The last time I had this surgery, I had the metallic taste in my mouth that most people get. This time, I don't have that. I do have an intact sense of taste, so that part is pretty good. My teeth feel furry, which may be due to mass quantities of opiates, or may be from nerve aggravation. It takes awhile for the mouth to settle down after this surgery. There has been no nausea or dizziness, for which I am profoundly grateful.
This picture is amusing. Looking at the right side, the inner ear really looks like a smiling fish with a straw in its mouth. See the temporal bone on the top and bottom of the auditory canal? I am pretty sure he took bone out from the bottom of the canal so he could see all of the ear drum. Since this surgery has hurt waaaaay more than the first time, I'm guessing that the bone removal is related to the increased pain level.
Here is the ear in all of its glory. The stitches behind the ear are from the incision the surgeon makes in order to fold the ear forward and tape it to the cheek. This allows the surgeon to see the ear drum. Those are dissolving sutures - yay!!!!!!! The stitches on the left are one of the harvest sites for cartilage. He used a combination of fascia and cartilage to make the new ear drum. Those sutures do not dissolve - they have to be removed. I hate that.
It's an interesting procedure. There's not enough tissue to stitch or glue. They fill the middle ear with antibiotic infused gel. The edges of the remaining ear drum are trimmed, so there are exposed blood vessels. Then the graft is draped over the ear drum, and more gel is put into the ear canal. The whole works is held in place by the pressure of the two piles of gel. It makes a person kind of afraid to move the head, for fear of dislodging it. There will definitely be no sneezing!
Eeek! It looks painful. Sheesh...don't sneeze, whatever you do. I do like the image of the smiling fish, but other than that, ugh. Hope the pain lets up very soon!
ReplyDeleteGood lord. This description makes me hurt all over. I am so sorry you are having such a rough go of it. I am a "side sleeper," so this would drive me nuts. Glad you got some good drugs to take the edge off. Stay away from the sneeze weed!
ReplyDeleteIf sneezing is inevitable, it must me done with an open mouth, to equalize pressure. That has required pre-op practice.
DeleteYes, I can almost feel your pain, but I did enjoy reading and seeing what went on. I know, a little weird. Hope the pain eases soon:)
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting. I was reading an online textbook about it yesterday and you have wonder who thinks this stuff up? It's hard to tell, because I'm missing some vocabulary, but it think this particular procedure is called the 'windowshade technique.'
DeleteThis is an amazing surgery! You've had to endure so much, I sure hope it fixes your problem!
ReplyDeleteSo do I. I can't imagine that I would be inclined to do this again.
DeleteIt really is incredible what they can do. I didn't realize they would go in through the back of the ear. Ouch! And, yes, cutting out bone is painful.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I heard that would be the entry point, I was fairly surprised. It's good that the ear reattaches and doesn't look significantly different afterwards.
DeleteTesting, Testing… can you hear me? Kind of Van Gogh-ish… your description of having your ear cut and taped to your cheek. Seriously, can you hear or will it be a while?
ReplyDeleteBox Canyon mark
I don't hear much out of that ear. If it's like last time, they'll dig the outer gel out of the ear canal over a couple of weeks, the inner get has to dissipate on its own, which is about 6 weeks. What I do hear in that ear is the sound of my pulse. It's sort of like sleeping with the Tell Tale Heart.
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