Several days post-surgery now, so I figured I'd wrap this thread up.
In the days leading up to surgery I received several phone calls from the surgery center and my surgeon's nurse - calls from the anesthesia nurse, the OR nurse, and my surgeon's nurse. The day before surgery the OR nurse called with instructions about infection prevention, reiterating the shower the night before and morning of with Hibeclens anti- bacterial soap and an admonition to not clip, trim, or shave any body hair prior to the operation.
So, morning of - my friend picks me up a little before 4 AM and we arrive at the surgery center right on time & the security guard has to let us in - I am the only patient there. I spend about 5 minutes getting checked in and by the time I'm done, only one other patient has shown up. (I hear later that there was a bit of a “to-do” as this other patient refused to wear a mask, security was called - I was aware of none of this.)
After check in I wait less than a minute before a young, short, brunette nurse takes me back to my prep room. There she confirms my ID & scheduled procedure, hands me a gown, hospital socks, big plastic bag for my clothes and 5 packs of anti-bacterial wet wipes. I am instructed to get completely undressed, put clothes in the bag, and wipe down/ wash with the wet wipes - one for each arm and leg and 1 for my abdomen - and put on the gown “but please do not tie it”. I am told to not use the wipes on my face, head, or “private parts.” I get undressed and use them as instructed and they leave a milky film on my skin. When done I put on my gown and slightly open the door as requested, then climb onto the gurney.
As the first patient of the day, I seem to get extra attention. All told, I probably saw a dozen different nurses.
After a few minutes, two nurses come in to take my vitals and start an IV in the back of my left hand. While one does the ID & procedure check and takes a medical history, the other leaves to get me a warmed blanket. A few minutes later the surgeon shows up and after some small talk he confirms the procedure. He then says that he's going to mark the location, pulls the blankets back and slides my gown aside and puts his initials just above my pubic hair on my right side with a blue marker. He is careful to not expose anything more than necessary.
About 5 minutes after he left, another nurse comes in and introduces herself as the OR nurse. After a little small talk she confirms the procedure to be done, then pulls the blanket back, slides my gown aside just enough to expose the surgeon's initials. She then puts her own initials there with a green marker, covers me back up and assures me that they'll take good care of me.
A few minutes later, two other nurses come in. One checks vitals while another puts pressure cuffs on my legs. As she finishes that, two more nurses come in and one is about six feet tall and built like a linebacker - short blonde hair, shaved sides at her temples, and pink & purple highlights - her presence dominates the room. She introduces herself as my anesthesia nurse. She asks a series of questions about dental work, when did I last eat, when did I last drink, did I snore, use a CPAP, etc. She then asked what the procedure was to be and asked if the surgeon and the OR nurse had been in and I confirmed that they had. Then, with three other nurses in the room she unceremoniously flipped my blankets down to my knees and flipped my gown up, exposing me from my knees to my chest. She notes the two sets of initials - poking them with one sausage finger and proceeds to add her own initials with a purple marker - commenting that purple was her favorite color. When she was done she pulled my gown back down and flipped my blankets back up. She said that she was going to put something on my IV to relax me and then would return to give me something in my IV to knock me out when they took me to the OR where she would stay with me and ensure that everything went according to plan. I asked if she could wait until I was in the OR before putting me all of the way under, as I'd like to see it and the surgical team. She said “no problemo”
I felt the drug she put in my IV start to take effect and felt very relaxed. About 5 to 10 minutes later she came back with three other nurses to wheel me to the OR. We passed the nurses station and I smelled fresh coffee and commented how that wasn't fair, but could tell that my speech was a little fuzzy. We wound down the hallway and through the OR doors - it was well lit and cold and was fully staffed with people in gowns and masks. I started to say something to the OR team about them being a team of champions, but I don't think I got the words out. I remember several hands reaching toward me and I was out.
Next thing I knew I was trying to come to, speaking to a nurse but couldn't keep my eyes open. This happened a couple of times before it worked and I remained awake. Eventually the surgeon came in and debriefed me on the surgery - all went well. He explained wound care and that there were no external stitches - the incision was glued together and that it would wear away on its own over the next week to 10 days.
He left and a nurse came in to check my incision. She moved the blanket aside and I noticed that my gown was bunched up around my belly. That's also when I noticed that I had been shaved from just above my belly button down as far as I could see - which was to about the top half of my penis. I mean, I knew that they were going to, but it was never discussed.
I was offered a small can of ginger ale with a straw, and while the nurses left me alone, I was never alone in my little room. They did get my friend who was driving to come back to my room. After about 20 minutes it seemed, another nurse I hadn't seen already came in and asked how I was feeling and if I was ready to go home. She sent my friend to get the car and asked if I would need help getting dressed. I said I didn't think so and as she helped me sit up I realized that I was still pretty woozy & light headed. So she brought me my bag of clothes and she said that she would stay with me in case I needed help. The first thing I did was put on my fleece jacket because I was cold. Then with the blanket across my lap I tried to put my underwear on, but couldn't reach my feet. So she helped me get my feet through the leg holes and raised them up to my knees where I could grab them. I stood and pulled them up while she held me steady. Similarly, she helped with my sweatpants and socks and shoes. By the time she had wheeled me to my friends car, i was much more myself.
When i got home I found out that they had shaved me (okay, close clipped) from just above my belly button to my upper thigh. I was surprised to find out just how thoroughly they shaved my scrotum - front, sides, and bottom clipped close, back kind of half trimmed.
Anyway - way too long I know.
Unanticipated complications… drainage. Not only did my penis and scrotum turn purple and black (like a bruise), they became swollen with fluid. At first, only about a third of my penis swelled with fluid - like a contusion - looked rather alarming. Then it started turning dark. Eventually the fluid spread and my penis looked like I was in the early stages of arousal all of the time. My scrotum became swollen to where it felt like it was twice it's normal size (it wasn't that big, just felt that way), then it started turning the color of bruises and angry storm clouds. Pain hasn't been too bad unless I cough, sneeze, or twist the wrong way - then it's like a branding iron shoved in my gut where the incision is. But each day is better. I go back to see the surgeon next week.