My port is out!

As expected, the operation was a success, though I required more sedation this time than when the port was installed about a year ago. Both procedures used "conscious sedation", where Doctors apply a local anesthetic (Lidocaine cream) to the surgical site to numb it and then give you some other drugs to make you relax and feel good, yet you're awake and moderately alert during the procedure. I still remember very clearly "Dr. Best" (the doc who installed my port) asking me tons of computer questions during the operation, so yes it's definitely "conscious sedation".

This time, however, the Lidocaine cream didn't seem to do its job (not on long enough?) as I could feel the incision as it was being made. No problem -- nurse, more IV drugs! Problem solved. By the time I got home this afternoon I felt like I had about 6 margaritas too many and crashed in my bed for 4 hours straight. Now that I'm up, the "hangover" has started. Yup, they definitely gave me more stuff this time!

But I give the team at Emory credit for getting everything prepped and ready so quickly. I checked in around 9:00am and I left there just before 11:30. That's incredibly fast turn-around given that the bulk of this time was spent drawing blood work and waiting for labs results prior to the operation. I'm quite impressed.

My freshly re-opened scar (i.e., they reused the incision from my port placement operation) will need to stay covered for the next 10 days.

As some have already noted on Facebook, "the meaning of this is HUGE!" Indeed, as it means "no more chemo" for starters and cleary shows that my doctors feel that I'm on the road to a full recovery. Yeah!