Posted by Jack Drum on April 01, 2002 at 14:29:16:
In Reply to: post-op question? posted by Dale Finley on March 31, 2002 at 15:10:25:
Mrs. Finley, I mailed this to you but it came back, so I will post it.
Hi Mrs. Finley
I had read your post and was going to write later on today, but I don't know if what Dale has is anything similar to me or not.
My sternum stayed sore, but no severe pain. I went back to the surgeon once and he thought it would resolve itself, but at the end of the 2nd year I was still sore and he took the wires out. Getting them out was a minor surgery, and was very easy on me. He was going to do it as a out patient, but he had to trim a lot more scar tissue than expected and had to put in a drain tube overnight. I had to stay one night in the hospital, but I was not very sore from the surgery. Getting the wires removed made a huge difference in how I felt. It was causing stiffness and restricting my movements in my neck and shoulders a lot more than I had realized. I was even aware of how restricted I had become until the wires were removed.
I hope Dale gets some answers when he goes back to the CC. Please let me know what the say about it. From what I understand it is very unusual that someone has to get the wires out, but it was a wonderful thing for me.
Best wishes
Jack Drum