Health Update: 9/1/09 -- Today's Surgery

The operation this morning went about as smoothly as one could imagine or hope for.

During our visit with the E/N/T doc yesterday in preparation for the surgery, the doc had me smile and smile again -- to allow him to determine the best possible approach to the excision: should this be more of a horizontal cut, a vertical one, or something in between? In this process, he found a "line" in the structure of my face that he liked a lot and explained it to Deb and me: "See? there's a natural fold in the skin and muscle right here, and if I follow that line, it should make the excision easy and complete, should be a quick healing, and it should keep us well away from the facial nerve."

(Have I mentioned before that we like this guy a whole lot? And not just because he's Canadian...)

So the surgery site is bandaged -- as one might expect -- but the size and shape of the dressing looks like he followed his plan closely if not exactly.

The operation took place under local anesthesia, so I had the opportunity to listen in on the "chatter" that took place during the procedure between the doc, the nurses, and the anesthetist. Most of the talk was about kids going back to school. Very pleasant and relaxing. (Does anyone out there remember Bill Cosby's routine about hearing his surgeon say "Ooops" in the middle of an operation? Cosby says: "Doc, I don't know what you mean when you say 'Oooops,' but I know what I mean when I say 'Oooops'!" Nothing like that today!!)

While I was recovering from the anesthesia, the doc talked to Deb and said he was quite pleased with the way the surgery went. He said he had "clean margins all the way around" -- which means he could easily see where the tumor stopped and the healthy tissue started, and was able to excise the entire tumor with confidence.

(Have I mentioned before that we like this guy a whole lot? And not just because he's Canadian...)