Thanks Movie and thankscience! Overall I’m pretty happy going to Dr Downey to get my nails out and I’m recovering way faster than after the initial surgery. Here is a recount of the first few days after surgery:
Nail Removal Surgery Day (
16.5 months after initial surgery)
By the morning of surgery I had been fasting for more than 12 hours so I was hungry and thirsty but had too much on my mind to care at all. I got dressed and grabbed all my signed paperwork, then took an Uber to the hospital. There was some rush hour traffic so I barely made it on time, but the hospital wasn’t busy so I got checked in quickly.
At reception no English speakers were available but I told them in Spanish that I was scheduled for surgery today with Dr. Downey and then they immediately knew who I was. A staff member led me upstairs to my room so I could drop off my things and wait. I was on my phone for a good hour or so before an orderly came in and told me to change into a hospital gown, then he wheeled me all across the hospital to the OR on a different floor. I saw Dr Downey and the anesthesiologist as well as other surgical staff and they installed an IV port on my hand for injections. I remembered feeling very cold and shivering as I scooted from my hospital bed to the OR table. Then the last thing I remembered was a brief conversation with Dr. Downey about which sites I visited in the city while the anesthesiologist put a sedative into the newly installed IV line.
I woke up in the recovery room feeling a bit groggy and tired enough to doze off if I closed my eyes. I felt like I had dreamed of someone working on my legs while I was out but I couldn’t exactly remember any details. I quickly reached down to check for a dreaded catheter and was relieved that I didn’t find one, however I did notice that my genitalia was 100% numb! My entire lower body was mostly numb as well so I figured I must have gotten spinal anesthesia. I tried to lift my body so I could check my back but didn’t have the strength to. The nurse must have noticed that I had awakened and told me that I had to stay in the recovery room a bit longer before returning to my hospital room. I was so groggy that I don’t remember if she said it in English or Spanish but either way I understood her meaning. I drifted in and out of consciousness for a bit.
Dr Downey stopped by as well at some point and told me overall the surgery went very well. I did have pretty strong bone growth covering the head of the screws so it took slightly longer to remove everything than expected. He also had to open my prior incisions more than their original size to chip away the excess bone. Everything was taken out except one piece of a bent screw. I’m not too concerned about half a screw in my bone since the lysis causing part of the nail is out and he told me that half a titanium screw won’t mess with any MRIs or metal detectors for me in the future. After the doctor left I passed out again until the orderly came by and wheeled me back to my hospital room.
Back in the room I was surprised that I was not hooked up to any sensors and the main IV fluid bag that was empty was removed. I did still have a bottle of something attached to my IV line, but the label was in Spanish so I’m not sure what was in it (antibiotics, antiinflamatories, painkillers?) The orderly just handed me my phone and said I could use it to call my familia (yeah right lol). He then asked if everything was okay and I said yes, so he left. Later on, some nurses stopped by to re-bandage my IV insertion point and make it more comfortable. They asked if I was in any pain. I must have been getting some kind of pain medication in my IV already because I wasn’t really feeling any. They said that I could eat in about two hours and to call them if I needed anything before then and then they left.
Later on, Dr Downey stopped by again before leaving the hospital for the day. He told me that I could move my legs freely and that I could sit up if I wanted to. I asked him about the lower body numbness but didn’t specify the part I was most concerned about (you know what) but he said it would take several hours before I had full sensation in my legs, and if my legs started hurting to call the nurses for extra pain medication. After he left it was quiet for a while. I tried to doze off, but it was the middle of the day so I wasn’t sleepy at all once the sedative wore off.
The internet at the hospital was pretty fast. I decided to browse the web on my phone for a bit. Boy was that a bad idea. Since my entire manhood was still numb, I stumbled upon this website (
https://www.steadyhealth.com/topics/numbness-is-penis-lack-of-erection-difficult-ejaculation-after-hip-surgery) talking about people whose penises lost sensation after hip or femur surgery. For most people it took a few weeks to recover, and for some people three months or longer! There were quite a few data points too. One person even permanently couldn’t get erections anymore after his orthopedic surgery. It seemed like the consensus was that their pudendal nerve was injured or compressed during the surgery and they would potentially need further surgery to fix the issue. Now reading that as a normal guy I would not have cared, but reading that as a guy with a 100% numb penis post-orthopedic surgery I was panicking. Maybe my pudendal nerve was damaged too? I was freaking out thinking about what I would do if I couldn’t use my dck for three whole months or if it became permanently numb!
Fortunately, my full penile numbness only lasted about 3 hours. By that point it was only about 50% numb and I started having the urge to pee as well. It seemed like the numbness would go away by the end of the day so I stopped worrying about it. Seriously though, it’s freaky having no sensation in the genitalia at all. If you don’t touch it, it doesn’t even feel like it exists! Anyway, I called a nurse over to help me pee and she said I wasn’t allowed to stand up yet and got me a bed urinal. I tried peeing for about 15 minutes but couldn’t get anything out.
Then, seeing as I was awake, an orderly stopped by with some food. I was famished since I hadn’t had any food for almost 24 hours. The nurse said I had to drink water first. The food provided was crackers, yogurt and some soft fruits. It wasn’t quite a meal but I didn’t want to stuff myself either if I wasn’t going to be able to stand up and use the bathroom. Overall, I didn’t feel bad at all in terms of nausea and appetite. Unlike the initial surgery, I didn’t get a big dose of general anesthesia making me feel sick afterwards. I guess it’s really true that taking the nails out is way easier than putting them in. After all, in the US this would be done as an outpatient procedure and you wouldn’t be staying in a hospital at all.
After eating, I tried to pee again and this time I got a left drops out. It wasn’t enough though and I was still feeling the urge to go without actually being able to go. It took another hour or so before I could finally empty my bladder. One thing I noticed that was different from the US was that the nurses don’t seem to check on you frequently here, or maybe my surgery was not intense enough to warrant the frequent nurse check-in. They would come quickly if I buzzed the help button though, so it wasn’t like I was being neglected. Only one of them spoke English though, but we got by with my rudimentary Spanish and some translation software.
At this point my legs kind of felt like they did after the first surgery, very heavy and stiff. I didn’t have much flexibility (though that might be from how they tightly bandaged my knee) or even the power to raise my legs much. Around 8pm they served me dinner with a chicken dish, some bread and soup, and a dessert. I ate it pretty quickly and didn’t think it would be enough, but ended up feeling full 15 minutes later. I guess my appetite was still partially suppressed by the surgery.
For the rest of the evening I just watched TV while laying on my back with a slightly elevated bed. I’m paranoid about DVT/PE as always, especially since I didn’t think I had a blood thinner so I did some weak leg lifts every so often to keep my blood circulating. My lower body numbness eventually went away 100% by late evening. I had some lingering persistent pain on my right side upper femur incision, and not on any of the other incisions. It was maybe a 2-3/10 level constant pain, but not enough for me to ask for any more painkillers than I was already getting. Later at night the nurses came by with a Valium pill to help me sleep. I popped it right away but couldn’t fall asleep. I’m sure I was still being affected by jet lag too. I eventually dozed off in the middle of the night.
Surgery Day +1I had some weird dreams and woke up a few times throughout the night. After the third time I woke up it was dawn so I decided to just stay up. My legs were a bit stiff but surprisingly pretty much pain free. The IV on my hand was very annoying but I expected it to get taken out when I got discharged later in the day. I was checking my phone when the nurses came in with two breakfasts and set them on the table across the room. I told them that I couldn’t walk yet until the PT came by and they just said okay and left. While I was pondering how I was going to reach my food, they came back to wash me in bed, which was an awkward experience but necessary as I wasn’t exactly clean after using the bedpan so many times and I also still had crusted dry blood on my skin from surgery. While they were changing my bedsheets I had to turn and lay on each side briefly with some help from one of the nurses but it definitely hurt to put weight on my incisions. After that they set up a table over my bed and brought one of the breakfast trays over for me to eat. Unfortunately it did not taste very good so I didn’t bother with the second one. Aside from that the only other person who stopped by in the morning was a cleaning lady who mopped the floors and removed the food trays.
In the early afternoon I stayed in bed and watched some more TV while trying to nap a bit between episodes. My legs definitely felt much stronger than yesterday and I could bend my knees a bit more, even with the bandages, and could also lift my legs higher than the day before. Eventually I heard a knock on the door and Dr. Downey and a member of his PT staff showed up. Dr. Downey checked my incisions which had minimal bleeding, then left to write me some prescriptions and the discharge paperwork while I was doing PT. Apparently I was also supposed to get shot of blood thinner earlier but didn’t.
Now it was just the PT and me in my hospital room. First, she manipulated my legs while I was laying down to check my range of motion. Since things looked okay, we proceeded with the rest of the PT session. We did some sit-to-stand exercises, and once I was comfortable standing then we walked around in the room. I was surprised how easy things were compared to after the initial surgery. I guess having intact bones helps. After that I did some glute exercises and did a second lap walking around the room. Finally, we did some hip exercises and then a final lap walking around the room. After that she had me sit down on the bed with my legs dangling over the edge and she worked on my legs a bit more. After that she gave me a few more pointers and then left.
Dr. Downey came back and handed me some prescriptions to fill after I got discharged. He answered a few more questions that I had about weight bearing and recovery, and fortunately it sounded like it would only take about 2-3 months for me to fully recover. I would have to find a local orthopedic surgeon to get follow-up X-rays and certification for sports though. Then he said I could be discharged at 3pm if I felt like it. After he left, the nurse stopped by with my blood thinner shot and injected it straight into my stomach. There was no bleeding from the shot but the injection site hurt a bunch for about 15 minutes. As soon as the previous nurse left a staff member came by with my lunch. After eating lunch I had about an hour before discharge so I continued to watch TV and bide m my time. This time I was sitting up instead of laying down though.
Finally it was time to get discharged. I buzzed the nurses and they came to my room, bringing an afternoon snack while they were at it. They told me that they were still trying to get in contact with Dr Downey to see if I needed to bring my IV drip with me. I felt like it probably wasn’t doing anything at this point and the IV port was quite uncomfortable so I was hoping they could just take it off. The nurse who spoke English told me to wait one more hour and then she would let me know. The nurses then left me alone. Everything kind of worked out because during this hour I had severe stomach pain; much worse than anything I was feeling in my legs. Maybe it was the hospital food, but regardless of what I kept having to go #2. The first time failed and I couldn’t get anything out and because I had been sitting for so long I got super dizzy and nauseated when I stood up and nearly threw up into the toilet. The second time my stomach pain flared up I tried again and succeeded. Everything came out all at once in nearly pure liquid form.
After that I felt better about leaving the hospital. I started packing my things and the nurse came by with my discharge documentation and pointed out where the pharmacy was. Right when I finished packing my stomach started hurting and I desperately needed to go #2 yet again. This time it was pure liquid. I figured I should leave asap so I could get to the hotel in case I needed to use the restroom again. I left the hospital with my cane (so glad that I brought it) and walked to the pharmacy, which was only 30 meters away. On top of the painkillers and omeprazole that Dr. Downey prescribed, I also asked for something for the diarrhea.
After leaving the pharmacy I called an Uber but it was over 20 minutes away so I thought I’d just walk the three blocks to the hotel. I made it about 30m before my legs were exhausted and had to rush back into the hospital lobby so I could sit down and call another Uber. Even sitting down was tiring. By the time I took the short ride and walked from the car to my hotel room I was panting and nauseated and felt like I was about to collapse. I rushed into the bathroom and splashed some cold water on my face which made me feel better. I then immediately lay down in bed and checked the instructions for my medication. I took all the pills necessary and then passed out for about two hours.
I woke up after my nap feeling way better than earlier. Maybe the painkillers kicked in or I got some much needed rest. I was still tried and wanted to go back to sleep but I knew I needed some nourishment post surgery so I ordered takeout. I also wanted grocery delivery but apparently this hotel is in a dead zone for all of the apps that I tried, which is ridiculous considering how close I was to downtown. It looked like I would have to go outside myself if I wanted to stock up on food.
Once my delivery arrived I sat on a chair to eat dinner, which was more difficult than I imagined. Given the soreness of my butt it was almost as tiring and painful to stay seated as right after my initial surgery. After dinner I watched TV for a while and then took another painkiller and went to bed. I was able to sleep on either my stomach or back, but not on either side yet. My incisions hurt persistently when I put pressure on them and the underlying muscle was too sore to stay in that position.
Surgery Day +2I woke up with massive morning wood so I can confirm that a certain important part of my body still works normally. I laid in bed and browsed the web for a bit. I was feeling zero pain in my incisions while laying on my back but still having a lot of trouble bending my knees. It’s hard to tell what’s causing the tightness in my knees, as I’m not sure if it’s because of stiff joints or the surgical incisions nearby or a combination of the two. While I was in bed I looked up nearby places that I could eat at, and there were a couple of options within four blocks. I wasn’t sure how far I could walk since I needed to Uber the three blocks from the hospital to the hotel yesterday, but I was feeling better so I was willing to try. I figured in the worst case scenario I could walk one way and then Uber back.
I got up to do my morning routine. The hotel has a giant wall of mirrors so I could see the massive penguin-like sway while I was trying to walk. My hip muscles must have been so weak that I was literally swinging 15 degrees to each side when lifting my legs to make a step. Hopefully this can be fixed in a week or so because I need to appear somewhat normal when I get home. I headed out to the closest restaurant, less than three blocks away. I brought my cane with me and only felt a little tired when I arrived. The walk took quite a while though as I was moving slowly and carefully. I don’t think I even needed the cane to walk, but it definitely made things easier. Unfortunately I arrived too early and the restaurant was closed. There was a gas station next door and I bought some drinks and snacks and walked back to the hotel. I noticed that there was also a grocery store on the way back as well, but it wasn’t open. When I got back to the hotel room my legs were very sore and my back hurt as well. I guess the tightness in my hips was causing my back muscles to overcompensate somehow.
I watched TV and ate my snacks while chatting with friends all afternoon. It made me realize just how much I’m looking forward to being normal again. It’s difficult to appreciate how good things can be when you’re just living a normal life until you know what it’s like being crippled, even if temporarily. Given all the people staring at me walking around like a penguin with a cane, I wouldn’t dare show my face like this in front of my friends.
By the evening I was feeling hungry since I had snacks instead of lunch so I decided to walk over to a further away restaurant. It was a bit further than the hospital, but I didn’t have any problems at all walking over. In fact, my back wasn’t even in pain either when I arrived this time. I ate at the restaurant to give my legs a break, then walked back to the hotel. I think I walked at least 25% faster than I did in the morning. I alternated between using the cane on my left and right side every 100m or so. When I got back to the hotel I was incredibly sore in the glutes and hip area and felt relieved laying down. I drank a bottle of water, took my meds, and once the painkillers kicked in I did some standing leg lifts to the side and back. After that I watched some more TV and fell asleep quickly.
Surgery Day +3I actually set an alarm for this morning because I had a follow up at the doctor’s office and a PT session during the day. I didn’t know what time my appointment was because I had forgotten to email them until last night. Fortunately they replied in the morning and said I could show up anytime between 10am and 1pm. I headed over to the clinic and saw a different orthopedic surgeon since Dr Downey was out of town this week (which I was aware of when signing up for this specific surgery date).
In the doctor's office the surgeon cleaned my incision sites and replaced the bandages on my upper legs. There was still some dried blood left over from right after surgery, but otherwise no issues with the incisions from swelling. I was glad to hear this since I was supposed to ice my legs for the first two days after surgery but didn’t have access to any ice. Fortunately they weren’t too swollen since this could make my scars bigger. The doctor took off the padding covering my knees and lower thighs and inspected the incisions on my lower thighs as well. He said that these incisions didn’t bleed much at all and that the waterproof bandages didn’t even need to be replaced yet. With the padding removed I had more range of motion on my knees. Interestingly, my left knee had about 5-10 degrees more flexible than my right knee, which I’m not sure why. There was also a ton of bruising on my hamstrings. This would have scared me before, but it was actually much less than after my initial surgery so I didn’t even pay any attention to it.
At this point the surgeon said everything looked good and gave me some extra bandages. He said I could shower in a few more days and use these to replace the bandages on my upper femur incisions as the bandages were not waterproof. After that, I thought I was supposed to have PT, but when the surgeon called the PT, she said the appointment was for later in the afternoon. I decided to get some food and rest a bit before coming back for PT since I had a few hours. While walking outside waiting for my Uber I felt some random sharp pain in my upper left femur, but it went away after I sat down in the car.
I got dropped off at the restaurant nearest to my hotel. Turns out that it opens an hour later than listed on Google so once again I couldn’t eat there, but the nearby grocery store was open. I bought some food and drinks and returned to the hotel. I feel like my walk has improved already, with less sway than before. Also, the distance from the restaurant back to the hotel felt way shorter than it did the day before. All signs were pointing to continued improvement and getting better way faster than I did after the initial surgery. Overall I was feeling a lot less fragile than I thought I would be just a few days after surgery.
I didn’t want to show up to PT too tired so I just ate and rested in the hotel room until it was time for my appointment. I took an Uber to the PT facility, which was in a different clinic than the doctor’s office but in the same commercial development area. The PT facility was fairly large with its own reception staff and waiting room. The PT this time was not the same one that I worked with in the hospital a few days ago, but Dr. Downey had already mentioned her by name so it was easy to find her. We went into her office and I lay down on her PT table. First, she checked the location of my incisions, then started massaging my legs and doing some manual stretching to check try flexibility. So far, PT was pretty much what I expected, given my familiarity with it from doing four months of it after my first surgery.
After the table stretches it was time to do table exercises. I did various exercises working out my quadricep and hamstring strength and flexibility, then moved on to standing exercises. These were similar while holding onto something for balance. Next was a set of timed walks across the clinic. As the clinic was pretty big, walking across the first time took about 50 seconds. Then the PT pushed me to walk faster while maintaining my gait. I got the time down to 35 seconds after doing 6 laps in total. I also had to do some walking up and down a ramp sideways and the final exercise was walking up and down stairs, though with both feet on the same step before moving onto the next step. Overall, a very tiring session but it was a solid workout.
I left and called an Uber to the same restaurant since I was determined to eat there given two previous misses. I got a meal to go and brought it back to the hotel since it looked like it was about to rain. I set up my table and ate dinner, then sat in bed and watched a little TV. At some point I passed out from a combination of the food coma and tiredness in my legs. When I woke up it was almost midnight so I decided to try and go to sleep. I ate my meds, did my bedtime routine, and then lay down again. I couldn’t fall asleep though and was just laying in bed with my eyes wide open. I decided I should just switch back to US time and ended up stayed awake all night watching TV. I passed out just before dawn.
Surgery Day +4I let myself wake up naturally in the early afternoon. I got out of bed and go ready for the day. I took a painkiller and drank some water. I thought about whether I should bring my cane with me or not when I went out for food. I noticed last night that my knee flexibility had greatly improved, especially on the right side. I thought it could possibly be because of PT since my knees were very tight after PT yesterday, but got better than before after a full night of rest. I ultimately decided to go with the cane since it has only been four days since surgery. I planned to try giving up the cane after my next PT session. I left the hotel and walked to the nearest restaurant because it was the coldest day of the week and I didn’t want to be outside for too long in a light jacket.
I ate at the restaurant, noticing that I still have a little back pain while sitting down. I think my tight glutes and/or hips are causing this. After eating, on my way back to the hotel I stopped by the grocery store again for some fruit and snacks. After I got back to the hotel I rested for a bit and spent some time reading. Later at night I did a full set of PT exercises which took over 30 minutes. I noticed that my incisions felt a bit more painful at night than they did during the day, but working out and keeping them moving helped with the pain afterwards. I cleaned myself up the best I could without showering, then took my pills and lay in bed. I watched mindless TV until I passed out very late at night.
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Topic: BelowTheMean – Stryde Femurs w/ Dr. Debiparshad – Nov 2020 (Read 43075 times)