Connect
← Return to Increasing pain over time after Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery
Discussion
Increasing pain over time after Video Assisted Thoracic Surgery
Lung Cancer | Last Active: 4 days ago | Replies (58)Comment receiving replies
Hi
I am new here
I had a robotic right lower lobectomy 6 weeks ago. I had no pain for 4 weeks when suddenly I had terrible back and front pain. Doc didn’t know much about lungs and gave me ibruprophen. Saw my surgeon at end of 5th week who said everything was very very good. Thought I may have pulled muscles as it is on opposite side to surgery lung. Some sites say this can happen as you start to be more active and the lung and other organs are filling in spaces. Also could be pain in ribs where robotic arms may have touched ribs. Anyone had this experience and how long did it take to feel better. Feels slightly better but very minimal. Don’t understand why it should suddenly start and why on good side Appreciate any feedback
Replies to "Hi I am new here I had a robotic right lower lobectomy 6 weeks ago. I..."
Welcome @ruthiepeg2, Ouch, that sounds rough. When you just want to feel better, additional pain is a real struggle. Did your doctors mention doing any scans since the pain started? Just to make sure that everything looks ok. Just a thought, I'm not a clinician, just a patient like you. Some members have mentioned broken ribs from surgery, but I'm not sure if that would be a delayed pain such as yours.
Connect
@ruthiepeg2 Curious, are you coughing at all? I have had severe pain since July. It was usually at the site of the operation, but now it feels like my lower rib on the opposite site is painful. I know it takes awhile for the lung to "drop" into the space created by the removal of lower lung being wedged, so I have tried to be patient. Just seems like the pain should have resolved 9 months post surgery. I am at the point I may go into the ER and just have an X-ray to see if anything has changed on either side. I ended up switching to a doctor who is a specialist in carcinoid tumors not far from me. He admitted that doing lung surgery with a robot can often result in PTPS. (Post-thoracotomy pain syndrome). It is caused primarily by intercostal nerve damage. For some people it can be so bad they have to go on disability. I'm praying the nerve block will work this time. I'm tired.