Surgeries

[Snowdrop82]

What kind of surgeries have you guys gotten throughout time?

For me, I have had a permanent toenail removal and all 4 wisdom teeth extracted last year.

 

[auntiehill]

Foot surgery and knee surgery as a kid, hysterectomy as an adult. Had my wisdom teeth out in college, but never considered that a surgery (although technically, it is); felt more like an extended dental procedure.

 

[SithHappens]

Double hernia op September last year, still not 100%

 

[Commander Troi]

I had impacted wisdom teeth removed about 30 years ago, total right knee replacement in December 2022, and gastric bypass this past December.

 

[Velocity]

I have had a wisdom tooth yanked and 2 cataract surgeries. All at my advanced age.

 

[scotpens]

Tonsillectomy when I was 7
Wisdom teeth out when I was 20
Umbilical hernia repair sometime in the 1990s
Thyroid removed because of cancer back in 2014
Heart valve replacement in 2018
And possible upcoming adrenal surgery -- I'll know for sure after I undergo a diagnostic procedure next month.

The human body may be far from perfect, but it does have a lot of built-in redundancy. You can take out a whole bunch of parts and it still works!

 

[Velocity]

Huh! I forgot my two cancers cut off my face, 4 years ago.

 

[Kraig]

I had six wisdom teeth (I had two baby upper wisdom teeth, as well as 4 adult wisdom teeth) removed when I was in the USN in the late 1970s.

I had a twice misdiagnosed condition that required 16 surgeries before it was correctly identified, then two surgeries after that (every other month or so from 2012-2017 for all 18 surgeries, mostly outpatient). The surgical area still comes back as a recurring infection every 4 years or so. Antibiotics, so far, has taken care of the infection. The last time the infection occurred was when I was having lab work for my primary care physician and caused a high prostate specific antigen (PSA) result that mimicked prostate cancer. This caused trips to a Urology Oncologist in San Francisco that included an MRI of the prostate, where they noted the infection, but nothing wrong with the prostate.

Had an umbilical hernia repair 9 years ago.

Two months of physical therapy for a partially torn rotator cuff about 7 years ago.

I have had 3 colonoscopies since the age of 50, The fourth one will be in 2032.

 

[SithHappens]

Forgetting I had my adenoids out and grommets in when I was 8.

Not surgeries as such but had a trans jugular liver biopsy about 12 years ago. Not a nice experience, more the thought than any pain etc. Thankfully all clear.

Loads of endoscopies down my throat, horrible experience, longest one lasted about 40 mins and was fully awake.

I have gastric varices, not through alcohol but due to my super massive spleen. So they have to keep an eye on these.

 

[Newt]

I had troubles in my early twenties. Had a psoas muscle abscess causing a lot of problems, that led into nerve problems, fistulas and infected small bowls. So had abscess drain followed by any infected bowl being removed. That was a big surgery that left a big scar over my abdomen.
Recently I’ve had perianal abscess that been drained under urgent surgery twice. But doing recovery I developed a fistula, had surgery last December to try to remove the fistula and drain the abscess again but the fistula is too high in the muscle to cut out and they placed a seton stitch. So I’m having a series of surgical procedures involving seton stitches. My next one is in three months time. Then another latter in the year.

 

[John Clark]

Hiatus Hernia (as a baby)
Tonsils/Adenoids out
Several lumps removed (benign cysts fortunately)
Some dental work in general.

 

[Kraig]

I had troubles in my early twenties. Had a psoas muscle abscess causing a lot of problems, that led into nerve problems, fistulas and infected small bowls. So had abscess drain followed by any infected bowl being removed. That was a big surgery that left a big scar over my abdomen.
Recently I’ve had perianal abscess that been drained under urgent surgery twice. But doing recovery I developed a fistula, had surgery last December to try to remove the fistula and drain the abscess again but the fistula is too high in the muscle to cut out and they placed a seton stitch. So I’m having a series of surgical procedures involving seton stitches. My next one is in three months time. Then another latter in the year.

My multiple surgeries were for a perirectal abscess. After eleven surgeries over a two-year period, and no improvement, I was sent to a specialist, who said it was an anal fistula. This was also a misdiagnosis. After five surgeries, over a one-year period, to remove the anal fistula, that wasn't improving, I requested and got an MRI of the pelvis without and with contrast. It was then that the specialist determined I had an extreme horseshoe fistula. Every time they would drain a pocket or perform a fistulotomy surgery, a new tunnel would form. Using the MRI as a map, It took two more surgeries, that included removing half the exterior external anal sphincter muscle, it was finally over. I do occasionally get infections that can be treated with oral antibiotics, about once every two to three years.

When I say it wasn't improving, I could tell that it wasn't, but with each procedure, and post-op doctor appointments, each surgeon thought it was a success. All that happened is the surgery site would heal externally, but the abscess would reform, caused by the infection by the misdiagnosed extreme horseshoe fistula.

 

[Newt]

My multiple surgeries were for a perirectal abscess. After eleven surgeries over a two-year period, and no improvement, I was sent to a specialist, who said it was an anal fistula. This was also a misdiagnosis. After five surgeries, over a one-year period, to remove the anal fistula, that wasn't improving, I requested and got an MRI of the pelvis without and with contrast. It was then that the specialist determined I had an extreme horseshoe fistula. Every time they would drain a pocket or perform a fistulotomy surgery, a new tunnel would form. Using the MRI as a map, It took two more surgeries, that included removing half the exterior external anal sphincter muscle, it was finally over. I do occasionally get infections that can be treated with oral antibiotics, about once every two to three years.

When I say it wasn't improving, I could tell that it wasn't, but with each procedure, and post-op doctor appointments, each surgeon thought it was a success. All that happened is the surgery site would heal externally, but the abscess would reform, caused by the infection by the misdiagnosed extreme horseshoe fistula.

I feel you.

Had an mri scan myself last November to see what was going on with me. My fistula is high complex fistula running through the sphincter muscle. My surgeon said his strategy is doing a few seton placements for now and maybe a LIFT procedure if needed down the road.
Been going on for 11 months now, since the first urgent surgery.
Very fed up with it all tbh, want to get back to normal but it is gonna drag on to the end of the year.

 

[vandevere]

Had Bladder Cancer in '22, Surgery that December. I no longer have a Bladder, but I also no longer have Cancer either, so I call that a win. The Urostomy is a pain in the arse, but it's certainly better than being dead, and it's easy to manage.

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

1987 sphincterectomy. More to come depending on assorted circumstances.

 

[Kor]

I was also a victim of the tonsil hysteria.

Kor

 

[Rowdy Roddy McDowall]

I was also a victim of the tonsil hysteria.

Kor

Having heard relatives experience with that, I was hysterical that they, or my appendix, would act up in the future. Even watching fictional icons like Radar O'Reilly made me tonsil-paranoid.

 

[scotpens]

I was also a victim of the tonsil hysteria.

What is "tonsil hysteria"? Were kids having healthy tonsils and adenoids removed just in case they might become infected in the future?

 

[Kor]

What is "tonsil hysteria"? Were kids having healthy tonsils and adenoids removed just in case they might become infected in the future?

I'm not up on all the medical details, but my understanding is that the possibility/role of tonsils and adenoids in infections such as strep throat was overestimated, leading to removal for kids being a pretty widespread practice from the 1950s until well into the 1980s, when in hindsight in light of better medical research, it wasn't strictly necessary. Since then, the criteria for the procedure became more strict and it's not done anywhere near as often as it was in those days.

Kor

 

[Snowdrop82]

Had Bladder Cancer in '22, Surgery that December. I no longer have a Bladder, but I also no longer have Cancer either, so I call that a win. The Urostomy is a pain in the arse, but it's certainly better than being dead, and it's easy to manage.

Huh. How do you operate without a Bladder, then? I never knew it was possible to not have one.