We\u2019re closing in on a year now since I had cancer surgery. It was January 24. Then there were two plastic surgeries to reconstruct my nose with Dr. Sampson Lee, a cool guy with a well-deserved reputation for being one of the best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a follow-up appointment, I told him that my eyes were burning, itching, and almost constantly watering.\u00a0 He said that was because the doctor who removed the cancer in my nose also found cancer in my tear duct and had to remove it. Dr. Lee said, \u201cWe can fix that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u00a0He referred me to another surgeon in his clinic, and when I saw him (another drive up to Issaquah and back) he said because of the extensive surgery inside my nose he wouldn\u2019t be able to do it the way he works, inside the nose, but that there was yet another doctor who could put in the stents from the outside, Dr. Woodman in Tacoma.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I saw Dr. Woodman on August 23rd<\/sup> and once he examined me, we made an appointment for outpatient surgery on November 2nd<\/sup> which was yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The procedure took all of forty minutes, and then they sent me home with medicines and very complicated instructions for aftercare. They gave me an ice-pack mask that I put over my eyes and nose once an hour for fifteen minutes all day long up until bedtime. I am supposed to do that for three days. They gave me prescription pain meds which I took twice yesterday but switched to Tylenol today because I\u2019m no longer in much pain. I also have an ointment that I rub on my eyelids and on the incision four times a day, and an antibiotic I take three times a day. Gabi made me a calendar to track when I do what.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I can bathe, but I can\u2019t get my face wet. I think that pretty much covers the aftercare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Yesterday I felt bad all day and slept a lot. Today I feel almost normal, but my eyes are watery, and my vision is blurry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n I have two more medical appointments: one in December for a hearing problem that we think might have been related to the first surgery (possible drainage into my eustachian tube making it seem that my left hearing aid is broken which it isn\u2019t), and one in January to remove the stents that were put in yesterday.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That may be the end of it. I hope, I hope, I hope.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" We\u2019re closing in on a year now since I had cancer surgery. It was January 24. Then there were two plastic surgeries to reconstruct my nose with Dr. Sampson Lee, a cool guy with a well-deserved reputation for being one of the best. In a follow-up appointment, I told him that my eyes were burning, … <\/p>\n