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slinklater
Oct 16, 2013, 12:57 AM
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I'm scheduled to have some abdominal surgery that will require a vertical incision above the belly button and then north 6 inches or so. The cut will be in between the muscles but through the connective tissues. I primarily boulder and am concerned with lose of core muslces and/or re-injury from pulling too hard or falling. Has anyone had this type of surgery and what were your recovery experiences? time till climbing again? any tips?
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shiro16
Oct 16, 2013, 7:16 AM
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Pee em sent.
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slinklater
Feb 20, 2014, 3:53 AM
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so in an attempt to encourage others with similiar scenarios, here was my story and healing progression. I primarily boulder, and during this time frame stuck to the gym.
so i had the surgery on October 28th and was in the hospital for 4 days following what is known as a extended right colectomy where they remove a section of your large intestine by going in through a vertical incision of about 7 inches the jogs around the belly button. the issue is that it goes right along the natural abominal line right in the middle, and there is the inner sutures the hold together the abdominal wall tissue, then the outer sutures that hold together the skin, in my case it was glued together. I was on my back for 2 weeks with little ability to roll around, lift my legs, or really use any core strength. coughing and sneezing were near impossible. at about mid-December i could start to do light leg lifts and could walk around the block but it was painful. The day before Christmas i returned to the gym and could hold onto the wall on a V0 for just a few moments (prior i was a v4-v5 climber). by new years i could climb about half way up a v0. On january 27th, almost 3 months after, i sneezed and for the first time it didn't hurt. Today, feb 19th, i just climbed my first v4 since last october and i didn't have any abdominal pain.
what did i learn? first, always have someone with you in the hospital - your care increases significantly. second, do as little as possible for 4 weeks. I went back to my desk job at 3 weeks and regreted it. third, swab the incision with hyrogen proxide everyday - once i started this habit upon surgeons suggestion it healed much more quickly. fourth, i didn't lose as much strength as i thought i would - in fact i healed a couple of nagging injuries, so don't worry it will all come back pretty quickly. fifth, falling is no issue at all - orginally i was concerned but its kind of a natural progression...by the time was able to climb high the other parts were healed enough to take the impact
I hope this is helpful for those facing similar procedures
(This post was edited by slinklater on Feb 20, 2014, 4:01 AM)
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slinklater
Feb 20, 2014, 3:54 AM
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thanks for the message - it was helpful to hear your experience
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Appelkoos
Feb 20, 2014, 7:27 AM
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Hi,
I'm in a similar situation - had an emergency appendictomy late last month, and not sure what my rehab outlook is going to be like.
I was back to work after 2 weeks, could sneeze after 3 weeks, and about to get back into some gentle swimming.
Judging by your experience (2 months off, 2 months to get strength back) I'm guessing that my rehab is happening at about twice your pace.
Thanks for your follow-up post: keeps me motivated. In the mean time I'll stick to finger training toys and typing online forum responses.
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amarius
Feb 20, 2014, 9:22 PM
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February 6 was in a single car auto accident - 4 broken ribs, L4 lacerated spleen, 1L of blood loss, pneumothorax.
Splenectomy resulted in 7in incision just below the sternum, going South, held together by staples.
Was out of surgery early hours on Friday. Out of CCU Saturday noon, walking around Saturday afternoon. Out of hospital Monday afternoon.
Staples were removed on Feb 17th. Surgeon was satisfied with the state of incision. Told me to ease into running. Also said that ribs take 6 weeks to heal, also mentioned that, in high school, he played football with broken ribs ;). He suggested that I should ease into any activity that loads abdominals, mentioned that it usually takes 6 weeks for things to get back to normal.
Have a PT friend who promised to get me started on rehab.
We'll see how it goes
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onceahardman
Feb 21, 2014, 11:21 PM
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amarius wrote: February 6 was in a single car auto accident - 4 broken ribs, L4 lacerated spleen, 1L of blood loss, pneumothorax. Splenectomy resulted in 7in incision just below the sternum, going South, held together by staples. Was out of surgery early hours on Friday. Out of CCU Saturday noon, walking around Saturday afternoon. Out of hospital Monday afternoon. Staples were removed on Feb 17th. Surgeon was satisfied with the state of incision. Told me to ease into running. Also said that ribs take 6 weeks to heal, also mentioned that, in high school, he played football with broken ribs ;). He suggested that I should ease into any activity that loads abdominals, mentioned that it usually takes 6 weeks for things to get back to normal. Have a PT friend who promised to get me started on rehab. We'll see how it goes
WOW!
I'm glad you're alive, brother. Please keep in touch.
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amarius
Mar 4, 2014, 5:32 PM
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Short update, haven't gotten on any walls yet
- built up to 6 mile run - 4.5 miles at 8mph, the rest warm up and cool down.
- can do to bicycle exercises, but lack relaxation and confidence.
I will try to put climbing harness on and see how hanging of rope feels.
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richardvg03
Mar 4, 2014, 5:35 PM
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amarius wrote: Short update, haven't gotten on any walls yet - built up to 6 mile run - 4.5 miles at 8mph, the rest warm up and cool down. - can do to bicycle exercises, but lack relaxation and confidence. I will try to put climbing harness on and see how hanging of rope feels.
Keep at it!!!
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amarius
Mar 15, 2014, 1:52 PM
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Registered: Feb 23, 2012
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Five weeks post-op on -
- build up to 8 miles at 8.5 mph
- can do full sit-ups, but ab wheel full rep is still ways off
- finally got on the wall at a local gym, top-roped to, probably, 5.9+. Felt good. Broken ribs are giving me more grief than suture.
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scorpionkiss
Mar 15, 2014, 8:35 PM
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Registered: Nov 11, 2005
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I too had an emergency appendictomy last october. and I didnt climb for 3 weeks. I started at the boulder wall just to feel the stretch and remind my body of the movements, I didnt even get higher than 1 meter. I then only started to climb really easy 5.8's and 5.9's at week 4, and it took about a month after that to get back to where i was before the surgery. main concern was opening up the wound and prolonging the recovery.
Atleast now I dont have to worry about needing my appendix removed again!
And planning my first 10 pitch trip in the alps this summer.
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