Hi Sara

I am not a nurse, but I just wanted to say a quick hello and you are not alone.  I had a wedge liver resection on 6th August and was surprised that I am still in as much discomfort as I am.  I actually felt like I was getting worse rather than better!  Prior to the op I was confident that I would bounce back quickly, I am mid 50s, very fit and healthy.  The week after my op I wasnt too bad, other than pain from the incision, then last week I started getting sharp stabbing pains in my side (my tumour was removed from the front of my liver).  I was getting pretty worried, I rang my specialist nurse for advice, she was confident that it was just internal bruising and nerve pain from where they were moving everything around inside, you can also get irritation of the diaphram as well which can cause pain.

The last few days I have finally noticed a improvement, the stabbing pains have decreased and I now just have the general tight / pulling feeling, just painful if I sneeze, cough, laugh or twist myself.

If you dont feel better soon, maybe give your specialist nurse a call, they will be able to see your case history.

I hope that you start feeling better soon.

Best wishes

Annie

Hi Annie, 

thank you for your response. I suspected the various twinges and sharp stabs were internal readjustments. I haven’t had response from my specialist nurse, which has been disappointing. This op has been much more traumatic than the one I had for colon cancer previously, and so I am less confident about longer term recovery. I do have follow up appointment next week.. so will see what the professionals say then ;)

If all looks good with the wound, it's probably a large part down to nerve regeneration. Whilst my wife didn't get the liver thing, she still gets pain and discomfort from where they took the cancer out of her. Nerves are notoriously slow at healing, and they can hurt and cause discomfort for months, and in my wife's case, 2 years out from the op.

Hello SaraC1,

                        like yourself l had 60% of my Liver resected and l have to tell you that with a history of over 20 operations for shattered arm,leg, hip replacements and bowel surgery the Liver was by far the worst and took the longest to come good.

You are writing this some five weeks after the event---so much is your giddy-up you must have been a Pony Express rider in a previous life! .l spent ten days strapped into a hammock after the op ,and the next four weeks trying desperately not to breathe deep, cough, sneeze, jolt from sudden movement or laugh, and despite my history l am highly active and fit

My recollection is that what you describe is par for the course, and yes the liver will take longer to heal than say muscle which has a greater blood flow, certainly l think things should improve after 3 months

take care, give your body a little more time to heal and your mind some time off,

David

Hello and thanks for posting,

I can see that other members have responded to you already.

This is to be expected, and superficial nerve endings take time to recover, and it can take up to six months or more to recover fully, as everyone varies in their overall recovery rate. Build up activities and exercise gradually, as advised by your hospital team. 

I hope this helps,

Please get back to us if you need any more information or support.  You may find it helpful to talk things through with one of the nurses on our helpline.  The number to call is Freephone 0808 800 4040 and the lines are open from 9am till 5pm Monday to Friday.

Yours sincerely,

Vanda