Tony's Home from the Hospital

From the Man himself!

November 13th
Hello all! Finally feel up to sitting in front of my computer for a few minutes and I thought I’d let you know where I am in the recovery process. Had the surgery two weeks ago and doctors tell me it will probably be three more weeks before I get most of my strength back. Can’t drive for eight weeks. Too soon to know what I can expect from the surgery but doctors are very optimistic.

Best news I received when I was discharged is no restriction on drinking wine.

Before the LVRS, the only time I used O2 was when I exercised on my treadmill and bike. Didn’t use a portable unit but the SOB during the past six months was getting worse. My doctor confirmed that SOB was exacerbated by a hormone treatment I must take for a prostate condition. Hope this isn’t too much information.

Fact remains I did have emphysema and had only 23% lung capacity.

My surgery was through the sternum. Took out 60% of the upper left lung and 40% of the upper right lung. Had a problem with air remaining in my chest causing facial puffiness but that was easily fixed with inserting two more chest tubes.


November 16th
Dr. Furakawa doesn’t do VATS, sternum only. Feeling pretty good today. I had a therapist visit twice since I’ve been home. Most therapy is for breathing with some stretching. It’s not the same as the pulmonary therapy we know with treadmills and bikes. Purpose is to get your chest and lungs expanded to work better.

I didn’t have any pain after or since the surgery. Occasional discomfort with a chest tube but nothing I couldn’t handle.

Toughest part of this is the prolonged recovery time. One simply cannot expect life to return to “normal” overnight. Patience – Patience – Patience!


December 2nd
Penny, haven’t forgotten you. There hasn’t been much to report for the past few weeks but now I’m beginning to make some progress.

Limitations are no driving for 8 weeks and no lifting anything over 10 pounds. I retired in May this year so the no driving isn’t a problem.

Feeling stronger everyday but still week in the knees. Had six visits by a physical therapist and she had me doing a number of non-strenuous exercises, riding my stationary bike and walking through the house. Weather has been great and I was able to walk around the outside of my house without O2. The good news is no extreme SOB. I did get “winded” but the therapist told me this was the result of my weakened condition and not a pulmonary issue.

Saw my doctor yesterday and got a good report. Chest xray was very good and indicated my lungs are expanding into the areas which were removed. I was able to walk slowly from the car to the radiology department and then to the doc’s office with no SOB. It was a fair amount of walking.

I was getting somewhat antsy with what I thought was slow recovery but the doc told me LVRS needs 3 to 6 months before I get back to “normal” and my progress to date was excellent.

The doc wants me to begin rehab at Temple within the next few weeks. The rehab will be somewhat mild in view of my weakened condition but it’s a start. Also gave me a scrip for regular rehab after I get more strength back.

Penny, the 3 months of rehab Dr. Cooper recommended will certainly improve your condition. When I started rehab, I was barely able to do 10 minutes on a treadmill at 1.5 miles per hour with O2. A week before the surgery, I was up to 40 minutes without stopping at 1.5 miles per hour with O2 and that’s was with emphysema. In my opinion, the rehab will help if they want to retest.

December 13th

Not much new to report except that I seem to get stronger daily. Still tire out around 8:00 PM but that’s to be expected. Still have the creepy things crawling around in my chest and the incision is sensitive but not uncomfortable or sore. Gotta’ love that crazy glue.

I’ve been doing some light rehab at home on my stationary bike and treadmill. Can go as long as I want on the bike and up to ten minutes on the treadmill at 1.5MPH. I probably could go longer but I don’t want to overdo it.

Next week I’ll start a 2 session per week rehab at Temple. Thought it best to start there because they are experienced with LVRS patients. I’ll go to Bryn Mawr after the New Year.

If anyone asks you about the value of rehab, please impress on them that the stronger your muscles are the less O2 needed to help you do things. It really helped me.

December 30th

Started two session per week rehab at Temple last week. They started me on the treadmill and when I asked for O2 they told me to try it without O2. To my surprise, I didn't need the O2. They started me at 1.2 MPH for 10 minutes and I didn't experience the severe pre-surgery SOB I had in the past even while on O2. I could have done more than 10 minutes but they didn't want me to over do it on the first day. In addition to the TM, they use the stationary bike, the arm exerciser and a "Nu-Step" which exercises your arms and legs simultaneously and all without O2.

After the first 3 sessions, I'm now allowed to determine how long I want to go with each exercise. Yesterday, I went for 25 minutes at 1.2 MPH on the TM without O2. They increased the arm and leg tension on the other equipment, which are all more strenuous than the TM, and I'm doing 15 minutes on each one.

Today, I did a non-stop 40 minutes at 1.5 MPH on my home TM without O2 and did not experience anything more than very mild SOB. I was amazed. It's now tougher on the legs than on my lungs. Also do the bike and weights at home. I did learn that walking on the TM doesn't yet compare to normal outdoor walking. Went to a shopping center with my wife and had to do some walking which resulted in mild SOB. Nothing severe but enough to tell me I still have a fair amount of recovery in front of me before walking any distance outdoors.

In the past, simply walking around the house could bring on SOB episodes. No longer. I haven't had any of these for the past 3 weeks. Going up a flight of steps now leaves me somewhat "winded" but nothing compared to the gasping for breath experienced in the past which required 2 to 3 minutes for recovery.

It's been 8 weeks since the surgery and there's no doubt it has helped me. Hard to believe that removing 50% of my lungs could improve my breathing.

Penny, I can speak only for myself but I recommend the procedure to anyone who qualifies. The improved QOL is worth the initial discomfort.