Sugery Complete!

My surgery is complete now, and it was successful. Here is what you're looking at: Picture 1 (top left) is what my throat looked like to start. Picture 2 (bottom left) is what it's supposed to look like. In picture 3 (top right) you can see the burn marks at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock where the surgeon used the laser scalpel to cut away tissue. He then inflated it open with a balloon (no picture), and then put chemotherapy gel to induce regrowth all over it. (picture 4, bottom right) In 5 or 6 weeks, I will have to have this procedure repeated with cuts between the ones he did this time. (This time like a plus, next time like an X.) They do it this way becase if they just go in there and cut it straight out, it just scars and swells right back up. Sadly, 40% of patients with this have it re-grow within 3 years, and 70% of patients have it back within 5 years, and just have to have these surgeries over and over. There is also an option if I get sick of getting this done every few years to cut into my throat from the outside, remove the chunk of trachea where the growth forms, and reattach the trachea together. That is WAY more invasive, but it would cure it forever. So, we might consider doing that if I end up beign on eof the 70% that has to have this over and over, especially because I'm young, and that would be a lot of surgeries! He took a sample for biopsy, but it'll probably take a week or so for those results. I am feeling much better today - just a mild sore throat, but but I can breathe so much better already, and it will just get better as the swelling continues to go down from the surgery.