[jml]

Hi~
I had a R hepatectomy back in December '05.
But first, a little background - I was dx'd 5/17/2002, Stage IV L IDC w/a single met in the R lobe of my liver.
After a 43 weeks of of 3 different chemo combo's, it was ultimately the Taxol +Herceptin that got me to NED x 1 year, that was 2003.

In 2004, the single lesion popped back up and we spent ~ 1 year beating it back, with short rounds of TH. Ultimately, it began to grow faster and that's when my surg onc. said okay, it's time to go in and get it. Going into the surgery I was in really good physical condition, walking, teaching pilates, etc. as I'd never felt any symptoms of the disease, except for beein bald;(

The surgery was as you described - The first hour of the surgery is exploratory - confirming that the only disease is the stuff they already know of, but if there are additional spots, those can be RFA'd.
In my case, my L lobe was totally clean, so just the single lesion in the R lobe, but it was close to the main portal vein & they thought they might have to resect that too and do some vascular repair, but fortunately none was needed.
It was after that 1st hour my surgeon called back to my family's waiting room to tell them 'nothing new & it's a go' that I'm told my mom was finally able to exhale and cry in relief.
The whole procedure took ~5 hours. The R lobe represents 55% of the organ, but as I understand, we can survive with just 15% of our liver.
I was in the hospital for 4 days, including Christmas day, so my friends and family set up a cute little fake Christams tree in my room. I was able to go home the next day.
A couple of details about my surgery...my incision runs from ~1"below my sternum to ~1"above my belly button.
It was supposed to be a "hockey stick" incision, with an additional 2 inches of the bottom cut to an angle, like a hockey stick, but my surgeon was able to avoid that
additional incision & I'm really grateful for that. (About my incision - I asked my surgeon to draw on my belly what the incision would look like. He was a little surprised by that request, but I told him that I didn't want to wake up and see the incision for the 1st time, I wanted to be able to "see it" before the surgery so I'd know what to expect.)
I also got an epidural,which was placed in pre-op, but dc'd 24 hours after the surgery.
My surgeon wanted me up & walking asap, which was fine with the epidural, but once they took that away,it was a lot tougher, until I figured out how to manage on the oral pain meds. By day 7 post surgery I was completely off all narcotics & just taking tylenol as needed & stool softeners bc they don't want you straining at all.
I remember feeling really bloated & having a lot of trouble passing gas & I wasn't hungry at all while i was in the hospital, but managed a little bit of fruit. Ofcourse, when you're in the hospital, they're always so concerned about passing gas or having a bm. I managed to produce something the size of a grape so I could go home!
Once home, I actually found I was more comfortable sleeping on the couch because I could prop my self sideways, lying on my L side to sleep and it was easier to get to a seated position. Those 1st few days I remember it being really painful/difficult to bring myself to sit, but once I was up, I was okay.

It really does take 4 weeks to heal, which seems long. But each week, I could feel myself getting exponentially stronger and better with more & more energy. By week 4, I was driving a friend to her doctor's appointment.
I also remember always being told that the liver regenerates - 4 weeks to regenerate + 4 weeks to reintegrate with other lobe - and that's not totally accurate.
The liver can regenerate, but not necessarily back to it's original size and shape. I can see in my CT's that my R lobe is definitely not as full as it was originally. But that's not so important bc my liver function continues to be normal, so that's good. I was able to return to teaching & training Pilates ~ 5months later.
My liver had remained NED until 2009, that's 5 good years! Though we've chased my disease around supraclav nodes, retroperitoneal nodes, & other places, I'm continuing to beat this monster back, crossing fingers, toes, bone marrow and everything else that there's another drug out there that will knock be back into the arms of NED.
I hope this info as been helpful. Please don't hesitate to reach out and send me a note with a question about anything at all.

NEVER give up HOPE and always Keep the Faith!

Jessica