Hmmmm? Thats not an easy one to answer with so many variables to consider. Thats a very long surgery to go thru so it must be a very intricate one with tons of teeny tiny blood vessels to connect. With that type of surgery, you may be awaken only briefly in the recovery room to make sure you are ok and then kept asleep for a couple days. Doctors do this sometimes with big surgeries for the patients comfort. Doctors also book the OR well in advance and for 14 hours that ensures it will be their OR for the day. Your doc may have an idea of the surgery being only 12 hours but saying 14 in case it runs longer than expected. Usually they dont know exactly until they get in there to take the tumor out. Dont worry! You wont remember if you are woken up in the recovery room. Your doc could have you awake right away. I would talk to your doc for more details about this to find out how he usually handles this type of major surgery. Thats a very long day for your mother. Its so sweet she wants to be there for you.

Make sure your mother understands you are going to have swelling and be uncomfortable so you may not be up for visitors. You probably will have some drains and be on strong pain meds. Patients dont always look the best coming out of surgery. As far as the pain meds go... ask your doc for 2 different ones to be an option to you so you can be sure they are always working. Sometimes pain can be pretty bad and you will have to wait until its the right time for your next dose. That can feel like its forever when you are hurting. If you have another medicine as an option you can switch off and on so your pain is always managed. If you havent talked to your doc about this, make sure you do before your surgery.

Theres a couple other things you may want to get set up before your surgery. Talk to your doc about if you will be able to speak during your hospital stay. If so, ask for a possey muir valve trach. This is a much easier type of trach to operate. It allows for hands free talking. It may be several days before you can talk. An ipad with an app called Speak It is a huge help too. You might want to play around with this now so you are familiar with using it before you need to depend on it. Its also a good idea to have someone stay with you as much as possible while you are in the hospital. This person can run interference with the hospital staff. You may be sleeping alot the first few days but hospital staff will still be in and out of your room 24/7. Unfortunately not all staff stop to read the signs they put on the patient room doors about patients who could fall or arent able to talk, special diet, etc. I used to get 3 trays a day of meals even though I told them every time I couldnt eat, they never changed it and still brought food. Such a waste!

Best wishes with your upcoming tumor board meeting. Are you going to it?