I didn't expect this

Does this seem like the norm?
Had davinci hyst/bso on fri morning, home on sat afternoon. I have been taking 2 percocet every 4 hours with almost moderate relief of my pain. My abdomen is very swollen, but is limited to where it can expand because of a previous scar that runs hip to hip. The skin is so tight and the blisters from the tegaderm are raw and bleeding, so Im having trouble standind straight So my pain level is thru the roof. My son just went to the dr office to pick up a stronger pain med prescription.
I must have been having pipe dreams, because I thought from everything I've read here and been told, that the davinci surg was going to be an easy in, easy out, minimal pain, quick recovery, compared to the abdominal surg I had 2 yrs ago.
Am i the exception?

I had horrendous gas bloating for days and days afterwards. Could it be that? I am so sorry syster!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by luvtocook I must have been having pipe dreams, because I thought from everything I've read here and been told, that the davinci surg was going to be an easy in, easy out, minimal pain, quick recovery, compared to the abdominal surg I had 2 yrs ago. Am i the exception?

Sorry to hear you are suffering, but even with the Da Vinci, it is major surgery. Further, given how the surgery is done . . . wholly inside the body, gas is introduced to swell you intentionally so that the surgery can be done inside. Thus, swelly belly is inevitable. And then, there is all that swollen tissue because of the cutting.

Complications can happen in all surgeries.

You did get part of what is good about the Da Vinci. You were in and out of the hospital, but your problem seems to be the hip-to-hip scar from some other surgery that prevents your swelly belly from expanding as it needs.

Do you have a binder? Perhaps ask your doctor for one or buy one at a medical supply. That might help with containing the swelling.

Further, given the old scar, what can you use on your skin to help the stretching? Ask your doctor. Perhaps vaseline or an antibiotic cream?

This is major surgery. Complications happen. You are suffering through one of them because of the big ole scar. Hang in there. Call your doctor on the binder and any cream you can use. Passing gas (Gas X) might help with the swelling, too.

Ask your doctor about a topic anesthetic, as well, to help with the pain of stretching.

Sending you good vibes so that the swelling goes down.

YES the binder helps.

Thanks Sisters,
I may try the binder, but I have weeping blisters from the tegaderm dressings around the incisions, and it really hurts if anything touches them.
It helps to know that you're not alone

Even with DaVinci, it takes at least a couple of weeks for the belly to not be hypersensitive to touch. Having it uncovered as much as possible helps.

Have you called the doc and told him/her the pain med isn't working well for you? There are a lot of different pain meds and they have different ingredients and work different ways, so another pain med might work better.

God's blessings and good luck!

	Quote:
Originally Posted by luvtocook Thanks Sisters, I may try the binder, but I have weeping blisters from the tegaderm dressings around the incisions, and it really hurts if anything touches them. It helps to know that you're not alone

So sorry you are suffering. I had a huge leaking, bloody hole on my right side with huge bruising. Ugh! It hurt to even have the pad on it. The binder INCREASED MY PAIN a lot. Just having it on the pain would go from a 3 to an 8. I'd want to faint. I bore it as long as I could. I took it off after a while. I just could not bear it.

The hystersister binder was softer and less awful than the hospital binder, which was stiff and went from the hip all the way up to the breast.

Have you thought of adding extra pads on top of the tegaderm so you can use the binder to compress the swelly belly. That worked for me, thanks to a nurse's suggestion.

Hang in there. This, too, shall pass.