"Tall young men are at increased risk of developing primary spontaneous pneumothorax; researchers suggest that rapid growth of the chest during growth spurts may increase the likelihood of forming blebs" source
The surgery Caleb is having is called mechanical pleurodesis aka abrasion pleurodesis. He will be under general anesthesia for one to two hours while it is being performed. A metal pad, a rough pad, or a piece of gauze will be used to injure, aka cause abrasions, to the outside of his lung and the inside of his chest cavity in the hopes that as both heal tissue adhesions will form and connect the lung to the cavity.
This is different from the chemical pleurodesis, which most of our family and friends are familiar with, in which the patient stays awake while medical grade talc is inserted into the same space. That procedure is usually performed on older patients due to the risk of cancer from the talc. If the mechanical pleurodesis does not work on Caleb, the doctor wants to do the talc. (Clint and I have found alternatives and will ask about those, if necessary.)
Caleb's thoracic surgeon's name is Clint! (Yep, another "Eastwood," but he doesn't have the cool coffee mug!) Dr. Kemp said he performs around two mechanical pleurodesis surgeries a month, and it is successful in over 75 percent of the cases. He feels fairly confident this will work for Caleb.
The first procedure, called a thoracostomy, will be the placement of the tube. Caleb will not be awake for this.
Caleb did not have any blebs visible on his xray, but there could still be one or more that were not visible. If any are found, a bleb resection surgery (image) will also be performed.
So, Caleb will have two and possibly three surgical procedures.
The surgeon made an emphasis on how painful it will be for Caleb when he wakes up. Caleb will not feel like having visitors for 3-5 days. His pain will be great during that time, and he will be on a pain pump. His pain will be significant for two weeks. He can still need pain relievers two months or longer post op. Yes, TWO MONTHS. He will not be able to drive, lift over 10 lbs, or exert himself in any way for a month. He will likely be in the hospital for 7-10 days.
We still have younger children and have a lot going on in our lives. We live over an hour from the hospital. Clint and I are dividing and conquering. Clint is with Caleb overseeing his needs. A young man in the hospital needs help doing things his father is better suited at handling. I am at home with our younger children and keeping things going. I have commitments I need to keep and will be away from home two to three nights during Caleb's hospital stay. The youngest three will travel with me.
Clint is running out of paid vacation, but his boss is helping him by allowing him to work weekends and allow it to count for his regular days which gives him vacation days back...if you can make sense of that. Brandon, Amanda, and Joshua may all stay a night with Caleb too. Clint will be there during the worst of Caleb's pain. Something happened that makes it necessary for one of us to watch over the medications they are giving him. I'll explain that later for educational purposes.
Thank you for all of the prayers you lift on Caleb's behalf!
