3. The Cochlear surgery.
Thurs 17th Feb I'm told to be at the medical centre at 0610, I arrive a bit before and it's all closed up in the internal depts, so I sit . . . 0600 doors are opened and yep I can come through.
Check in, have a seat.
15 mins I'm called through for a RAT (covid rapid antigen test) and thankfully a negative, or you get to go home and isolate :/
0645 I'm called in to go through details of op, make sure I'm the right person, right op, usual questions you get asked about 20 times, but best to be sure all is done right at each stage.
0655 booking nurse says she'll just check if she can get me gowned up, comes back, supervisor says not just yet, so back to the waiting room.
0700 (yes, 5 mins) she's back, can do the preps now as it's 0700, think her eyes rolled just a little with the 5 min window.
Surgical gown, leggins for circulation, oversocks, walked into the area where you're placed on a wheeled bed ready for the trip around the corridors to surgery.
Needle / tube put in back of wrist vein for whatever they want to pump into me for the op / post needs.
Just before 0800 I'm taken around the minute rolling trip to one of the most impressive places, the theatre.
Round-ish room, clean, tech everywhere, and people !
Anesthesiologist team (doc and nurses), other support nurses, my 2 surgeons, perhaps some student types, who knows but maybe 15 - 20 people.
Here we go (again) . . . yes, again.
I had a basal cel carcinoma removed in this very theatre earlier 2021, first hospital stay since I had tonsils out when I was perhaps 5 - 7 yo as a child.
2 x general anesthetic ops a month apart, and probably one more again this year when recovered from a little radiation (nose) . . . now THAT was a whole different episode, and something I should / could share later too.
This cochlear op was supposed to be long, at about 3 hrs . . . the basal cel op (1st one) was 7 hrs.
Anyway, walked to the op table and hop on, hooked up to a heap of wires etc, while details are all gone through again, not long and here's the mask coming onto the mouth / nose, breathe.
Nice deep breaths, thank team in advance, more deep breaths, no stopping this now.
And I feel myself going, going, gone . . .
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1200 noon. Wake up in recovery.
Hayley (one of the recovery nurses) is there to welcome me back, groggy of course, and for a few seconds what, where ?
Ah.
Overall, feel just a bit weak, but no pain.
Throat a bit sore due to breathing tube used during surgery, had a bit of that last year too.
What do I sense when the head clears a bit . . .
Hearing seems about normal (terrible !), but yes duller now in the right ear where the cochlear fitted.
I use the iPhone Nalscribe app to get voice to text a little to help me through comms with the nurse.
During the afternoon, they bring me a sandwich, which helped feeling a bit better, constant sips of water.
Toiletry via 'the bottle' as I wasn't allowed up.
Sometime an hour or so later, another cochlear patient is wheeled in, did my 2 surgeons go from me to do this fellow next ? Probably.
So generally felling pretty good but remain in the bed in recovery until a ward bed is available later in the afternoon, about 1600 I'm wheeled up there and straight into the room 'dock' remaining in the bed.
No walking alone for me first time, but had no trouble walking to the toilet first trip so they let me do my own thing after that in the room.
Masks not worn in room, but if going out into ward corridors had to put one on, so I stayed put pretty much, just using the bathroom as needed, drinking a bit, still no pain.
Pain, yeah none at all at hospital, resisted offers of panadol as I simply didn't need, but would tell them if I did.
I was staying overnight, to be released next day (Friday), and the rest of the stay was fairly uneventful.
Surprisingly good food, and ample, excellent nursing staff, my 2 female surgeons came up to visit me with a few student types during the later afternoon.
Senior surgeon said it went well, thanked them both, was told the younger surgeon did most of the op, very special people.
Yes, I've probably lost remaining hearing in my right ear when the electrodes are slid into the cochlear, was explained to me a few times in the months leading up, and I am happy to wear that.
Once the processor (outside magnetic part and over ear microphone) are fitted (3-1/2 weeks), like previous hearing aids, I will be wearing this from when I awaken, to when I retire for the night.
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Edit - on risks.
The op carries the usual very slim chances of serious issues of general anesthetic, but the main risks are the loss of existing hearing when placing the electrodes (high risk I feel), then at lower risk, the op goes through 2 nerves like this >
One is a facial nerve, if nicked you can have facial droop . . . the other is a taste nerve, and if nicked you could lose taste sensation on that side of the mouth (you still have taste on the other side).
So, if the nerves are close, as they are in some people (rare), they will go closer to the taste nerve.
The risk was about 1 in 1000, so not a big consideration to me.
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I was to have an xray next day to make sure everything was in place, the electrodes (20 I think) in the cochlear mostly, then I could be released to go home.
So I'll cover now in the next chapter - Post install.
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