The surgery

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On March 26 I finally receive the redeeming call, I will be operated on Tuesday March 31. I have to be in the LUMC in the Thoracic Surgery Department on Monday, March 30 at 10:00 AM. This gives us all kinds of practical challenges. Because of the Corona measures, I am allowed a maximum of 2 unique visitors per day. This means that I cannot have my whole family visiting. B. is breastfed and if I succeed I want to continue so I would like him to visit me every day.
If we receive the offer that the eldest two can staying out, we are happy to accept that offer. Of course, that is not an ideal situation either, but then they have at least the peace and regularity and they can go on home schooling. Because whether they are at home or elsewhere the lessons are online anyway.

March 30

At 10 AM we arrive at the hospital. Due to the Corona measures, we have not yet spoken to the chest surgeon and I have no idea what to expect. M. and B. will stay in the hospital until we spoke to the surgeon. Fortunately, B. is having a great time with the cupboard ;-)

During the intake I am told that the room where I am now is an intake room. I'll stay there until I go to the OR in the morning. After the surgery I have to stay overnight at the ICU, then I come back to this unit. When I go to the OR they keep my belongings in a safe until I get back to the unit.
Early in the afternoon I have an appointment with the ENT doctor. He explains what they will do during the surgery.
The trachea consists of rings, they are going to remove the rings where the tumor is. Along the trachea, nerves run to the vocal cords. These nerves control the vocal cords. When you talk, the vocal cords converge and the air that passes between them produces sound. They do not yet know whether the tumor has grown around the nerve. If that is the case they have to cut the nerve, it is not possible to replace the nerve so that means the nerve is lost. That vocal cord can then no longer be controlled. It is not that you can’t speak anymore, but the volume is a lot lower. They can inflate the vocal cord with a special liquid so that you can talk at a normal volume again. However, this is of later concern.

After the appointment with the doctor, they go with a camera through my nose to look at the mobility of my vocal cords. This is important so that they can compare this with the mobility after the surgery.
At the end of the afternoon, the chest surgeon finally visits us. That morning he had a 1.5-hour consultation with the ENT doctor about my case. This is not the only consultation about my case and it indicates the complexity of the surgery.
The surgeon goes through all possible scenarios again.
  1. The tumor is only in my trachea.
  2. The tumor is in my trachea and around the nerve of my vocal cord.
  3. The tumor is in my trachea, around the nerve and against / around the blood vessel towards my brain.
With the first scenario, they only need to "remove" a part of the trachea and put it back together (tracheal section). This is the most positive scenario.
If the tumor is around the nerve, they have to cut it, if the blood vessels can be spared, they can connect the nerve in another way so that it is still supplied with blood, unfortunately the effect is lost.
In the third scenario, they will have to divert the blood vessels that go to my brain. For that reason, a vascular surgeon will also be present during the surgery. The chest surgeon indicates that the blood flow from my left hemisphere to the right hemisphere is very good, so they do not expect any problems if they have to divert the blood vessel.
They have carefully thought out all scenarios and I am also confident that the surgery will go well. I notice from the surgeon's attitude that he is looking forward to it. It is a special surgery, unique in its entirety. They do the tracheal section once or twice a year. Re-routing the blood vessels to the brain is a surgery that they do little and sparing the nerve is also rare. My case is unique, along with the rare tumor. No wonder the surgeon enjoys it, a unique case is a fun challenge and interesting. And actually I also like the fact that my case is so special and give these doctors the opportunity of an interesting surgery.

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