Drs strolled in about 9:30 today ( during week they are there at 6). It was fun because the senior resident on duty had been the junior resident who spent so much time with us in 2013, doing the work that young residents are assigned. She was in our room every hour for an entire weekend, pricking the roof of his mouth to make sure the newly placed graft did not become over supplied with its new blood supply. Now she visited with her own entourage of young residents! She was there to supervise removal of the drain tubes. Snip snip of a few sutures, one young resident on each side, and a little tug and out they came. Steri strips on and we were told soon as they wrote orders we could head home. We got home around 2:30.
Mel was on heavy duty narcotics- Dilaudid in the hospital. They sent a RX of it home too. He got home and relaxed a while having Taken his RX before he left the ward. Then he got up and fixed his VitaMix supper with its usual 1/8 tsp cannabis, and believe it or not he has not needed his RX!!! He is fine! Sore and stuff, but pain level is tolerable with no narcotics!
Pathology is back. Both clusters of nodes, one each side, were indeed the same clear cell carcinoma as the palate had been. One side it had eaten through the capsule. But all other adjacent nodes are benign. So upward and onward to radiation in 6 weeks. Boy it's good to be home!
Velda