Have you had a Tenchof out ?

[KICKSTART]

Ive got my date ! Next Tuesday ! No panic this time ! What i actually need to know is from people who have had it removed ..what happened ? I have asked the 'official' people here at the hospital and cant get 2 answers the same ! (as usual). I have been told its done under a local , that i will feel pushing and pulling (yeah right , i remember that from my neck , but funnily no one mentioned the extreme pain , from not enough local i recon) Now whats bothering me is how i might be afterwards. I have been told there are 2 cuffs on the Tenchof , one near the exit site , which is easy to deflate , but also a deep seated one , which might require me being cut open again , down my stomach (same as when they put it in) and then having stitches and im a bit concerned ! My cut was about 4 inches long when they put it in and there was a lot of simple things i couldnt do ! Now im just worried if this is done how im going to manage ? So if you have had one out , please tell me just what was it like ? 

[calypso]

I had mine out under general anesthesia. Went into the operating room, was put under, next thing I remember is waking up and the catheter gone.  No pain afterwards so I was lucky. Hope it goes as well for you, good luck. I didn't request general, I didn't have to, that's just how they always do it.

[KICKSTART]

Yeah thats my problem , i dont know if its money saving or what ? I had it put in under a general but they dont take them out with one , just a local ! 

[pklipe57]

I have had two removed.  The first one they did with no anesthetic.  He told me to turn my head and he pulled it out (after a little tug).  The second one (which was my final catheter) they gave me twilight drugs.  The pulled it halfway out, ran dye through it to make sure everything was okay, and then pulled the rest of it out.  One stitch was placed at the exit site. 

[KICKSTART]

Im really confused ? No one seems to mention the '2nd deep seated cuff' ? Ive been told that i will probably have to be cut open to get to this ? 

[cookie2008]

When I had mine out the surgeon went thru the same incision that he put it in its about 1 inch in length. They gave me a local and I was sedated, awake but out of it. He was hoping that it didnt attach to anything, which it didnt. I was sore for a couple days.

[KICKSTART]

  cookie

[kevno]

Hi KICKSTART,

Its a long time since i have been around the site, I have had five Tenchof in and out. Each time I was out cold and remember nothing! I have had two on the right side, two on left side. In 1980 they put the tenchof in the middle. All ten operations i had a general for. each time a stitch where the tenchof was removed and a two inch cut so they could free the tenchofs. in 13years of being on capd I only ever got two infections. BOTH times i was in Hospital. But I ended up getting epc which finished me for capd. I felt ten times better on capd than Hemo. I hate every day i go on the bloody machine.

[Hanify]

I'm like you Kickstart - I've had my tenchoff pinned down inside, so I would presume there's a bit more to removing mine than just pulling it out (Well, I hope so anyway), or I presume bits of me would come with it and I don't like the idea of that.  Is there someone you could ring to voice your concerns?

[bege]

I had my cath removed the same time the mediport ( for the chemo) removed.  I think you are refering to the catherter in your chest that was used for dialysis?  Like some said it is no big deal having it remoed. the doc used loal at both sites.  The mediport pulled more that the catheter.  But the local was the worst.  Needes in the boob was painful, but well worth it to get rid of the lines.  bege

[MissyKew]

I am a chicken, I want to be out when they put things in and pull them out.  They do have anesthesia that puts you completely out, but you don't need to be on a ventilator because it doesn't interfere with your breathing.  I just had my fistula modified under it and I never felt the giant six to seven inch incision.  This is the same anesthesia that they used when I had my colonoscopy.  Tell them straight out....You do not want to be awake for the procedure.  Oh, the recovery time for this type of anesthesia is fast, so it is great for same day surgery.

[KICKSTART]

I had my cath removed the same time the mediport ( for the chemo) removed.  I think you are refering to the catherter in your chest that was used for dialysis?  Like some said it is no big deal having it remoed. the doc used loal at both sites.  The mediport pulled more that the catheter.  But the local was the worst.  Needes in the boob was painful, but well worth it to get rid of the lines.  bege

NO a tenchof is for PD and its in your stomach 

[KICKSTART]

This is part of my problem , they DO NOT /WILL NOT put you out ! But most of you on here dont seem to have had that second cut down the middle of your stomach to get it out ? When it was put in , i had about a four inch cut from my naval downwards where they went in and also my exit site made and i have been told its pretty much the same to get it out ! Maybe they put them in differently over here ?

[tubes]

oh, i have that nice long incision on my stomach too. mines to the left of my naval, going across my stomach.
i was completely out when they removed my pd cath. i unfortunately had complications. i think i was sent home the next day and had an appt. set up for 2 weeks later to see the surgeon.  in that 2 week time period my stomach bloated up pretty big and i couldn't stand up straight but no one would listen to me. *sigh* so i go in for my appt and the nurse starts to take my bandage off and blood just pours out of the incision. needless to say i'm admitted into the hospital for "exploratory surgery" to see where im bleeding from. well i ended up with a really big incision "too big to heal on its own" and had this vac thing attached to me to help heal the wound. i dont remember what the thing was called. (obviously) the wound is packed with gaze, special dressing over it then the vacuum attached. had to carry that around for almost 2 months. i had a home health nurse come to my apt. to change the dressing.
sorry to scare  you.
that was my wonderful experience with getting my tenchof removed.

[billybags]

KS, when Alan had his out they just got hold of the end and pulled and pulled until it came out. Only joking Ha Ha. He was under sedation and it came out the same way it went in, yes you have to have stitches in the same place. It does not take as long to remove it as to replace it. He was just a bit sore for a couple of days. Wish you luck on Tuesday and don't worry about it.

[KICKSTART]

 billybags       you bugger ! 

[calypso]

You mean they didn't tie it to a doorknob and close the door like pulling teeth?

[Hanify]

I've got two incision because not long after they put mine in it flipped up and they had to go in a gain and pin it down.  Because the first cut was too recent they didn't want to go back in that way.  But, I would always be a bit scared that someone would 'forget' about that and think they could just pull it out.  That's why I think you should get on the phone and maybe make sure that someone somewhere puts something in writing stating that they know you are a bit more of a special case.

[KICKSTART]

Special case ? or Basket case ? 

[billybags]

KS A bit of both. You will be home Tuesday afternoon, don't worry. While I am on, you said that your cath dropped, did it do it on its own or did you get overloaded. It worries me if Alan gets overloaded and it don't come out! What then.

[Ken Shelmerdine]

KS I had mine out with a general anaesthetic and there must have been a second cuff because I had a small line of stitches in the centre of my lower abdomen pretty much the same as when it went in. The pain I had was probably exaggerated by the peritonitis so I don't really know what it would have been like as a normal episode of surgery.

[sico]

I've had one removed kickstart. But i had another inserted at the same time. Think i had an epidural in the spine so didn't feel anything really.