Short2tall internal femurs with Dr. Mahboubian

Hi everyone, I'm starting my own LL diary. I had bilateral femurs done with Dr. M on March 1st. I have been planning this experience for about a year now, and am glad I was finally able to take the plunge. I am currently on day 4 post surgery, and I will go back and recount my experience from the beginning. First, here are my stats:

Age: 30
Starting height (evening): 5'8.5"
Goal height: 5'11"
Pre-surgery weight: 170 (muscular build)

Day 1

   I arrived at the Providence St. Joseph Medical Center at 5 am, and sat in the waiting area until the general admission office opened at 5:30. I was feeling a little nervous, but more so about the loss of independence for several months rather than the surgery itself. Like others have said, I knew that I would regret not taking this chance later on in life, knowing that I had the opportunity to achieve the height that I've always wanted. I was quickly admitted and shown the way to the pre-op staging area. After being assigned a room, I had to undress and out on a hospital gown. Next, several different nurses came in to ask me a few questions, put my IV in, etc. Before I knew it, I was being wheeled down the hall to the operating room. The anesthesiologist told me what she was going to do and then it was lights out.
   I woke up around 1 pm. I was hooked up to a pain pump and a catheter. I felt very little pain, but could not move my legs. Nurses were checking on me every few minutes, and said that I looked like I was doing well. Then Dr. Mahboubian came in and said the surgery went extremely well, my bones were very dense, and he was able to use the largest size precise nail (he didn't specify the actual diameter). He even told me I could fully weight bear as long as i was standing with even pressure on both legs. No walking without a walker of course. Next a hospital worker came in and took my lunch and dinner order. I was pretty hungry, and ate my whole lunch but then threw it right back up due to nausea from the anesthesia. Next, the hospital PT came in and helped me do some simple leg lifts and knee bends. After that she had me stand up with the walker and take a few steps forward, backward, and side to side. I was really nervous right before standing up, because I have read where many vets have felt extreme pain during this part. Surprisingly I felt very little pain and was able to walk ok, mostly using arm strength. After PT, I attempted to eat dinner but threw it up again. The nurses called Dr. M to ask for a nausea medication that I could take. Later that evening, the nausea meds arrived, and I did feel better after that. However, that feeling was short lived, because then the nurse informed me that she was going to have to take the catheter out. Again, from reading other diaries, I was very nervous about this part. First they deflate a balloon that was pressing against your bladder, and then they just yank the tube out. It hurt like a B%$#@!!!! Then the nurse informs you that you have to be able to pee into a plastic urinal in the next few hours or they will have to reinsert the catheter. I was not about to let that happen!! It was difficult, especially with my urethra still in pain from that tube being yanked out, but I forced it, and within an hour or two I had filled that plastic bottle. The rest of the night went ok, but I got very little sleep due to the dull but consistent pain.

Day 2

   I woke up (or rather stopped trying to sleep) pretty early in the morning. Was able to pee into the bottle again and it didn't hurt this time. Breakfast was served and I was able to keep it all down this time. I wasn't actually able to eat a whole lot though, due to my throat still being very dry from the surgery. However it felt good to keep some food down. The nurses still continued to check on me every hour or so. They had been extremely attentive and kind the whole night too. I felt like I was in great hands the whole time I was there. Dr. Dardacrapi, who does the pre-op blood panel tests for Dr. M, even came in to check on me this morning. I thought that was really nice of him. Shortly after that, Dr. M came again and checked my legs for stiffness, and said I looked good. He was impressed with my PT performance from the day before and said that I should do a morning and afternoon session of PT and then I was good to leave the hospital. That was pretty encouraging to hear. Another hospital PT came in and we did more of the same exercises, along with standing and walking with the walker. Then I ate lunch, and was able to get and keep the whole meal down. After that, the Occupational Therapist came in and asked me about my setup at home, if I had a walker, wheelchair, etc. Then she showed me a neat gadget for putting socks on, as well as a grabber tool that was different from the standard type with just the 2 "fingers" or suction cups. After a few hours of rest, the PT came back and we did another session of the same exercises. According to Dr. M, I was good to go after that 2nd PT session, so the head nurse started working on my discharge papers. I texted my caretaker to let her know I was ready for pickup. For the 3rd time that day, I had to get up out of bed so I could get into a wheelchair. This time it was a little painful, especially at the site that the screws were inserted near my right hip. I think part of this was because I had a nurse's aid helping me this time, and she wasn't as knowledgeable as the PT. I tend to get a little nervous anytime someone who isn't totally familiar with the procedure tries to help me. Then I was wheeled downstairs to the main entrance, where I met my caretaker. Getting into the car was the hardest thing I had experienced so far. It's very difficult to do while keeping even pressure on both legs. My caretaker (who is also my PT) tried to make it as easy as she could, but it still hurt my right hip quite a bit. We drove back to my hotel (where I'll be staying for the duration of the process) and getting out of the car into a wheelchair felt about the same as when leaving the hospital. I ate a quick dinner and my caretaker helped me get into bed. I took a Norco and went to sleep pretty quickly. I woke up about three hours later, took another Norco, and went back to sleep. I ended up sleeping pretty good most of the night.

Day 3

   I woke up around 10 am, and my caretaker showed up around 10:30. She emptied my urinals, which I had filled during the night, and cooked breakfast. Then she helped me get out of bed with the walker and transfer to the wheelchair. I was having somewhat of a difficult time deciding where to place my hands when standing up out of bed, as everyone tells me I need to push off of the bed, but for me it feels better to just use my arms and push down on the walker like I am doing a dip. I was very hungry and ate a big breakfast. Then I used my exercise bike for a bit, which is just basically a little stand with pedals that you set on the floor in front of your wheelchair. It felt good. My caretaker left for a few hours, and I just watched TV. She came back to make dinner and help me get back into bed. This night went the same as the previous. I took a pain pill and went to sleep, but woke up about 3 hours later. I used the urinal, took another pain pill, and went back to sleep.

Awesome start short2tall! That's great that you found a caretaker who can also do your PT. Hope that the pain settles down soon for you.

Thanks Android, its definitely getting better day by day. Here is my next installment:

Day 4

   I woke up around 9am today and felt very little pain. Was just a little uncomfortable from lying in one position all night. I sat up in bed for about an hour until my caretaker arrived. She helped me do some simple stretches before I attempted to get out of bed. Today I was basically able to get out of bed with the walker and transfer to the wheelchair by myself. I ate a hearty breakfast and watched TV for awhile. My caretaker left for a few hours and I was able to use my stationary pedal exerciser on my own. I did practice transferring from the walker to the toilet in case I get a BM urge, but nothing has come yet. I'm getting a little worried because I've been eating a lot. I will continue to take stool softener as advised by the nurses. One of my main worries about this whole process was losing my freedom and being completely bored for several months, but I can already see that every little thing takes so much more time now that the days should fly by.
   After eating dinner, my caretaker wanted to make sure I could also transfer from the wheelchair back to the bed on my own, and I was able to do that successfully. She wants to start doing more intensive stretches with me starting this week. I took one Norco this morning, and took one around dinner time since my hip started to hurt from sitting up all day. I will probably take another one when I finish typing this and get ready to go to sleep. That's all I have for now guys, thanks for reading.

short2tall,

It's good to hear that you are recovering so well and don't feel that much pain. As LAGrowin has previously stated, everyone reacts differently to the surgery. I felt some pain but it was manageable after the surgery. For me, the worst part was not being able to pee. That was the true pain and suffering for me. I hope I don't experience this same problem with my femurs.

How long did you plan on staying in Burbank or within a close proximity to Dr. M? Until your post-of appointment? If you leave before my surgery, would you mind sharing with me your PT nurse's number? I won't need her for the entire time, just a couple of days as my mom will be flying in to take care of me. If you're going to work with her for the entire process, don't worry about it.

Are you feeling more pain when doing PT? For me, I've been pushing myself and I think I overwork. This causes me to have some minor pain in my right knee (before it was my left knee) even with pain meds. I wish you the best and keep us posted.

Optismitic1

Great start to your journal short2tall.  Congratulations on taking this step. It feels surreal at times that I actually took  the plunge and did it. I'm sure you've felt the same.

All very familiar and similar to what I experienced but I must say you are doing way better than most at this stage, which is remarkable.  I couldn't transfer into the wheelchair alone, or to the toilet for more than 2 weeks,  and I have high pain tolerance.  God willing it remains like this for you throughout the process.

But again, each body is different,  as I didn't have nausea at all, and had no issues at all with the catheter,  it was painless,  just awkward feeling.

I commend you for riding to the hotel in a car right after surgery. I had to rent a transport van to get me home. It is also impressive that you're mostly on your own!

I am glad to be in touch off the board. You'll see that some will question the validity of recent Mahboubian journals, which is unfortunate.  All this first hand info is invaluable for future patients. Past diaries is how I educated myself about this procedure and Dr. M has been great to me.

As you can read above, Optimistic1 recently had surgery with Dr M.  but on his tibias.  Wish you both well!

@ Optimistic1

   I do plan on staying here for the duration of the process, including lengthening and consolidation. So, unfortunately I will need my caretaker/PT the whole time. The pain during PT hasn't been bad yet, but I probably am not pushing myself 100% yet, I was kind of waiting until after my post-op with Dr. M to start with the heavy duty stretching. Mostly just doing mobility exercises like leg lifts, knee bends, and hip abductors right now. I hope your femurs go as smoothly as mine did. Any other questions feel free to ask.

@ LAGrowin

   I have seen some of what you're talking about, which doesn't make sense to me. If it weren't for having Dr. M as an option, I probably wouldn't have been able to afford the surgery right now. Going out of the country was not something I wanted to do. But as others have said, I'm not here to debate that. If someone chooses not to believe or trust us, they can look elsewhere for advice.

Thanks again to both of you for your support. Happy lengthening.

Day 5

   Today was great. I was able to transfer from the wheelchair to the walker to the toilet by myself, and then went #2! I was so relieved that it was not painful like I had been expecting. I have been taking stool softener so I'm sure that helped. I also got in and out of bed several times by myself for practice. It definitely takes some concentration as you plan out every step, but it is doable. Fingers crossed that things keep going well.