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
