Surgery... Who's been under the knife?

[JediMAC]

Sticking with the medical/dental JD theme of the week here, I was curious as to how many people here have had to have surgery of some sort...

I've fortunately never had to, unless you count getting my wisdom teeth pulled when I was about 15.  Other than that, nuthin'.  But I have had a couple family members have some pretty major open heart surgeries recently - including my father-in-law and grandma.  Pretty scary (and scarry) stuff...  Just seeing them afterwards plugged into all the machines, with tubes running everywhere - is enough to scare me straight to better health habits (usually).  Some pretty gnarly long roads to recovery as well.

I have had to get stitches on five seperate occasions though - 4 times in my head, and once in my foot.  That definitely wasn't fun!  

So, who's been chopped open and had their insides messed with?  (that includes jacked up esophoguses  )

[Darth Kenobi]

Here are the times that I had to go under the knife:

-When I was 3 or 4 years old I was roasting marshmallows at a state beach.  I somehow trip and my hand ended up getting to close to the fire and my family saw something else get roasted besides marshmallows.  I ended up with a third degree burn which required 3 skin graph surgeries to replace the damage skin with skin from my hip.  I don't remember to much about the surgeries or the hosptial stay but bits and pieces and I'm glad I don't when I here my mom or dad talk about some of the stuff they had too due to keep my hand from being infected.  


-The only other time was when I had a broken wrist and had a pin inserted into the bone the surgery also required bone graph/ bone scrap to my hip to help fill in the cracks of this bone.

I have had numerous smaller things happen to me which required stitches:
Stitches were placed in my burned hand when they had to make my fingers indivduals and not webb like there were.

Bit my bottom lip open at school when I fell off the monket bars.

I think thats all.

[Snively Bandar]

Nothing for me yet either, but my dad recently had his appendix removed, and one of our close friends just had a C-section for their baby's delivery.  Probably not fun getting a lifelong scar stuck on your body for stuff like that, but it's better than the alternatives, that's for sure!

[Reconsgt]

I've been under the knife a few times. Never a pleasant experiance but atleast no serious complications.
 First time was in 1993. That was to remove fragments from my upper chest.

 The next time was in 1994. I had my knee scoped. That wasn't to bad. I would say it felt like more of a pressue in my knee that any pain. I was afraid if I bent it it would blow out the side
 It all turned out OK. It still feels stiff when its this damn cold out.

 The last time so far was in 2000. I hurt my back at work and had a lower discectomy. They removed parts of 2 vertibre(sp?) and then cut out part of the disc. I will say that after I woke up from the surgery it was instant relief from the pain. I actually looked forward to the surgery to get the pain over with.

 Since then .. knock on wood... every thing is AOK.

[JoshEEE]

If stitches count, I have had stitches 9 different times, 300 or so of those were in my leg when I accidentally impaled myself on something).

If stitches don't count....then nope. Just a few broken bones, and the occasional burn. I was a dangerous youth.

[Dressel Rebel]

One of my patients that I saw for her 6 month checkup came in, and I asked the question, "Has there been any change in your medical history since last appointment?"

"Oh boy! Yes."

"What changed?"

"I had my appendix out."

"Oh okay, anything else?"

"Yes and some other things while they were in there.  They opened me up, and I was like a grab bag, they just kept removing things."

 

"Okay, well, let's get started.  Open please."


This gets my nod for one of the scariest sounding surgeries that I've ever heard of.

[Diddly]

The only time I ever had surgery was when I broke my arm. They couldn't set it, so they had to go into surgery to fix it. I have a 1 inch scar on my arm near my wrist, as well as three small roundish scars where they put pins.

Of course I remember none of it, since they gave me a strong drug that knocked me out for at least 5 hours.

[JediMAC]

...when I accidentally impaled myself on something)...

Care to elaborate on that Josh?  You can't give us a juicy tease like that without expanding on all the gory details!  What the heck did you impale yourself on, and how (or perhaps why)?!  

That was to remove fragments from my upper chest.

Same goes for you Sarge!  What kind of fragments?  Bullets?!  If so, do tell!

[Morgbug]

Hmmm, this one I might just win.  

Age 2: Lymphangioma.  Or that's what they tell me.  Basically it was a lump on the side of my neck the side of a softball.  Scared the bejesus out of my parents as it was not known if it was cancerous.  30-some stitches in the side of my neck and it still hurts when you press on it.  Funny sidebar: couple weeks after surgery I was playing with a buddy about 2 years older than me.  I have a drain for the fluid sticking out of my neck, he won't give me back one of my toys so I picked up a shovel and whacked him in the head.  Brave, crazy or stupid but only 2.  

Age 7:  Going waaaaaay back in time here, but as kids, we only used to wear helmets playing hockey (no cages).  Got whacked with a hockey stick across the nose.  Out cold, blood all over the ice and they had to reset my nose.  Still have a ridge from that.

Stitches?  Virtually all sports related.  
Chin 7 - split while playing volleyball.  
Lip - 4 inside, 3 out - back of guys head into my lip - his fault.
Eyebrow - 4 - elbow playing basketball

Ruptured (and subsequently re-attached achilles tendon) in grade 10.  That was just a pile of fun, but female sympathy compensated nicely.

Knee surgery in my 20's.  Twice.  Scraped the underside of the kneecap (grinding) once, removed damaged cartilage twice.

Late 20's had another lump removed from my leg.  Doctors unsure of what it was (biopsy, CT, MRI all inconclusive) so they went in and removed the lump, mostly weird-ass deposition of fat.  14 staples in my quad and one of four quad muscles gone with it.  Yippee.

Wisdom teeth done too, impacted, so in hospital.  

Esophogael invasions?  Twice, thus far.  Once for a mysterious ailment that was in my esophagus in high school, preventing me from swallowing without major pain.  Dropped from 165 (heh, the glory days) to 139 in about 8 days  Second one was when I was anemic for several months about 4 years ago.  Looking for coeliac symptoms.  Blood test had been positive, but biopsy was negative (whew!).  Still no clue what the anemia came from but it's gone for now at least.  It was, um, accompanied by it's reverse companion too

Do concussions count too? 4.  The hockey stick.  Once in basketball (last thing I remember after the really loud crack was a really low ooooooooh from the crowd.  Once while waterskiing.  This was the advent of the wing on the keel fin.  We (I) decided to see what effect on deceleration it would have.  Lots.  Whacked-face first into the water at 25-off, 36 mpg.  Worked the rest of the day afterwards until the lifeguard at the sports club forced me to go to the hospital.  Car accident.  Go figure.

Broken wrist from falling wrong while playing badminton (D'oh).  

That covers most things anyway.  

[JediMAC]

Damn.    You're one messed up fool, B!  Walking disaster, you are!  On second thought, keep away from me...  

[Scott]

I'll recap my esophogial problems...
However, I have a chronic problem which effects my swallowing of food (called Dysphagia) I've had this since I was around 10-12.  What happens is that when I eat chicken or steak, it gets stuck in my esophagaus and won't pass into my stomach...it hurts like hell and eventually I start to gag from the amount of saliva going down to try and dislodge the food.  So I have to regurgitate it backup (sounds great huh)

So, I've had the esophagaus stretched a couple of times and it helps for around 6 months.  They've done some tests on me recently to try and determine why it happens, they think its due to acid reflux but haven't ruled out uncoordinated swallowing muscles.  Its a weird thing and something I've lived with for a long time.  If its reflux, I should be able to take drugs like Prilosec or Nexium and be over it, if its not more stretching (which sucks, pudding and yogurt only for a day or so, plus anesthesia and general uncomfort)

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Also had my wisdom teeth removed, do not remember the drive home at all or talking to the nurse, my dad told me I was hitting on her  

Had stitches 3 times, my dad while giving me a haircut when I was two clipped the top of my ear off because I was squirming in the chair, at 5 I nailed a Mailbox the day after I got my training wheels off of my bike, it hit me right above the eye (no scar that I can see on that one for some reason) and then in '99 I sliced my finger wide open on a pallet strap, I was in Arizona on business, had to file a ton of paper work because I was out of state, got like 6 stitches

Other than that, pretty clear knock on wood, I know what happened to MisterPL and his Internet health bragging

[Dressel Rebel]

Morgbug- are you sure Lucas didn't ask you to step in for Hayden Christensen in the scene where he gets pulled from the lava pit?

[Morgbug]

Heh, maybe now you know why you don't know what I look like

Honestly, mostly sports related injuries they are.  I played a lot of sports when I was younger.  During my preteen years I played hockey obsessively.  Discovered racket sports (squash, badminton, tennis) in my early teens at the same time as I played basketball and volleyball.  The latter two continued into college and beyond until basically after the second knee surgery, I was told to quit or face ever more surgeries on my knees.  Over use injuries as I was playing sports like that 6 times a week.  

I also forgot the time playing softball.  Warming up pitching balls to a buddy as he was hitting them to the outfield.  Good hitter, no worries, right?  Wrong.  I had about 3 balls in the glove and bent over to pick up another as he was hitting the most recent pitch.  Line shot up the middle right into my right arm.  Weirdest thing is that was the most painful thing I have ever felt and I damn near passed out from the pain.  Broke my arm just below the funny bone, which is apparently (radial nerve?) what all the pain was from.  

Unfortunately, I'll probably think up some more.  I presume sprains (2nd and 3rd degree) do not count?

[jokabofe]

"Yes and some other things while they were in there.  They opened me up, and I was like a grab bag, they just kept removing things."

 

damn... that just made me spit out a mouthfull of water.

surgery: had a double hernia removed when i was younger... outpatient surgery.

other non-surgical hospital visits: several times for seperated shoulders (hockey injuries) - after the first time, those suckers keep popping out at the slightest touch. they actually wanted to do some kind of surgery to tighten up the shoulder joints or some such... but i just said no. also a concussion or two... can't seem to remember how many   - also hockey injuries

tore my acl in my left knee looong time ago (non-hockey injury), but the doctors said that instead of surgery they wanted to try putting a brace on my knee and immobilizing it to heal the ligament. well, it took 9 months, but it worked.

tri-weekly visits to the chiropractor for several months a few years back to repair some slipped discs in my back after a car accident, also to avoid surgery.

had a friend who got a kidney transplant, ex-wife had her thyroid gland removed due to cancer, brother had a compound fracture of the shin bone, screws inserted, and my other brother broke his nose diving one time... (not all at the same time, of course) - so, you could say i've had my fair share of hospital time, to say the least...  

[Reconsgt]

Matt
 to elaborate on the fragments part. No not bullets although I have been shot once but that didn't require surgey thank God. It was superficial.  The fragments were metal and rock. i was close to an explosion and it send the chards flying everywhere. I had a vest on but they don't cover everything so basically my left upper chest area from my peck over to my arm was hit. I had to have about 20 pieces taken out.  Not fun considering they were in there for about 30 hours before I was taken care of. No major damage just a bunch of 1-2 inch scars.