@grump I'm coping pretty well so haven't had plication surgery yet. The thoracic surgeon who diagnosed my paralyzed diaphragm wanted to schedule it right away; but I view surgery as a last resort, not a starting point. Rather, I've been trying to lose weight, build up my strength and stamina, and learn as much as I can about this condition.

In addition to plication surgery, there are a couple of other options available, depending on what caused the damage to the phrenic nerve, how recent that was, and the extent of damage: 1) Wait and see. Sometimes the phrenic nerve heals itself, which is pretty amazing, and the diaphragm just starts working again. 2) Diaphragmatic Pacemaker. Dr. Raymond Onders at the University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center attaches a diaphragm pacemaker that works like a heart pacemaker to stimulate the phrenic nerve to get the diaphragm to work. 3. Nerve Graft. Dr. Matthew Kaufman at the Institute for Advanced Reconstruction in Shewsbury, New Jersey, is grafting a working nerve onto the damaged nonworking phrenic nerve.

I never saw any value to Facebook until I joined a Facebook group for people with paralyzed diaphragms that has around 750 members. I'm learning so much from them and their first-hand experiences and highly recommend it. Are you going to have the plication surgery or did you have it?

Hello @grump and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I can see that members @nla4625 has responded to you and the pair of you are trading notes, which is great! Like Nancy mentioned, will you please come back to the discussion once you meet with your surgeon?