication when I asked for it, which was rarely. There was no pain except when moving or coughing -- the coughing pain was minimal and not a deterrent.

I was given a prescription for Percocet to use at home but didn't like the weird feelings that came with it, so switched to the standard dose of OTC ibuprofen after about 3 days. The aching of unused muscles actually caused me more discomfort than the incision until I worked out an arm/leg exercise routine that I could do flat on my back on the floor (in fact, that was the subject of my first post to the LCSC).

For sleeping or resting, I found a recliner chair with built-in footrest to be easier to get in and out of than a bed -- no twisting and rolling on the side required. Being an "old guy" needing 2 or 3 bathroom trips at night, this allowed me to make those journeys as needed without disturbing the wife.

If you make some advance preparations and have everything you will need accessible without much stooping or stretching, you can probably handle pretty much everything on your own. But having your spouse around for 2 or 3 days would be a big help, especially if you need to take special precautions on wound care when bathing/showering. Perhaps you can get your surgeon's wound care instructions in advance. Will there be a bandage, or just steri-strips? Will it be okay to get the area wet? Having this info now will help you plan, and every little bit helps. I also found it useful to have a little waterproof stool to sit on in the shower.

When you'll be able to go back to work of course depends on what sort of work you do. You'll probably have a weight limitation on lifting. Mine was 20 pounds for something like 2 or 3 weeks as I recall. My main problem before surgery was shortness of breath, and that (rather than the incision) continues to limit what I can do. The chemo seems to be helping in that regard. If shortness of breath is not a problem for you, recovery should be fairly rapid. If you can wear loose-fitting clothes at work, so much the better.

Hope this helps some. Good luck and aloha!

[ursol]

I'm just recovering from a Thoracotomy done on Oct. 2nd. It was a traditional thoracotomy, muscle sparring where the surgeon does not actually cut the muscles, only pushes them aside. I had the lower right lung lobe removed and numerous lymph nodes from my mediastinum. Anyhow, surgery started at 4:00 PM so I did not get in my recovery room until late so I was still out of it that night but by the next day I was up and walking. I had a pain buster attached to me that worked like an epidural I believe. It kept my entire right side numb.

I also received an injection for pain (non-narcotic)that also gave a numbing effect and Percocet every four hours. The doctors tried sending me home on Thursday (four days after). I stayed until Friday. Went home and then was back in ER the following Tuesday with a couple more days stay due to a fever and coughing. So I stayed a total of 7 days in the hospital.

As the others stated, walking is important. I have been able to sleep in my bed since I got home, but have needed my husband to help me to sit up from a lying down position. I have continued taking and still am taking Percocet for pain.

The incision itself does not cause me pain, the pain is coming from inside my chest. I have also been chronically coughing for a week and probably would no longer feel much pain if I were not coughing. The coughing is causing alot of internal strain. Today I was giving some meds to stop my post nasal drip...we now think it is allergies.

I cannot pick anything heavy up but I can pretty much take care of myself. The first few days at home, my husband stayed home from work to help me out.

anyhow, hopefully you will not need a full Thoracotomy. Good luck to you!! Wishing you the best.

[westerncarribean]

"westerncarribean"]I have to have bronchoscopy,thoracoscopy, and thoracotomy. They will be removing a single nodule from my lung. If malignant they will do lobectomy while i'm out. Because of position and the irregular edges they can't do less invasive procedures.

When i penned them down one radiologist says 40% chance for malignancy another that looked at it said 80%.

My family practice and pulmonolgy doctors both say doesnt matter 40 or 80% if it were them or family member theyd have removed. Surgeon was harder to get answer out of but said he'd want it out.

They said plan on 3 days in and it doubles if it is malignant .

Praying it isn't malignant what can I expect ? He said he'll order an epidural afterwards so i have pain relief, he wants me to be able to cough so I don't get pnuemonia. He said bleeding is minimal.

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks

I'm about 6 days from the above mentioned surgery and getting a little wheezy. I will call surgeon's nurse but went ahead and started taking over the counter Mucinex and the basic phlemgm loosening cough medicine. Do problems like this normally hold up surgery? I sure hope not, I'm also scared to say anything hoping it doesn't get worse and clears up

I have blood tests and a stress test thurs or fri.

Thanks

[carolhg]

I had that same surgery. I also was given an epidural before surgery. I was of the mindset that I wanted the tumor out and was just happy that my lymph nodes tested negative so that I could have the surgery. It is not fun. It IS a relief and it IS doable.

Prayers