The surgeon stopped into see Dad yesterday and thought everything looked great. He is hoping to get him moved to a regular room today and maybe discharged Tuesday or Wednesday. The one issue Dad has is his voice. He has not be able to talk since the surgery. We thought it was from the intubation during the surgery. Dr. Lackner said his one vocal chord on the left was injured during the surgery. The nerve was probably damaged when they removed the lung and there was no way to avoid this. Dr. Lackner had told us of this possibly happening when we met with him before surgery, but I had since forgotten about it.
The doctor is going to have ENT come and look at Dad today or tomorrow and maybe perform a procedure on Monday. Dad talks in a whisper because the left chord is not working. The doctor would inject collagen into the chord to get it fatter so it touches the working chord (or something like that). If he doesn't like the results, he can have a bigger procedure after chemo/radiation that includes attaching a different nerve to the "broken" chord.
We have goals of walking, eating, etc. over the next few days to build up his strength and endurance. He is doing very well. He is in a good mood and motivated to get up and around. Thanks for your prayers! Blessings!
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