Surgery for Nutcracker Syndrome

Surgery was a scary decision to make. After diving way too deep into Nutcracker Syndrome (NCS) on the internet, I didn’t feel confident about any procedure. The options are having the left renal vein moved to a place where it won’t be compressed, having the left kidney moved to a new spot in the body, or having the left kidney completely removed. All have pros and cons, and the decision became extra complicated with me having a connective tissue disorder (hEDS). Because of my concerns and health history, my vascular specialist transferred me to Dr. H’Doubler at Emory University, who specializes in rare vascular disorders. Dr. H’Doubler said that I have a very bad case of NCS but would be a great candidate for a left renal vein transposition (LRVT). He listened to my concerns and assured me that he is a very skilled surgeon and that I will recover well.

Leading up to surgery, I was very restless and anxious. Part of me was just ready to get it over with. I was tired of being sick at home. I missed going out to eat, traveling to visit friends and family, hiking and going to the gym, even being able to work. I have also dealt with health problems for ALL of my twenties. There’s a sense of loss with that. Everyone says enjoy being this young because it only gets harder from here, but I’m holding out hope my thirties will be my time to shine. Another part of me was anxious about all the things that could go wrong. What if they open me up and realize it’s way worse than they thought? What if I stop breathing during surgery? What if the surgery doesn’t work, and I’m stuck at home, in pain, for the rest of my life?

On April 20, 2026, I had an LRVT done through open surgery. I was very nervous after reading so many negative things about the procedure, but my surgeon expressed a lot of confidence. Thankfully, Dr. H’Doubler said my LRVT went perfectly! I had to stay in post-op longer than expected, though, due to high pain levels. I’ve always had a high tolerance to pain meds, so I assumed pain would be a struggle. And pain ended up being my biggest issue during my hospital stay. It never went below a 7. We tried a lot of different pain meds, and I found the most relief when given medicine through my IV. My blood pressure was another concern. It’s always run low, but it was reading between 90/51 and 99/61 for most of my stay. I also had to do a clear liquid diet for 3 days, which was MISERABLE. By Day 3, I was very bloated, dizzy, nauseous, and still scoring a 7 or 8 for pain.

To help me heal, the nurses put an abdominal binder and compression socks on me. I also had an occupational therapist and physical therapist stop by to teach me how to log roll to get out of bed and to advise me on my restrictions when I’m at home. Everyone at the hospital was kind, helpful, and encouraging! I began walking around two days after surgery and finally had a bowel movement, and after three days of hospital food, I was determined to go home.

On Day 4, I was cleared to go home! Day 4 was actually my worst day: eating hurt, my pain jumped up to a 9, walking became harder, and going to the bathroom was a nightmare. But I knew pain meds wouldn’t help, and I just wanted to recover in my own bed and with better food (my husband is an amazing cook!). The vascular team debriefed me on my new meds, which of my current medications I can and can’t take, and told me what to look out for (fever, bleeding, etc.). I got to take home the abdominal binder and was told not to take the bandages off of my incision (they would do that in my post-op appointment). Finally at 5 pm, my husband and I were on the road to home! The drive was very uncomfortable, but my nurse gave me nausea medicine right before. My Squishmallow was also a lifesaver. Once we arrived, I managed to get myself up the stairs and got to cozy up in my own bed with my cats.