Well, I am 2 days post surgery with Drs. Cognetti and Heller. I am told the surgery went very well. So far no weakness, mostly pain at neck site, tired and no voice. So far, this is nothing like the pain that I had in May after a prolapse surgery. Time will tell if my symptoms get better or no change. I will say that the pulsatile tinnitus is not gone but much more intermittent now.
Now my question, is it normal to have a sore throat, dry mouth and no voice? For how long?
@bs9652 - Yes, a hoarse or no voice & a very sore throat are quite common post op. The cause is the breathing tube that’s inserted down your throat to help you breathe during surgery. Dry mouth is a side effect of the anesthesia which will work its way out of your body over the first week post op. The symptoms can last for several days to a couple of weeks but usually go away by the end of week 2 post op. Having a very sore jaw can also be a post op problem which is why we recommend having a soft diet ready to eat for several days after surgery in case chewing is difficult.
For your throat, you can try sucking on ice chips, popsicles, or sipping ice water or other cold drinks you enjoy. Lower sugar drinks will be less likely to increase inflammation.
Tomorrow is day 3 post op. Days 3-5 or 6 are when the swelling peaks so be sure to keep on your pain meds schedule, ice your neck regularly & sleep w/ head elevation of ~30º during that time as those things will make it easier to manage your pain over the next few days.
I’m glad you’ve already noted improvement from the pulsatile tinnitus. Don’t be alarmed if it flares back up again as that can happy when the swelling increases. It should reduce/subside over the next 3-12 months as your nerves & vascular tissues heal.
I agree that intubation has more than likely caused your sore throat, and hopefully your voice issues too, so this should resolve soon Praying your surgery is successful
As far as the surgery went, I am surprised at how well I feel overall. The team at Jefferson was awesome. I believe that it is still early to expect symptoms to go away so I’m just resting and being patient. I have a video conference on Thursday with Dr. Cognetti. Thanks so much for all of your support and prayers. I’ll keep you updated.
Praying your surgery is successful 
