Monday, July 22, 2013

The first cut


So tomorrow the tonsils come out. I’m amazed. I only got to know them today! I thought they were that dangly bit that apparently is called the uvula. But now I know that they’re currently on each side of the throat and shortly they'll be under the microscope. Rowena tells me her’s dissolved, and I've just read that this is entirely true – they can atrophy after they reach their peak size near puberty.

I've never had surgery, let alone a general anaesthetic – so it’s two more firsts. I have stayed overnight in hospital before – that was at Lister too – when I’d dislocated my ankle.

I find it quite remarkable how quickly I got from no exercise for years until July, and then today swimming, cycling and walking/running the distance covered in a sprint triathlon. Here’s hoping I’ll be able to keep it up – my target has now been brought forward from Christmas to 6th October when there’s a triathlon starting at Robinsons Pool, Bedford.

I did some more googling on Level 2 lymph nodes:
Lymph nodes in the neck have been divided into 7 levels, generally for the purpose of squamous cell carcinoma staging. This is however not all inclusive as several groups such as the supraclavicular, parotid and retropharyngeal space nodes are not accounted for in this system.

Oh and I wondered if squamous and Squam Lake were linked – ‘cos Row and I have been to Squam Lake where On Golden Pond was mostly filmed. But no, Squam of Squam Lake is a shortened form of asquam which means water. Squamous means covered or formed with scales.

Level II
·        jugulodigastric 
·        base of skull to lower margin of hyoid bone
·        anterior to the posterior border of sternocleidomastoid (SCM)
·        posterior to the posterior border of the submandibular glands
o   level IIa - anterior, lateral, or medial to the vein or posterior to the internal jugular vein and inseparable from it.
o   level IIb - posterior to the internal jugular vein and have a fat plane separating the nodes and the vein 

Here's a picture - it's number 9

Right, off to pack an overnight bag and a good book – well, the latest Pete Carroll novel on my ipod.


Cheers

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