Terrified - "Exploratory Sugery" tomorrow

[Fed]

Am I the only person who didnt get there inscision right at the belt line??

Same here. My I/O incision is about 2 inches below the belly button. My belt line is right in between the belly button and the I/O incision. I do agree with dadmo; I only wore sweatpants for about a week after surgery.

[Scott]

Am I the only person who didnt get there inscision right at the belt line??

Nope, my incision is much lower down than that, too. Coming up on four years from when it was made, I can just barely see it!

[Russell's Mom]

Russell's scar

Russell's scar is lower abdomen, right side, closer to his leg than the belt line. We watched fun movies! His friends took him out for coffee. The turn around time was pretty fast! Make sure to take time with the progress that you are making! Take care, Russell's mom, Sharon

[GAH]

Am I the only person who didnt get there inscision right at the belt line??

I'd have to wear my pants pretty low for it to be at the belt line. He actually cut where I had a hernia scar from when I was five. It's about 3cm above the genitals.
________
Toyota iQ

[GAH]

Shawn, I'm in North Texas, just west of DFW. I had my stuff done at Baylor in Grapevine. If there's anything I can do or you want to chat on the phone, let me know.

Did they have you do an abdominal CT before surgery?

As others have said, this is the scary time. 1cm is small, and that's sometimes a good sign. I waited a few months too and my tumor was 3cm. I had normal tumor markers and nothing on the CTs. That was 19 months ago. I still have had nothing show on any of those tests.

A jock strap was very helpful for me. Keeping that supported ultimately makes it more comfortable. Follow their directions closely.

Glenn
________
vapir oxygen vaporizer

[dadmo]

Where did they cut you?

[Michael112]

Make sure you have sweat pants because the cut will be rignt at the belt line.

Am I the only person who didnt get there inscision right at the belt line??




ShawninTX, you should take it very easy for the next 2 weeks, and eat plenty of food for recovery.

[Fed]

I feel so much better about getting past the surgery, only to now find myself a complete wreck counting down the days to the pathology report.

This is, by far, the worst part... waiting for the path report. Nonetheless, it's out of your hands right now, and you won't be able to move to the next phase until that is released. That, together with your bloodwork and radiology, will determine what are the next steps.

In the meantime, focus on recovering from the surgery. Get some rest, and don't do any heavy lifting. Physically, you'll be feeling better each day, and you should wean yourself off the pain meds (they make the constipation worse). Hang tough dude. We're here for you.

Best,

[ShawninTX]

I am resting and recovering right now. Today hasn't been bad at all from a pain perspective. This jock strap device they put on me is not comfortable. The doctor told me to keep in on until tomorrow. To be honest, i am scared to take it off and see the results. That is going to be tough to get used to.

Scott, yes, they did draw blood for tumor markers just before I went into surgery. I don't have the results of those tests and will likely get them when I go to hear the pathology report from my Urologist on Tuesday.

I feel so much better about getting past the surgery, only to now find myself a complete wreck counting down the days to the pathology report. This is all like a bad dream I can't wake up from...... Thankfully, this message board has been unbelievable in getting through this process so far. I can't thank you all enough.

Shawn

[Scott]

Shawn, I hope you're resting and recovering. You should also have had blood drawn to check for tumor markers. Was that done, and do you have the results?

[dadmo]

You will find that the waiting is the worst part. If you need to ice the incision a bag of frozen peas works great.

[ShawninTX]

Surgery went well yesterday although they did take the testicle out as we believed they would. The Urologist said the mass was completely inside the testicle and he said he decided to not cut into it to take a look. It was about 1cm in size and felt that it was probably cancer so he took it out. We have to wait a week to know for sure. He did say that 1cm was somewhat small as he has typically seen them at 4-5 cm in size.

I really don't have any pain today and it was mild yesterday. Trying to stay ahead of it though so it doesn't turn bad. I am just so releived the surgery is over and it is out of me. Now the waiting game.......

Just wanted to thank you all for all of the encouragement and support through this mess. I really can't thank you all enough and will let you know what we find from the report next week.

Thanks,
Shawn

[dadmo]

When the urologist removes the testicle he will have a really good idea if it's cancer or not. On his paperwork there will be an evaluation of what he found and from that you may get an idea about the staging but you really need x-rays, ct scans and bloodwork to get a true picture.

[ShawninTX]

I have to say I am amazed at the support and information you all have already provided (glad you all told me about where the incinsion would be - otherwise I probably would have spoken up when they were in the wrong area!).

Did any of you hear results from the urologist when they came in after the surgery or do you always hear once the pathology report comes in (a week or so later)?

My biggest fear is that it has spread all over my body due to the 1.5-2 months it has been since I first felt discomfort. My mind is just going crazy right now and I am a basket case. Any ideas on things that worked the night before surgery to get it out of your head ?

Thank you for taking the time to post your experience's and what I should expect. My wife and mother will be with me tomorrow and we will bring pen and paper for sure. I will also bring loose fitting pants to come home with. Talk to you soon - Michael, I don't know what that nerve is you spoke about, but I will absolutely make sure to mention something to him - it sounds important .

Thanks,
Shawn

[dadmo]

Sharon is right on the mark. Bring a pencil and paper, these meetings can make your head spin and don't be afarid to ask the doctor to explain every detail.