post thoracotomy pain

[hurtinginaz]

I had a thoracotomy on Dec. 20 to remove a tumor on the surface of my lung near my spine.  Luckily, the tumor was benign.  However, I'm still experiencing quite a bit of pain, especially near my shoulder blade and along the incision.  

Currently, I'm taking Ultram 50 mg every 6 hours during the day.  I'm scheduled to return to work a week from today, and I had hoped that I would be pain free by now.  I have a follow up appointment with my surgeon in mid March.  When I went to see him 2 weeks ago, he said some people have pain for a longer period of time than others and we need to treat my pain until it subsides.  That's when he gave me the perscription for Ultram.

I was wondering if anyone out there has had a thoracotomy and could let me know if it is atypical to have pain 6 weeks after surgery. I have read about post thoracotomy pain syndrome and I'm concerned that this is what I'm experiencing.  I sure hope it will get better because I can't imagine having to live with this pain for the rest of my life!  Any advice/information would be appreciated.  I'm especially interested in advice about long term pain management after a thoracotomy.  Thanks.

[AIYSHA1]

i had a tumor removed between my heart and lung via thoracotomy/left lung deflation in may 2013.  here it is about 3 1/2 later a i still have some numbness under my left breast.  i did have some nerve regeneration pain that was a nuisance for a few weeks but my pain was at a minimum.  at this point i have some sensitivity on the inside and my incision (chest tube keloids included) bother me as they sit right where my bra is.  overall it was not bad at all.

[rickmay]

Hey there. I had a schwannoma removed from my chest cavityas well via open thoractomy, apparently very rare. One month is still extremely early in your recovery, keep your head up:) Numbness should get much better if you have any questions or anything you can reach me at ***@****.

[Quiltpecan]

I'm having pain very similar to what you describe in your reply to this medical issue.  I had a nerve tumor removed from my chest cavity.  They went through the lung area by deflating the lung.  I too have the numbness, sensitivity and pain in my upper chest area on the side of the surgery.  I am still just one month out of surgery but I'm worried the pain and sensitivity I'm feeling is going to be my new "normal."  Can you tell me how long it took for these things to improve or if they improved any?  Thank you.  

[mycrazypain]

At 45, I had heart thoracotomy surgery after heart robotic surgery failed to close PFO on 8/24/12.  I was out of wk for 6-mos and just returned back.  I still have everyday, almost all day what my surgeon calls healing pains but I feel about 4 to 5 different pains.  There's one that definitely has to do with nerves, there's another one on the back of my shoulder and over shoulder blade, pain along side of incision under my breat, the pain all over my breast.   At times its so strong that it paralyzed me. I've never taken any narcotics.  I used to take Tramadol and Motrin, which doesnt totally gets rid of pain but helps make it better. With that said snd in reading the posts I guess I still have a long way to go.

[Yoshimano]

Hi man. Your story is so easy to relate to for me! Same conditions when I was diagnosed a spontaneous pneumothorax, though I did nothing for it. Now after almost two years, I still feel pain near my spine, with some levels hardly sufferable. I never saw any pain specialist. Do yo uthink that would help in any way?

Thanks for sharing your story.
Sébastien

[DeeBPickus]

As an FYI, it has been 5 years since my surgery and I still have these pains. Have not gotten any better, sometimes gets worse, but subsides (I blame this on the weather). Have not seen a pain management doctor because I'm afraid they will say I'm making it up and I don't want to spend money on stuff that doesn't work. The worst pain, however is the itching from the scar. I used an ointment on it (very difficult to apply), had kenalog shots and laser treatments. But still the itching is so bad I have to hack at it with a spaghetti spoon until it bleeds.

I actually now regret having this done as the cyst was benign. I wish I would have looked into other possible solutions as this drastic surgery has left me with much pain and damage.