MVD Diary - Lucy Quek

Surgery performed by:   Dr Kee Hang Ho
Surgical Location:         Mount Elizabeth Hospital, (Singapore)
Surgery Date:                October 25, 2006

Diary prepared by:        Lucy Quek
Date diary finalized:      November 22, 2006

 

Monday, October 23, 2006 - Pre-surgery Testing:

Pre-op testing, blood test and ECG - Chest x-ray was done 6 months earlier during health check up.

 

Tuesday, October 24, 2006 - Hospital Check In:

Checked into Hospital at 10.00 AM, Dr Ho came by at 11:00 AM and told me the blood tests and ECG were fine and that my heartbeat was a bit low, which was supposed to be good. At 11:30 AM, Dr Lee, the anesthetist came by to ask the necessary questions. With the work done, I was allowed to go home and told to report back to the hospital at around 8:00 PM.

I was required to wash my hair with the antiseptic wash, and prescribed a steroid pill and another pill for gastric. Sleeping pill was prescribed but I skipped it thinking I would sleep well. Overall I was quite relaxed. However I only managed to sleep lightly as the spasms were having a party throughout the night.

 

Wednesday, October 25, 2006 - "MVD-Day":

I woke up at 6.45 AM, washed my hair again and showered with the antiseptic wash. I was given steroid and gastric pill again. At 8:00 AM my husband came to the hospital and at 8:30 am, the Operating Room nurse came to take me to the OR. I was asked various questions by the nurses regarding what operation I was there for and if the signature in the consent form was mine. After this I was wheeled in and transferred to the operating table. Nurses went about setting up the ECG monitoring equipment and so on. Shortly thereafter, Dr Lee, the anesthetist put the necessary tubes in my left and right wrist. Not long after that Dr Ho came in, he even teased me that he remembered the spasms were on the right side. Soon I went to sleep and they started the work on me.

According to my husband I was wheeled to the ICU at around 2.30pm. I was drowsy and when my husband came, he told me I had "NO MORE SPASMS".

I was sleeping on and off and my family visited in the evening. I felt a little nausea and giddy when I was awake. It did not cause a lot of discomfort as I was sleepy most of the time. As I fell asleep and my heartbeat dropped below 60, the ECG machine went “beeping”, initially I thought it was a signal to move my body a little, so I kept doing this when the machine beeped. I remember being sponged that night but I was half asleep.

 

Thursday, October 26, 2006 - The Day After:

Early in the morning my husband came. Visiting hour is noon.

The nurses gave me some mouth gargle and then made me sip water with a straw to ascertain if I could swallow. When lunch came, I had an orange juice and some porridge but felt nausea, couldn't keep it down and threw up when I sat up.

I had to wait till 3:00pm to be transferred to the regular ward. Both Drs. Ho and Lee came to check on me. After I was transferred to the regular ward, I tried to sit up and threw up the balance of my lunch. I did not try to eat much for dinner, so I drank apple juice and had a cup of milo (similar to hot chocolate). I slept.

 

Friday, October 27, 2006 - 2 Days Post-op:

I woke up feeling much better, the nurse helped me to a chair and pushed me to the toilet to wash up and shower. After the shower I felt much better and ate breakfast. Yes, I was hungry.

Dr Ho came, he told me the had to do a sling as my artery was looping around my facial nerve and he also had to divide 3 veins that were on the nerve. I told him my hearing appeared to have been affected. He noticed a bit of facial weakness on my HFS side. He told me I could be discharged the next morning. I asked if I could wash my hair, he agreed and gave instruction for the nurse to change my dressing. It was such a relief to be able to wash off the iodine in my hair. After that I dried my hair and had the dressing changed.

I had lunch, felt less giddy and can walk to the toilet slowly by myself. Frances and Priscilla (members of HFSA in Singapore) came to visit.

 

Saturday, October 28, 2006 - 3 Days Post-op:

I awoke at 6.30am, washed up and waited for breakfast. After breakfast, I walked to the garden and tried to do some simple exercise. Have to walk slowly as I'm still not very steady. Dr Ho came and prescribed painkiller and anti dizzy pill prior discharge, in case needed. My husband came at around 10.30 AM, paid the bills, and we went home.

 

Sunday, October 29, 2006 - 4 Days Post-op:

Had visitors and did not really rest much. I also had a half cup of coffee. I could not sleep well the whole night. On hindsight, I think because I had no caffeine in my system for the last 4 days – it was too much. Overall I have to walk slowly as still unsteady, have to adjust as I cannot hear on the HFS side and loud noisy places can be irritating.

 

Monday, October 30, 2006 - 5 Days Post-op:

10/30 Day 6 Drank coffee again for breakfast (repeated mistake). Felt very hyper the whole day and could not rest. Decided to quit coffee temporarily while recuperating.

 

Tuesday, November 01, 2006 – 6 Days Post-op:

Had a good nap after reading the morning paper. Noticed a little pain on the HFS side of the face when I touched it, felt as if I have knocked my face.

 

Thursday, November 02, 2006 - 1 Week Post-op:

Went to Dr Ho’s clinic at the hospital to have the staples removed. Dr Ho indicated I was making good progress. Regarding hearing loss, he said there is no need to do anything as it may recover within 3 months. The next appointment will be in January 2007.

 

Monday, November 06, 2006 - 11 Days Post-op:

Pain in the face appeared to have gone, however there is still slight facial weakness and I can't close the eye tightly. Prior to MVD, I could close my eye tightly.

 

Wednesday, November 08, 2006 - 13 Days Post-op:

I felt better and drove to the nearby mall to do some banking at the ATM. For 2 weeks I have tried to sleep as much as I could, usually slept well the whole night and took naps during the day. Tried to walk around and do some light exercises.

 

Thursday, November 09, 2006 - 2 Weeks Post-op:

I felt my energy level has returned and do not feel so tired.

 

Monday, November 13, 2006 - 18 Days Post-op:

11/13 Day 19 I resumed my Qigong practice in the park, which lasted 2 hours every Sunday.

 

Tuesday, November 14, 2006 - 20 Days Post-op:

I met friends for lunch and did a little shopping.

 

Tuesday, November 21, 2006 - 28 Days Post-op:

Returned to work. Slowly getting used to the hearing loss and hoping it will return gradually. Facial weakness has improved. I definitely see a happier face in the mirror now, which I haven’t seen for more than 4 years. I am truly grateful that the MVD has been successful with minimum problems.

Permission granted the HFSA to post MVD Diary on website.
Lucy Quek, November 25, 2006

 

Back to top

HFSA HOME

Home | Alternative Treatment Exp.| Ask The Docs | Bell's Palsy Exp. | Botox® Personal Exp. | Botox® Usage | Chat Room | Contact Us | Contribute | E-mail Archives | HFS Histories | Important Dates | Informational Pamphlet | Join Us | Links | Medical Advisory Board | Medical Terms | Members | Membership Summary | MVD Diaries | MVD Surgeries | Organizational Structure | Pictures | Site Map | Site Policy


Copyright © 2001, The Hemifacial Spasm Association (HFSA) Rev. 040901