Saturday, February 23, 2008

The Second Time Around

It is now 4 days after my surgery and I'm ready to talk about it . . . a little bit. I can't help but compare this surgery with my first one nearly 8 years ago. The differences seem to outnumber the similarities. Some of these differences may be a product of time between surgeries (e.g., improved surgical procedures, smaller implant) or of location (e.g., different state, different hospital, different surgeon). Nonetheless, this time

  • no shaved hair
  • shorter time in surgery
  • longer wait in pre-op (4 hours!) - even had to run a pregnancy test, hospital policy if "skipped" months. I'm going through menopause, for heaven's sake!
  • pneumococcal vaccine before surgery
  • incision behind and at the base of the right ear
  • longer time in hospital recovery room
  • velcroed headband with no surgical tape on my face
  • less tinnitus
  • overnight hospital stay due to nausea, in spite of anti-nausea patch positioned behind the other ear
  • some bruising on the right side of my neck
  • days of drymouth
  • some hoarseness but no sore throat