Grammyof2
member
At least that's what my surgeon calls it--"resection arthroplasty with ligament reconstruction and tendon interposition (LRTI)." The original date was March 26, but we all know what intervened. My local medical center (Maine) is reopening for non-essential surgeries. This coming Monday (May 18) I'll have the prerequisite virus screening at their Express Care site.
I'm thrilled & scared. I'll be turning 73 this summer with arthritis everywhere but my earlobes. I've had two TKRs (2017 & 2018), so this isn't my first rodeo. But I'm apprehensive anyway.
I ignored the pain too long, I think. On X-ray, my right thumb joint's worse than the left, but surgeon was quick to ask which hurts more, so leftie's first in line. That's good because I'll soon get practice for the more challenging task of doing everything without much use of my dominant (right) hand. But not-so-good because the right hand's had two extra months to deteriorate! Now it hurts as much as the left did last winter.
I've been wearing one or another kind of splint since I saw an OT last fall for what we first thought was "just" carpal tunnel (confirmed by electromyelogram), but lack of progress had her tell me to ask my PCP for a hand surgeon referral. I've been wearing a spica splint since then to protect the area. The hand surgeon grimaced when I said, "my thumb joints are shot, aren't they?" and said, "You could say that."
Too much hitchhiking? (Maybe not. )
I couldn't resist doing yard work once spring started to arrive. Yard work as in shoveling dirt and moving dug-out grass clumps and rocks.... with some help from my husband (he's building a raised bed) and some from teenagers I keep hiring. I should have done zero. I know that. I tend to push myself past pain, and that's not necessarily a good quality. I'll have to be very gentle with my surgical hand.
Yesterday was my telephone intake with a nurse. Here are my notes, FWIW:
Hospital will call around 12:30 pm the day before surgery to say what time to arrive. Total time in hospital three to four hours: arrive 2 hours before surgery to get anesthesia going, surgery itself takes about an hour, recovery from anesthesia takes one or two hours.
She had an old medication list, so I corrected it.
I must try to get wedding ring off—if it’s not off and hand swells too much, surgeon might cut it off (ring, not hand ).
No food after midnight no matter when surgery is, but I can drink water until two hours before surgery: can take morning pills & black (no milk) tea.
I can wear my ComfortCool splints or not, as I prefer.
My husband can accompany me partway. He'll have to wait in the general (not surgical) waiting room. We must both wear our masks. She said which entrance to use. There are wheelchairs by the door. He can push me to what used to be the surgery entrance, where someone will take over.
Bring my Advance Directive!! She didn't know whether or not they have a copy on file.
Bring my CPAP just in case they decide they want to use it.
Bring my hearing aid charger—I need to wear them long enough so I can hear instructions clearly; they come out before surgery of course. They'd have used some other type of container, but I prefer my own.
I've gained weight, so getting my ring off was a real chore until I remembered that a jeweler once sprayed on Windex. I also chilled my hand a bit in cold water.
I've been reading up on the procedure. Watched one surgery video and one multi-part You Tube video by a woman about her own experiences before & after this procedure. I was delighted to learn that I'd misunderstood something my surgeon said about how the tendon is used and what happens to the part that remains intact. The actual facts are encouraging.
Dates have been set for my post-op OT and surgeon visits. Now I just need to sit back and relax... But I'm already practicing using just my right hand plus a few left-hand fingers for everyday tasks, and figuring out ways to keep my left hand elevated after surgery. Anyone have ideas for that?
I suspect I won't be able to use my handy-dandy new 4-wheel walker for at least several weeks... I need exercise! My newish knees are dandy, but spinal stenosis requires me to lean slightly forward. I'll manage. Somehow I always manage. This is surely unrelated to what I just wrote, but does anyone know if drinking winewill would make my hand swell within its cast?
I'm thrilled & scared. I'll be turning 73 this summer with arthritis everywhere but my earlobes. I've had two TKRs (2017 & 2018), so this isn't my first rodeo. But I'm apprehensive anyway.
I ignored the pain too long, I think. On X-ray, my right thumb joint's worse than the left, but surgeon was quick to ask which hurts more, so leftie's first in line. That's good because I'll soon get practice for the more challenging task of doing everything without much use of my dominant (right) hand. But not-so-good because the right hand's had two extra months to deteriorate! Now it hurts as much as the left did last winter.
I've been wearing one or another kind of splint since I saw an OT last fall for what we first thought was "just" carpal tunnel (confirmed by electromyelogram), but lack of progress had her tell me to ask my PCP for a hand surgeon referral. I've been wearing a spica splint since then to protect the area. The hand surgeon grimaced when I said, "my thumb joints are shot, aren't they?" and said, "You could say that."
Too much hitchhiking? (Maybe not. )
I couldn't resist doing yard work once spring started to arrive. Yard work as in shoveling dirt and moving dug-out grass clumps and rocks.... with some help from my husband (he's building a raised bed) and some from teenagers I keep hiring. I should have done zero. I know that. I tend to push myself past pain, and that's not necessarily a good quality. I'll have to be very gentle with my surgical hand.
Yesterday was my telephone intake with a nurse. Here are my notes, FWIW:
Hospital will call around 12:30 pm the day before surgery to say what time to arrive. Total time in hospital three to four hours: arrive 2 hours before surgery to get anesthesia going, surgery itself takes about an hour, recovery from anesthesia takes one or two hours.
She had an old medication list, so I corrected it.
I must try to get wedding ring off—if it’s not off and hand swells too much, surgeon might cut it off (ring, not hand ).
No food after midnight no matter when surgery is, but I can drink water until two hours before surgery: can take morning pills & black (no milk) tea.
I can wear my ComfortCool splints or not, as I prefer.
My husband can accompany me partway. He'll have to wait in the general (not surgical) waiting room. We must both wear our masks. She said which entrance to use. There are wheelchairs by the door. He can push me to what used to be the surgery entrance, where someone will take over.
Bring my Advance Directive!! She didn't know whether or not they have a copy on file.
Bring my CPAP just in case they decide they want to use it.
Bring my hearing aid charger—I need to wear them long enough so I can hear instructions clearly; they come out before surgery of course. They'd have used some other type of container, but I prefer my own.
I've gained weight, so getting my ring off was a real chore until I remembered that a jeweler once sprayed on Windex. I also chilled my hand a bit in cold water.
I've been reading up on the procedure. Watched one surgery video and one multi-part You Tube video by a woman about her own experiences before & after this procedure. I was delighted to learn that I'd misunderstood something my surgeon said about how the tendon is used and what happens to the part that remains intact. The actual facts are encouraging.
Dates have been set for my post-op OT and surgeon visits. Now I just need to sit back and relax... But I'm already practicing using just my right hand plus a few left-hand fingers for everyday tasks, and figuring out ways to keep my left hand elevated after surgery. Anyone have ideas for that?
I suspect I won't be able to use my handy-dandy new 4-wheel walker for at least several weeks... I need exercise! My newish knees are dandy, but spinal stenosis requires me to lean slightly forward. I'll manage. Somehow I always manage. This is surely unrelated to what I just wrote, but does anyone know if drinking wine
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