From first consult to diagnosis: 3 days.
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| Mr Omer Karim |
Fortunately, I was a good candidate for a robot-assisted partial nephrectomy (RAPN) and surgery was scheduled for 4 weeks later (mostly covered by company health insurance). A DMSA scan was done at Harefield hospital, meanwhile, to measure kidney performance. Heading off on holiday as planned, during the wait, was probably the best thing we did - to change the scenery.
The surgery was performed at Wexham Park hospital, by Mr Karim, using the Da Vinci surgical system, augmented by the UK's only laparoscopic ultrasound probe. It was a Tuesday evening surgery, taking approximately 4.5hrs on the table and 1hr recovery. Next morning, I managed toast for breakfast, and was walking, delicately, down the corridor that afternoon. The catheter was removed on Wednesday afternoon, leaving only a drain, and a patchwork of dressings. On Friday afternoon, I was discharged, with the drain strapped to my leg. Little more than regular paracetamol and lots of movies were needed.
Time in hospital: 3.5 days.
Staples and drain were removed one week post-op, after which I no longer stooped when walking - until then, I feared I'd burst apart if I stood straight. In hindsight, it was probably the dressings pulling the skin, and not the wounds being stretched.
Every day, for the next 3 weeks at home, brought a noticeable improvement. At 3 weeks post-op, I could do most things, in moderation - fortunately, carrying a shopping basket still hurt :-). But, at 4 weeks, I was helping out with the shopping chores again - basket fully laden. At 5.5 weeks post-op, I climbed the cliffs around Durdle Dor, Dorset. No problem. At 8 weeks, resumed badminton. Life back to normal...
Except, life will never be the same again. I was lucky.
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| Durdle Dor, Dorset |
Post-Op update: At 2yrs, my CT reported "all clear" - and the Mr Karim knocked the frequency of surveillance scans down from 6 to 12 monthly. //Greg
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