I was admitted to the Sana Dreifaltigkeits-Hospital in Cologne, Germany, on April 3rd, 2018.
During the admission process I finally got to meet Dr. Biren Desai in person. I admit that it was that moment that put me very much at ease because I knew I picked the perfect surgeon for me. After I had the paperwork signed, blood drawn, spoken to the anesthesiologist, and after the last x-rays had been taken, I finally got admitted to my room (Patienten-Zimmer) on "Station 4". Since I was accompanied by my fiance, I had a private room with two beds, so he could stay with me close by.
Here I am in the morning of April 4th, 2018, nervously waiting for the nurse to pick me up and transfer me to the pre-op area.
BEFORE...
AFTER...
When I arrived in pre-op, my IV was started, and the anesthesiologist said "hello" as well. I still had to wait for about 15 minutes, so Dr. Desai stayed with me and talked to me until I was finally knocked out with propofol. The next thing I remember was waking up in the PACU, which was filled with other patients who just had undergone surgery themselves. Dr. Desai was right there, telling me that everything went very well. I had significant soreness in my back but the nurse checked on me periodically and pushed pain medication for comfort. I also had full-on numbness and tingling in my left arm all the way down to my hand, which I was told can happen (especially in slender patients) due to positioning during surgery and will resolve over time.
In fact, I clearly remember thinking to myself "hey, I feel pretty good, considering! I am not nauseous, no headache, and the soreness is not that bad!". Then came my fiance who was allowed to see me for a minute. He took one look at me and his face went pale and he looked frightened. Hmmm, ok... Then my mom arrived, looked at me, and burst into tears. I suppose I didn't look as good as I felt. My fiance told me later that I looked like a corpse, snow-white with veins showing, and my right eye was rolling into the back of my head. Perception varies, doesn't it?
I finally was deemed "stable" and was transferred back to my room. I still had a foley catheter and a wound drain in place. I admit that the soreness in by back worried me because I was still afraid that the chronic pain may come back. However, I was assured that this was normal and that the soreness will go away in time.
The next day, I got up for the first time and it was AMAZING! While laying down, my back was still pretty sore but as soon as I rolled out of bed and stood up, there was....absolutely no pain! This old, crippling back pain I have lived with for so long was just gone. I was feeling well and was able to ambulate (with a walker) to the bathroom. The foley was removed and I was allowed to wash my face and brush my teeth while being seated. That same morning the doctor came by and pulled the wound drain as well. Later that afternoon I walked all the way down to radiology for my follow-up x-ray without any issues (besides slight nausea from the medications on an empty stomach).
And here she is: my new LP-ESP prosthesis at L5/S1! I am now one cm (0.4 inches) taller because the ADR surgery restored my original disc height!
The following day I was summoned by the physical therapist who showed me initial exercises to aid in my recovery. In general, for the first six weeks, walking is the recommended rehabilitation activity. I ditched the walker by the second day, I believe.
I also received my custom-made back brace, which I had to wear for the next six weeks while walking, standing, or sitting in order to prevent bending or twisting of the spine.
I spent a total of six days in the hospital (including the night prior surgery). During this time I was having soreness in my back whenever I laid down but that would disappear as soon as I was standing up or walking. I was really lucky because I only had one "episode" during the second night when I woke up with significant back pain that I couldn't ignore. I peeled myself out of bed but the pain remained. So I grabbed my walker, and with my fiance in tow I shuffled down to the nurses station to ask for help. I was sent back to my room, and within a minute a nurse brought me 20mg of oxycodone. Initially, I couldn't lay down but after about 15 minutes I was ready to go back to bed. After this incident I never had another episode again. Not bad, considering the nature of this surgery. In fact, I was discharged a day early because my recovery was going so well!
FAST FORWARD: It is April 16th, 2018, and I have returned to the hospital to have my stitches removed. Dr. Desai took them out himself, and afterwards we sat in his office and had a last face-to-face talk. I got to hold and inspect the LP-ESP implant, and I had some remaining questions answered. In six months I am supposed to sent the follow-up x-ray to Dr. Desai, so that I don't have to fly all the way back to Germany.