Today is the 5th day after the surgery. I haven't had much time to share my extraction experience because I was really bogged down with school work.
But anyway here I am, really to pen down whatever is left of my memory :D
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I had my surgery done in the morning on the 24th March at Khoo Teck Puat Hospital. I had it on a Thursday because that's when I have no classes at all. It's pretty sad that in uni, you have to put schoolwork before anything else. ):
The surgery was initially scheduled at 11.30am but I had received a call the day before, informing me to report at 11am. (I found out later that someone had cancelled their's and mine was push forward).
I also had to stop eating and drinking 8hours before the surgery, I calculated my last meal had to be at 3am. Lol. But I had stopped eating or drinking anything before 12am (if I don't remember wrongly?).
Then, the fateful morning arrived. It seem like a pretty normal morning actually. I got up and washed up before driving to the hospital with my family. Okay I shall skip all the nitty gritty details and go straight to the important stuff.
I got changed into the surgical robes and was attended to by the anaesthetist. She helped me with the catheter as well (supposedly for the GA injection) and pumped in saline solution (could feel a cooling sensation literally!). We also had a good chat about the risks I face as a 24YO male undergoing GA. Actually I was quite apprehensive about doing the extraction under GA. I recalled watching all the TV dramas and that's when the influence gets to me. It is really scary. But bobian, a man's gotta to what he's gotta do.
After the prep talk by the anaesthetist, I had a brief 5mins pre-surgical chat with my surgeon. And...before I know it, I was called into the operating threatre.
I walked into the operating threatre. I could see so many people inside through the see-through window. I pushed the door and went in. One of them removed the surgical gown till my chest level and pasted something that monitors my pulse rate (I think?!). I also felt something connected to the catheter. Everything felt like a deja vu again, recalling I had done another surgery back in 2012.
Okay now this is the crucial part (before I went into unconscious mode). A nurse placed a mask over my face and told me this is oxygen. I didn't think so much about it and breathed as normally as I could. But eh!? I could feel my eyelids getting heavier and heavier. I can tell you no amount of willpower can fight it. I tried but I am not strong enough ): Before I could count to three, I was put to sleep. They didn't even give me any warning!
And....when I woke up, I felt so drowsy. I had a really bad sore throat (I think this is the result of them inserting a breathing tube). All I could recall is the nurse changing the gauze inside my mouth. And there was lots of saliva too (eww haha). Strangely, I didn't feel pain at all. My lower lips was totally numb too. Maybe the anaesthesia was still in effect.
I laid down in the observation ward for about 1 hours before I was wheezed back into the general ward. I felt more conscious now at the point, I was later allowed to drink apple juice! The nurse was kind enough to hold the straw for me. It was cold and refreshing, after having no meals at all since the night before.
And after resting for another 1-2hours, I was paid a visit by the pharmacist who issued some painkillers, anti-biotics and mouth gargle to me. The funny part is when she asked me about my NRIC and drug allergy, I couldnt speak at all. She kinda sympathized with me and just told me to verify it visually on the medication label. LOL
Then another 30-45mins of waiting, I was ready to be discharged. I could still feel weakness in my body but was strong enough to walk out of the day surgery site. I think it was 3.30pm when I got discharged. I had spent a good 4 hours inside!
Okay, that's it for now. Shall blog about my recovery process in a short while. Please feel free to share your extraction experience with me below! Or if you have any questions feel free to ask too!
