Finally a post to fill all you concerned folks in on my surgery. I had my stapedotomy (slightly different from a stapedectomy in that the dec version is done on folks with stapes, which are the smallest bones in the human body, but since I was weirdly born with no stapes, I was given the do version ) on Tuesday, the 27th April, rather late in the day.
The doctor originally said it would take about 45 minutes but she later said it turned out to be more difficult that they'd thought so they took a little over 2 hours. It was done under local anaesthesia but possibly because they said I'd have to keep my head in the same position for 12 hours after surgery to help keep the piston in place, nurses gave me sedative shots on both hips before the surgery. That made me very sleepy but the docs kept asking if I was alright etc etc. Towards the end, the questions came so often I couldn't sleep and though I couldn't actually feel the pain of the whole microscoping thing that was going on, my earlobe ached badly from the pulling/holding in place and I fervently wished it was all over. While I had been terribly apprehensive about the whole not moving my head for 12 hours thing, it was about 6 in the evening when I was wheeled back to my room and with one thing after another, it was night time anyway and I slept like a baby through the crucial hours.
According to my discharge summary, I had a single fixed crura with a thickened footplate. 3/4 of the posterior of the footplate was removed and a 3.5 x 0.6 mm Teflon prosthesis inserted. A week later, the padding inserted in my ear was removed and I could hear normally. Everything was overloud though. Also the removal of the bit of bone makes things echo a lot but the doctor said it will soon go away.
What I feel is like I'm wearing a hearing aid which amplifies every sound like crazy but I'm told I just need to adjust gradually. About 20 days after the surgery, I'm still taking it easy at home and going around with cottonwool stuffed in my ear to minimise the impact of loud noises. Things still sound very distorted and I feel disoriented and sometimes unable to tell which direction a sound is from. I think someone's talking on my right but when I look, they're on my left. And this morning, as it was raining with thunder rumbling in the sky, I asked if it was thunder or the sound of a vehicle outside the house. Little problems like that. Very confusing. But I also know it's getting better because 3/4 days after the surgery, I couldn't stand the hiss of the pressure cooker and had to escape from the kitchen. Now it doesn't hurt my ear so much anymore. Also I've been reading up a lot on online forums about the problems and what have yous of other stap patients and what I'm going through seems to be quite normal. It's just going to take a while for my ear to heal completely. I'm just so thankful it's been a successful surgery.
Finally, here's a video of a stap operation for the more curious. Very minute surgery as you can see, and only performed by the most experienced and skilled surgeons.
welcome back, and 'getting better' is always a good direction, ey?
ReplyDeleteYep, fed, that it do, thanks.
ReplyDeleteIt's good to "hear" that everything went well. Now you can catch those students who are whispering behind your back, and shout and scream at them too.
ReplyDelete"Enge ri chu" (hawi kual vak vak..) "Chu a ri leh tawh ania" (midangin an hre ve thei silo)
ReplyDelete"In hre ve thei lo maw?" "awhh kha tunge vawih.. ka hre chiang ltk.. a thaw sep mai" (inleng a nei tlem tial tial....)
lol, Mos-a. wasn't me.
ReplyDeletewelcome back, j. good to have you back.
LOL mosifer, good idea that, inleng te vawih ka chang ran tawh ang.
ReplyDeleteThanks plats, good to be back.
Yeah ambs, I never could properly hear student-talk before which was sometimes frustrating but probably often a blessing as well! The audiologist said that while normal hearing ranges from 10 to 20 decibels, my right ear was 55 dbs and the left somewhere in the 30s. Can hardly wait to have a test once my ear is healed.
Beng nei chua hre rawh se! tih vak a va chakawm ve:)
ReplyDeletei video post ang hi ka en duh miah lo, hmana ka in zai dawn pawh khan youtube velah thianten an zawng laih laih a ka en ve duh miah lo, achhan pawh a nihna zawng zawng hriat chuan min zai hunah khan chu mi zawh ah chuan chu chu an ti leh anga tih vel ka ngaihtuah duh lo vang a ni ta deuh berin ka hria. Tha takin an zai sak thei che a lawmawm hle mai. Dam tha zel ang che.
Hehe a bengvarthlak alom le, azassk. Kei chu hetiang teh dapin youtube-ah a awm ang tih ngaihna pawh ka lo hre lo a. Zai hma khan a text zawng chauh khan ka lo zawng a, lo haw leh hnu ah hei hi ka hmu chauh. Ka lo mitthla dan nen a in ang lo rap zui. Beng pawn angin hul deuhin plastic thil hi an dah pir vauh turah ka lo ngai a, a lo ni lo nasa sia lol. Leh mi thenkhat hian engtinnge beng chhung hi an zai le min ti sek a, ka hre bik si lo a, video a han en hian microscope velin an tih dan a hriat ta deuh e te ka lo tia..
ReplyDeleteGlad to know the operation was a success... When I first came to this blogging world I committed a gross breach of netiquette by following you without informing you, and I have been scared ever since to comment here.. But then, I thought it was more impolite to hide and so here I am with an olive branch (so to speak) saying I like your writing, andddd.. yup, that I'm following you :D
ReplyDeleteLOL ku2, I gotta admit that while I've always been fussier than most about little things like that, I was pretty volatile earlier this year when I wrote that blurb :p . Thanks for the olive branch. And I very def like your writing too. Honoured to have you follow me :)
ReplyDeleteglad to hear the operation was successful and you are recovering. i also have heard tht sounds seem more prominent just after an operation or when using a new ear device so lets hope things are back to normal pretty soon..
ReplyDeleteThanks, Gauri. I'm discovering that the human ear is a very,very complex thing with a will of its own!
ReplyDelete