Hi! I replied on your other thread but wanted to give more info here since my surgery by Dr. Thompson is still fresh in my mind (June 14th).

Surgery time?
My surgery was scheduled for 9:30. My parents and I were staying at the Parkway Hotel so just walked over to the surgery center. I had to be there around 7:00 that morning. They got me back pretty quickly. Right away, my parents got a pager that the medical staff used to communicate with them during the surgery. They were able to come back with me to the pre-op bay area. Once I got there, I got my IV and all different people came to meet with me (anesthesiologist, nurses, surgery fellow, etc.). Everyone was very professional, and I felt like I was in good hands.

I didn't end up actually getting wheeled back to the OR until almost 11:00. My surgery (rib and scalene resection and aneurysm repair - all on the right side) lasted about 7 hours. My parents got phone calls about once an hour with updates. I'm not sure why my surgery took that long - I did have my subclavian artery repaired with a cadaver artery which may have taken a while. The next thing I remember it was about 8:00 that night and I was waking up in my hospital room. I had been in the post-op area for about previous 2 hours but don't remember any of that. My mom said I was conscious but still very sedated.

My surgery went very smoothly, and I was just so relieved that I was done. I was on floor 7500 (Cardiovascular) and the staff there were very familiar with TOS since so many patients come there to be operated on by Dr. Thompson. They had a great protocol down, and I never had any doubts about it. I never saw Dr. Thompson the whole day of my surgery. At first, I found that kind of odd, but in the end, I just needed him to do the operation as well as he did, and I felt confident that I was well taken care of for everything else by the other staff.

Recovery time?
I was in the hospital for 4 nights. My pain was very well controlled. At first I had a morphine drip as well as the pain ball in my incision area and I think oral meds as well if I remember correctly. They were very responsive to my pain needs. I really just slept a lot for the first day or so. I was on the all-liquid diet at that point. Around the second day, they wanted me to start getting up and sitting in the chair next to the bed, etc. I think at that point I was switched to the cardio diet (bland, no salt). I had blood work and a chest X-ray each day. I was also getting Heparin shots (I wasn't on any other blood thinners). The physical therapists came around and helped me to get moving a little bit which was pretty scary at first. At some point in there they removed the pain ball - maybe not until around when I was discharged.

I had a lot of discharge meds - OxyContin, Percocet, methocarbomol, aspirin, ibuprofen, stool softener, anti-nausea patches, etc. I picked those up the day I was discharged, and then my mom and I stayed at the Parkway Hotel for 2 nights until my post-op appt. At that point they just checked me over, and I got my drain out. I also had to get another chest X-ray. I saw Dr. Thompson briefly, and he was very nice. He gave me my rib in an envelope - kind of surreal. Before we left town, I also saw Matt, their TOS physical therapist, and that was helpful. I will see him again when I go back for my follow-up appointment.

Pain levels?
I guess any time you are having that many important parts of your body worked on, removed, etc., you are bound to have pain. I always felt like I had plenty of meds to keep it under control. My biggest challenge was managing the pain once I started wanting to come off the pain meds because they were making me too sedated (around week 3-4). I now only take them sparingly. I still have some pain if I do too much work on the computer or after some of my PT appointments. My PT exercises really seem to be helping, though. I also have a massage therapist, and I think that helps, too. Sometimes I just have to take it easy. If I rest and relax, my pain goes way down. Most of my pain is muscular in nature - I think just as my body is adjusting to new postures, not having to compensate for my messed up anatomy, etc.

Overall, I'm very pleased that I went through with the surgery. I was very nervous beforehand, and it feels great to have it out of the way. The recovery has been rough at times, and it's taken a while to get my energy back, but it has been worth it to have everything fixed.

I'd be happy to answer any other questions you have. I wish you all the best!