Knuckle Replacement Day!

On Thursday, we set off to the hospital bright and early for the check in time at 7:15. Due to a slight mix-up, we went to the wrong hospital first but ended up in the right one only a few minutes late (in my defence, the hospital we went to first was the place I have been for all my consultations). Thank goodness for my husband and I having a tendency to be early everywhere! I went through the check in procedure with the nurse, met with the anaesthetist and also had a final meeting with the surgeon. Luckily, they didn't make my husband leave so he was able to stay with me for most of the morning. The anaesthetist explained that I would be having a general anaesthetic and also a nerve block which would numb my entire arm through the procedure. The nurse told me that I was second on the list for my surgeon but as it turned out I think I was second out of two! I did wait for quite a while before I went in just before midday to replace the knuckles on my left hand. 

I woke up a few hours later in recovery. It took me a while to come around fully and when I arrived back on the ward I was sick. I had been hoping that I would not be sick this time from the general anaesthetic but unfortunately I was. I felt pretty rubbish after the operation and don't remember a lot until my husband came to visit at 6pm. At this point I had been sick a few times and my husband asked the nurses to give me an anti-nausea injection, the same I had received after my foot operation, which made me feel much better. My left arm was heavily bandaged and being held in an elevated position by a blue sling on a hook. It felt very strange. Although my arm was elevated next to me, it felt as though it was resting on my stomach; nerve blocks feel quite unusual! 

My post-op bandaging. Particularly attractive blood stains, I thought!

The surgery had been planned to be a day case and so I was expecting that my husband would take me home that evening. However, there was some confusion about me needing to see a physiotherapist before I was discharged and I was told that I had to stay in until the following day. As it turned out, that wasn't the case but on balance I feel it was best for me to stay in overnight as I was quite woozy and confused from the general anaesthetic and some morphine that I had been given to help with pain relief. 

I slept really well that evening, with my arm still held in the elevated position. The next morning, my arm began to get a bit painful as it had been taken down from the sling but it wasn't too bad and the codeine they gave me helped. Following clarification of the confusion about the physiotherapist, my husband was able to bring me home at about 11 o'clock. Before I left, I was given follow-up appointments with the nurse specialist and occupational therapists the following week. I was told that I would also be getting an appointment to see the physiotherapist at a later date. Overall, I was very glad to be going home as it had not been particularly pleasant stay in hospital. The ward that I was on was full of patients and it was quite a different experience than my previous stay in hospital when my feet were operated on.  Last time, I would have described the care I received as excellent whereas this time the strains and the nurse to patient ratio seemed to be less conducive to a very caring environment.