Another surgery 4 months following right lower left lobectomy?

Please consider getting a second opinion from a different gastroenterologist. Your thoracic surgeon has focused their study on the lung and heart and there may have been advances in treatment of conditions related to the gallbladder that a thoracic surgeon can not be expected to know.

Do trust your surgeon to know if this is related to your earlier surgery but a gallstone is not something to be ignored.

@minnie528 , I'm sorry to hear that you are dealing with the pain. You know best how you feel. Talking with your surgeon about the pain being related to the lobectomy is a good idea. Gallstones can be troublesome, it's good to know that they are there, so you can monitor any increase in symptoms that seem related. With mine, which was removed over 10 years ago, every time I ate french-fries I felt it. I knew those fries weren't good for me, and my body told me that too! Are you noticing an increase in symptoms after eating fatty foods?

I had no idea that I had gallstones bc they were impacted and I had no pain. Dermatologist sent me to ER bc my skin was tinged yellow. Good thing she did. I had 3 ERCPs with stents. Gall bladder removal was very difficult bc it was packed with gallstones. Recovery was quick. Don’t ignore gallstones.

@minnie528, this is all so overwhelming. How are you doing? Did you talk to your thoracic surgeon on Friday? What did you decide?

@minny538,
I am four weeks post-op LLL VATS wedge resection and removal of two lymph nodes from the center of my chest. I have two incisions in my back and one in my armpit. My incisions healed quickly.

I saw my physical therapist 2 weeks post-op and she looked at my incisions and noticed that the skin was puckering around the incision in my armpit and I had bumps on two of my incisions. This caused pain when I moved certain ways. She said that my scar tissue was attaching to surrounding structures and would cause more pain as it matured. It is best treated early. She showed me how to gently do scar massage. Two weeks later the bumps were almost gone and the skin puckering and was completely gone. I have recovered full range of motion in my arms.

Physical therapy or massage therapy to massage the scar may help.

@minnie58,

I have a 8 mm rare gallbladder polyp that was recently diagnosed and can potentially turn to cancer. I am also facing a potential cholecystectomy in the near future. I had a consultation with Dr Cornelius Thiels, Hepatobiliary Surgical Oncologist at Mayo Rochester, and I am scheduled for a follow up in Sept.

Mayo Rochester is highly rated in GI and GI Surgery if you are considering a second opinion.

He couldn't say much because it's not his area, but I saw my GP & she said to ignore it if you're not having any attacks or distinct pain & the pain I have on my right side, both doctors said it's most likely to the surgery. So I'll take their word for it. Thanks for asking!

Hi Minnie, Just saw your post any updates?

I had a lower left lobectomy end of Sept 2023 and I still have intermittent rib pain ( mine is under my left breast) that sounds just like yours it wraps around.
It started to feel a little better in March. But I still deal with it.
I take gabapentin & use lidocaine patches. I have to be careful with any abdominal movements.

It just depends what I do. Ours kind of sound alike, but mine was lower right lobectomy. I have to be careful as well because the back pain is bad. I don't take anything. Walking seems to help the back pain most days. When I do my deep breathing, ribs & chest still hurt & I feel it to my back. It's kinda weird. Thanks for asking.

My husband had a right upper lobectomy on March 6, 2024 and has continual moderate to severe pain in his lower right side. He also a dry cough that is fairly constant.
His oncologist ordered a Trans Thoracic exam and an EKG for later this month. He took Gabapentin after surgery and just began taking it again for his back pain. I read a recent post about physical therapy helping. Thank you for your helpful advice.