Had my ICP bolt fitted on Wednesday. Had it done at about 8.30am. They took me down to the anaesthetic room, so it was sterile, even though I was not being put to sleep to have it fitted. They took off a very very small bit of hair, I had requested the bare minimum amount be taken. They put a bit of local anaesthetic in my scalp and made asmall cut in my head, above my right eye and about 1cm behind my hair line. They pulled back the scalp to expose the skull underneath. They then used a small hand drill to drill a hole about 1cm across through my skull. This was a sensation I ca only describe as strange. No real pain just a bit of pressure. They then used a blunt needle to put a hole through the lining of my brain, again just pressure. They then pushed a tube into my brain which was about 10cm long. Then a screw was screwed into the hole allowing the wire to be kept inside. They wrapped it in an iodine swab and left it sticking out my head. I was back on the ward in 45 minutes. I was then attached to a monitor which was huge. It had 2 displays showing my ICP and a big printer. Had the wire in for 2 days, I was bed bound for all of it except being allowed to go to the bathroom for a few minutes at a time.
The removal was fine. They literally unscrewed it, which was a little strange again. They gave me a few stitches, but no anaesthetic was needed for removal. I have come home for it to be analysed and will go back to clinic in a few weeks.
Close up shot of the bolt!
No comments:
Post a Comment