One other, very important thought - do breathing exercises before going!!
Denver is the mile-high city, and that can make it especially difficult for out-of-towners to get off oxygen post-op. If a rib resection is done, the surgeon may choose to deflate the lung routinely, or only if it is nicked accidently - the pleura (sac encasing the lung) is very close to the rib and this is sometimes unavoidable; some surgeons opt to make a small opening in the pleura, thus deflating the lung and giving them more room to work, to reduce risk factors. The pleura opening is then repaired before closing, and an x-ray is taken in recovery. After surgery patients then usually are given H2O through a removeable nose tube - I had a second chest x-ray the day after surgery, they watch for 90-95% or lung function before taking you off oxygen.

Walking, even a block or two away, AND back, done daily or as often as possible, is really a good work for your respiratory muscles. Since we are in chronic pain, our tendency is to be much more sedentary than we used to be,; it's important to be as fit as possible heading into surgery. BUT protect those arms by putting hands in pockets or thumbs through belt loops - letting them hang by your side will pull down on the brachial plexus, causing a flare. Stairclimbing is also good - and if it is too exhausting to go up and down a flight multi times, stand at the bottom and just step up and down the bottom one or two to your tolerance.

Several times a day, for short periods, practice deep breathing, from your diaphragm. When you breath in, let your lungs fully inflate. Then breathe fully out, completely relaxing your torso. Only do this for a few minutes at a time so you don't hyperventilate!!

Now when you take in a deep breath, concentrate on the side that you will have the surgery on. Try to isolate that the breath and fully inflate the very top of that lung with the breath. Try this for a few breaths, feeling the top of the lung expand. Then concentrate and try to inflate the outer side of your chest, pushing against the ribcage as your lung expands. Continue with the bottom of your lung, and the inner side. Do these a few minutes a time, several times a day before surgery, they will be familiar and you will get off H2O faster after surgery. It will likely hurt to do the deep breathing after surgery, but the pain with breathing will go away faster if you do what you can ahead of time to prepare yourself.

I was amazed, after quitting smoking 3 weeks prior (Dr's orders) and doing these exercises for a few days pre-op, and post-op, (Feldenkrais instructor's suggestion) plus trying to do some walking and eating right pre-op and taking vitamins and supplements to be in the best condition I could be going into surgery, I got off oxygen pretty quickly - 2 days - and had no respiratory complications. Not bad for a flatlander from the Midwest who smoked for 25+ years!!

If you smoke, like me, you should quit - and hopefully stay quit, unlike me.

Please Note: I am not a medical professional. Please check with your Dr, PT or other licensed caregiver before following any advice given here. I am not a deep-sea diver, an Egyptian archaeologist, a NYC cab driver or a high-wire acrobat, and I DON'T do windows ('cept the Microsoft kind). LOL!! I'm just another TOS'er, one who's been around the block a few times, and a fellow human bean, trying to help others here. I'm not perfect, none of us is; but the way I see it, we're all in this TOS mess together, right???

Best of luck - I love Denver, so many people who KNOW TOS, plus the beautiful Rockies!

beth