The Coop Loop Surgery

31 Jan 2008 - The Coop Loop procedure, finally - I was hoping to get some relief from the cough after this.

Initially, the nurse levelled my bed to wheel me down to the operating theatre, but when I started coughing, she quickly raised the top half of my bed again. When we reached the OT, I had so much phlegm in my throat and chest. I asked if they could insert a tube to suction out the phlegm, and was told they did not have such a tube in the OT, only in the ward.

I was transferred to the OT bed which was flat, made to lie on my left while the surgeon and his staff prepared for the procedure on my right side. By then, I was sputtering, choking and coughing so much that when the surgeon asked me to hold still while he made the incision, it was near impossible for me to do so. Fortunately, one of the staff saw the miserable situation I was in and offerred me tissues. Gratefully, I took the tissues from him and emptied whatever phlegm I could, that by the time they proceeded to my left side, I was much better. It was a very minor surgery and the whole procedure was completed in a short time.

I had not felt any pain nor discomfort as they had administered local anesthestics. After they had cleaned the surgical areas, one of the staff turned on the valves on both tubes to drain the fluid. As soon as the valves were turned on, I felt very sick (like coming down with a bad flu) and I could not breathe. (I found out that body fluid should not be drained too fast as it will cause a drop in body temperature.)

I asked the nurse to rush me back to the ward as I could not breathe and I needed oxygen.