Scar Tissue Removed

[LBUSH49]

I went into the hospital for a Bladder Bypass I was on the operating table for 8 1/2 hours 3 1/2 hours were spent cutting away scar tissue my Urologist told me if he didn't get it the soon it would of killed a Kidney ,now in the past I've been getting pain down my backright around my Kidney area and right now I'm using Lidoderm patches one on both sides , now I'm hoping that the removal of all that scar tissue will take away all that pain and with the Bladder by pass will help me get a better qua;ity of life with less pain and maybe even stop taking some of my medications , right now I'm taking 16 and I know of 2 I will be stopping by having that Bladder Bypass , also spent the night in the recovery room because my heart rate went sky high but then after 2 days in my room , my left leg the one I shot a blood clot swelled way up so the did a ultra sound in my room , it was normal then the next day they had me go for X-RAYS then 2 DR.'s came up and said I had a lot of fluid so they drained it , they got a clear fluid then pieces of cartilage and blood about 50-60 ml my Primary DR. thinks I should have a knee replacement , the DR. who did the reconstructive surgery said I was to young (49 , 50 in July ) my opinion is that if you need something to give you a beeter quality of life have it done , that's why I had this Bladder bypass then two DR.'s came in one only takes specialty patients shoulder replacement , hip replacement , knee replacement , and sports injury , his opinion was the same if it gives you a better and less pain then have it done , this hospital is in the top 10 it's the Lahey Clinic Hospital in Burlington MA. so next week I'm going to see my primary DR. and talk it over and maybe late fall look into it but he still wants to see me in 2 weeks for more X-RAYS , he may even change his mind , but I'm going in this with a open mind . But having this Bladder bypass I already know it's going to help me out a lot , I'm just nervous because of what one of the DR.'s who did a back operation said it grows back and alot more of it and was wondering if this is true or not?:confused:

[queen]

LB...I think some people are just more prone to develop scar tissue than others. I'm one who thankfully does not.

My gf had two C sections and scar tissue out the whazzzooo! Years later, she had to have bladder surgery, they put it in a hammock/sling" ....hah!! Her surgeon is also my doc and she removed tons of internal/external scar tissue and a minor tummy tuck while she was in there too. Her tummy is now flat and that ugly 4 inch incision line she had across her belly is now just a thin line. For what it's worth!!!

[LBUSH49]

My Pharmasist was telling me this school teacher friend of his ha 4 back operations and due to all her pain she could no longer work , she went to a hospital in Baltimore MD. they removed 18 lbs. of scar tissue and when she returned home in a months time she was back to teaching and pain free , I hoping that this will relieve me of my back pain and I can cut back on medication , that's one goal and to lead a better quality of life watching my grandson grow up without being depressed all the time

[firesmurf]

yea unfortunetly it is really hard to say who will and who wont actually get that crappy tissue formation.i seem to also be a really great generator of it too.one of my real big fears before my spinal cord surgery was going to be done was that I would end up with scar tissue just a growin inside my cord after a few months went by since i had created tons just in the 9 months between my two herniated disc surgeries.but so far so good inside there,and thats a great big WHEW!

I am glad you are feeling better LB,really,at least something appears to be going your way,and thats always a big huge plus for any of us,lol.

I had alot of scar tisse and still do since those two seperate knee surgeries I had at the end of march and then in the beginning of april?one particular bad area was this are of about the size of a wide credit card sized area that is in the L part of my incision?It had been very thick,hard and kinda raised up and I had asked my ortho if uit was okay to try and massage it to see if i could break it up some since it was right at the very back behind my knee right in the flippin bend.it would have eventaully impeded my ability to even bend the knee anymore.so I have been doing this every day off and on,just massageing very hard around that area,and believe it or not,that whole area now is really soft and pliable now.i just keep doing that.

i know it is not actually physically possible really for you to touch the area that you had surgery on but if you actually speak with a PT person or maybe even your sugeon,there may be some sort of actual excercises that you could do that would at least cause some sort of actual manipulation of that particular area somehow,do you know what I mean/maybe like sit ups or something you could maybe even do from the outside may actually affect it somehow.I would at least ask,anyway,what have you got to lose at this point?i really wish I had done this with both my c spine surgeries as now I can just feel these big globs of scar tissue formation all over the R side and front of my neck,eww.

scar tissue just always comes along for the ride when you have any surgery.even a surgery to actually remove the sar tissue,how ironic.

LB you mentioned that your heart rate went sky high,just how have your BPs been?any raises in those?the kidneys and the BP have such a huge connection to each other,thats the one big thing I have to watch with regard to my PKD and now of course the aneurysm thing.but mine have been almost hypotensive since my SNS was damaged(and even somewhat before that too) during my spinal cord surgery so i seem to be okay there.the low BPs really kind of freak me out in that somehow,despite them,i still managed to actually develop a brain aneurysm??go figure.

just curious about how good your muscle tone is within the knee and leg of the one you are contemplating getting replaced?i am only asking as my dad has had both knees replaced,done at seperate times.but despite the fact that OA was just totally devistating his knees severely,he would go to the Y every single day and do those bicycle excercises in the hot tub?just to keep things in shape,wow what a total difference he had with his recovery as opposed to the other "knee guys' that were on the same floor as my dad.he was actually able to get out of the hospital a full week early because he didn't have to completely start over regaining the muscle that would have been completely lost if he had not actually kept that tone up doing those excercises underwater for all those months prior.

there was no way he could have actually took the pain of doing the excercises out of the hot water but that hot tub made all the difference in the world in his overall recovery and just getting back to 'normal" just a thought for you.

i know when the knee replacement surgeries first started as this new thing,they really really would not even consider anyone who wasn't much much much older than yourself for one as the parts they used at that time really were only "good' for like around ten?years I think?but they have made alot of improvements and changes in how the replacements are done using much better quality instrumentation,so I think they are changing that 'ya gotta be older than dirt' type of guideline somewhat.My dad had his first knee replaced in 97 and the other was99 and he is still going out dancing and doing stuff with them,his only problem now is that because of the OA he has in his ankles,they are starting to really really become a major issue,but his knees are still doing great themselves.and he is a pretty active guy.

I don't know LB,but honestly I would speak with both surgeons (or docs?)the one that told you you shouldn't and the one who told you you should,and see what they have to say about this.this way you kind of get both sides of the issue.were these both orthos or just regular docs who told you about doing vs not doing it?If they weren't,find a good ortho guy who specializes in knees and does the replacement surgery(quite honestly,if you actually know people who have had this done,ask them about their surgeons,this really is the best way to find a good surgeon) and just have a consult with him or her and see what your options are at this point.it wont hurt to at least look into it a possibile option for you ya know?

I hope things continue on the upswing LB,you definitely deserve some peace in your life,at least before the knee surgery,lol.good luck,Marcia

[LBUSH49]

Thanks Marcia , right now I can't climb stairs due to my knees , and that really bothers me , In my bedroom I have a select comfort bed $2000.00 and the bathtub has 8 jets that would really help out my knees . The DR. who did the reconstructive knee surgery says I should go up one step at a time on my butt and come down the same way , some responce huh , but I can't walk long distances , which hurts me and my dog , I'd love to take him for walks in the evening , but then I pay for it for 2 days after , right now they have to drain it 3or 4 times a year and give me shots to numb it and they keep getting cartilage out when they drain it , so my knee is like mush , the knee cap just floats around with no support , and living in New Hampshire with the weather always changing it really bothers me , and if I sit on the floor to play with my grandson it takes me 5 minutes to get up with alot of crunching and grinding , and I take Oxycontin 20 MG 3 x's Percocet 2 every 4 hours for my back Valium 10 MG 3 X's to help calm me down , and to still be in pain for my knees , I should be feeling no pain this last operation for my Bladder was my 23rd operation since I got hurt in may 1985 that's 22 to manyand to still be having problems with my knees my leftt being worse than my right ,I remember when the did the reconstructive surgery on my left leg , they put it in a air cast for 1 week and when they took off the Air cast my leg was full of blisters , the DR. said in his whole career he never saw anything like that I still have all the scars and the following year whaen they did the other leg the same thing happened , like I told the DR. if it wasn't for bad luck I wouldn't have any luck at all . I am just sick of being in pain all the time a person can only take so much , my last DR. visit with the DR. who did the reconstuctive surgery sent me to P.T. told me there was nothing else he could do for me , so he's telling me to live with the pain and almost half of my life has been in pain , I can't take much more of the pain I've tried and tried , so I'll see what my primary Dr. says next week and go from there LBUSH

[firesmurf]

Geez LB,and i thought MY knees were bad,owie.If this is THAT badmthen by all means,push your doc for a referral to a good knee guy like i mentioned before.when there IS such a great option for you to actually be able to really benefit from,well,it shouldn't even be an issue for any of your docs about the flippin age thing.it sounds like things in your knee are indeed bad enough to qualify for it and justifying it wouldn't be a problem at all.when you are in that much pain and your quality of life is as bad as you stated,this should be pretty much a no brainer for any ortho doc,ya know?

when PT tells you there is nothing they can do,you have no more sugical options to really help you and you are told basically to just live with it,well whats the next step here?age shpuld not even be an issue in a situation like yours.

i DO know what you mean about the walks tho.man I would love to be able to go for those long walks in the woods I used to take back when life was still a life.I miss those alot mostly because it really did help when I was feeling rather overwhelmed by life and feeling depressed.If I were you,I would go for it and find a good ortho who is actually willing to help you obtain a much better,and pain free(at least in the knee area anyway)quality of life.really.at least this IS a very good option for you.I say go for it LB!Start asking around for anyone who has a good ortho,the good ones aways get talked about somewhere.or at the very least,ask your doc for that referral.good luck with this,Marcia

[LBUSH49]

Thanks Marcia , I'm 49 years old and the last 21 years have been living in pain , one can only take so much pain , and living in New Hampshire with the weather always changing doesn't help me either ,but I know my primary DR will give me the referral , he is the one giving me the shots 3 X's a year and he sees how swollen it always is , and he was the one who said for me to find a DR . to help me out so I see him next week , I already talked to hisnurse and she thought it was great I see the DR. who did my reconstructive operation too so I can have him send my records to this new DR. and now I'll put it in gods hands and pray he'll do the right thing , if the new DR. says no then I'll live with it and be stuck in the house all the time , but 49 is to young to live like that. LBUSH

[firesmurf]

sounds great LB,but do not take no for an answer unless you have really thoroughly explored this by obtaining a couple of totally seperate opinions.you should not have to just sit in the house and be forced to just 'live with it' when there ARE options that can totally improve the quality of your life.if the only thing standing between you and the knee replacement comes down to age and it is not being denied to you because of certain medical problems,well,i would push this as far as possible.age is no excuse to deny anyone a better life.good luck LB.Marcia

[LBUSH49]

Today I went to a second DR. for his opinion he was the one who did the reconstuctive knee surgery he looked at the X-RAys FROM THE DR. who said I needed the knee replacement , he was saying I could loose my leg , I never have heard of that before so he said for me to go see another DR. and get a third opinion , my wife knows this DR. and said that he is the best one in town so I'll go with what ever he says , all I know is they drain it 3-4 times a year and I get 4-5 cortizone shots a year also in my left leg and 2-3 in my right leg, a person shouldn't have to live in pain if something can be done about it , I'm trying to get off some of the pain medication right now I take 90 oxycontin a month and 100 percocet a month and I'm sure I could cut way down if they would just fix my knees . We ended up having to sell our house and move so I could use my $2000.00 bed instead of a twin bed without having to climb stairs.

[firesmurf]

wow,now thats a biggie.did he happen to actually explain just WHY you could actually lose the leg?thats kind of a huge thing to tell a patient and not explain(if he did not do that for you).did this doc have any actual thoughts about the possible knee replacement option or did he say nothing but to see that other doc?i will be keeping the old fingers crossed(and anything else i can possibly manage to cross)for you that this doc will tell you he can do the replacement for you.just hang in there LB,hopefully this next doc will give you some GOOD news for once.i do feel for ya LB,Marcia

[LBUSH49]

ya he did say thatthis other DR. would probably do it , just for the money which I don't agree with , then it wouldd be 2 DR.'s to 1 ,but my wife said that the R.I'm going to go to is the best around and that's why I have to wait a month to get the appointment , But I don't think any DR. would do it if there was a risk like that ,everytime I bend my knees you can hear the bone crunching and it is very painful just walking that's why I don't go out much.

[queen]

Please let us know what your Doc #3 says. And, if he agrees there is a possibliity you might lose the leg...share with us how/why that might
happen. Fingers crossed here too, Larry! Q