← Return to Paralyzed Diaphragm
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Lung Health | Last Active: Sep 28 3:59pm | Replies (338)
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Replies to "I was recently diagnosed with a right paralyzed diaphragm and really appreciate reading about your experience...."
@nla4625 @randolph I wanted to let you know that there is a surgeon who does nerve transfers to replace the phrenic nerve to the diaphragm. I don't have experience with this condition. Another member had shared a doctor's name who does graft surgery to repair a phrenic nerve. Here is the website where you can find the information. https://www.advancedreconstruction.com/ That may give you another option to consider.
I question whether a doctor should recommend plication surgery, as opposed to a consultation with a plication surgeon. In my case, notwithstanding the debilitation I felt, the surgeon’s assessment was that I might benefit as much from “physio, a personal trainer, some form of exercise, it doesn’t really matter.” I was a bit put out at the lack of direction but, fortunately, I held out a false hope that my phrenic nerve might recover, and plication would have “sewn” my diaphragm down, permanently. So I undertook to research my options. In the meantime, daily activities that frustrated me helped strengthen muscle groups that “cope” with breathlessness. Gardening, for example. I gradually became less distressed.
I suggest you try living with it for a year. FYI, I’ve since enrolled in cardio rehabilitation (resistance/aerobic training), pulmonary rehabilitation (yoga-ish) and “Singing to Breathe” two years after my paralysis - primarily to re-engage socially. Good luck!