Abdominal Surgery and Recovery

[GrahamB]

Dear trumpet hive-mind,

I'm due for a couple of operations in the near future, and wondered if people had any experience/anecdotes/advice regarding getting back to playing after abdominal surgery. (NB: I will, of course, follow the advice of my doctors as golden rules, and am not seeking medical opinions!)

I'm having my gallbladder removed, and from what I've read it seems that will mean about 30 days or so before playing properly. After the gallbladder I will need to have a section of my large intestine removed as a separate procedure.

Just wondering if people around here had any experience with the latter or even the combination? I'm keen to have a clear grasp of how long I'll be out of action.

Thanks!
_________________
Schilke Soprano Cornet, Beryllium Bell
Kanstul 1531 Bb Cornet
Bach Strad 37 Bb
Bach Strad 229 C with Larson "O" Leadpipe/Slide
Bach Strad 182 Flugel

[Vin DiBona]

I had three inches of my colon removed in late February. (A rare cancer.)

I have a 10" long scar from under the breast bone to under the naval. My abs were basically cut in half. The first two weeks were not very pleasant at all. I couldn't even mouthpiece buzz for more that a second or two before there was pain. Four weeks in allowed for very soft playing no higher than the f at the top of the staff.

You will have to be patient and allow your doctor to recommend when you should try to do easy long tones.

Nearly 4 months in, I have resumed full playing but you will have to take one day at a time. Do not play if it begins to hurt and expect a loss of control, tone, and range that will have to be slowly built back up.

You will have to learn to breathe properly which will really help get things going again.

I went from a 3C size mouthpiece to a Bach Artisan 7C which has helped a great deal.

Perhaps the gall bladder issue can be handled with robotic surgery which will be much easier.

The intestinal one will be determined by how much cutting they need to do.

Good luck.

R. Tomasek

[Dayton]

Start cautiously, and stop if it hurts. I had surgery to repair a hernia. Discussed practice with my surgeon, a fellow musician, as I had a performance coming up. I was able to begin playing again the day after the surgery. I started with 10 minutes, and kept notes to middle C and below (flexibility studies without skipped intervals and technical studies only).

I had a specific practice plan for the first two weeks to keep things well within my comfort zone (i.e., completely pain free). I very gradually increased practice time, range, dynamics, intervals, etc., over the next four weeks (weeks 4-6 following surgery). I stress the importance of "gradually."

Edit: I should add that your body is not going to forget how to play the trumpet if you miss a few weeks. You don't want to injure yourself -- which can be a big deal following surgery -- and you don't want to develop bad habits. Bearing that in mind, don't start practicing again until it feels ok to do so.

Good luck!

[kehaulani]

You don't even want to hear my medical history, so this generalization:
You can only do what you can do.
Be patient.
Listen to your doctor.

Use this medical time to read/study/listen to music.
_________________
"If you don't live it, it won't come out of your horn." Bird

Yamaha 8310Z Bobby Shew trumpet
Benge 3X Trumpet
Benge 3X Cornet
Adams F-1 Flghn

[hose]

I had five inches of my colon removed two years ago via a full abdominal incision. Wore "a bag" for eight months until my colon was reattached via laparoscopic surgery. Both surgeries required time off the horn. I missed about one month of playing after the first major surgery. I worked with the PETE a few seconds per day while I was off. I returned to ensembles in about two months (or less). I was more than ready. I did not "push it". I think I am in better trumpet shape now than before the surgery. The short time off and restarts allowed me to better focus on breathing and how to use my body/air more efficiently. As far as range I have a useable high D which is what I had before the surgery. From observation, I think hernia surgery may be harder to come back from. We're all different and we bring different attitudes and physical characteristics to the table. Listen to your doctors. I asked a lot of questions of different docs and took the advise I wanted to hear most. ie; One surgeon said I could play in two weeks. Another said take a month off. I used my own judgement.
_________________
Dave Wisner

Picketts
Yamaha 6335RC
Yamaha 8335RS
Lawler Flugel
Kanstul cornet