Step 2: Surgery!

I received the surgery date during my vacation in NYC.  From my very first visit to Dr. Katz and booking of my first surgery took about 3 weeks, so it was a very fast turn around.  Long walks in NYC were killing my feet and I had to come back to hotel and massage with tennis balls everyday, so I was absolutely ready to get this surgery.  Upon landing at LAX, I headed straight to the local urgent care center to get blood work / physical done.  I also purchased things I would need post-surgery (I'll document the list in a separate post) and it was finally a go time.

Hospital Visit:  My surgery was scheduled for 7:30 AM, so I had to check-in by 6:30 AM.  I left home at 5:30 AM, since I had to drive 50 miles to get to Corona from Los Angeles.  After checking-in, I paid my estimated deductible (more on this later) and was moved to outpatient room.  Nurse checked my blood pressure & weight, and soon anesthesiologist came in and introduced himself.  He told me that there were 2 options of anesthesia; 1) General and 2) Spinal.  Latter won't completely knock me out and I would be aware during the surgery, but it would be more painful and will take much longer to recover.  I chose general anesthesia - I did not want to be up during the surgery anyway.   Nurse handed me with XXL size socks, body wipes, and a gown for me to wear.  I was instructed to use all 6 wipes (2 per package) and and wipe everywhere but private parts.  After the gown was put on, I was injected with IV.  Dr. Katz came to say hello and after a brief foot bath, I was being rolled into the surgery room.

Body Wipes / XXL Socks / Gown

It felt a bit surreal to be on the surgery bed, since I never had major surgery that required general anesthesia.  Anesthesiologist said that he will start to drip in the medication through IV, and all I remember was saying "Okay"....then I woke up to "Calvin, wake up - your surgery was a success!" I was in the recovery room and my foot was heavily bandaged and it totally felt numb.

Hello to my right foot

My mouth felt very dry and thirsty due to the injection of IV & anesthesia, so I asked for some orange juice and started gulping it down heavily.  I recovered from anesthesia fairly quickly, and soon they gave me back my clothes so I can get ready to go home.  After receiving the post-surgery instructions, I was discharged from the hospital when my ride arrived.  Nurse rolled me out on a wheel chair.  In my post-surgery instruction, there also was a card verifying that I indeed had certified Hyprocure product inserted in my foot.

Certified Hyprocure Stent (size 6) was used! 

(I am not sure of that expiration date...perhaps warranty? lol)

Just like that, one foot down, one more to go.  From what I read on blogs, the imbalance between left and right could cause problems in its own right, so I'm hoping for a fast recovery and get another surgery in a month of time.