I am 43yo Caucasian woman. I had my 3rd spinal surgery on March 13, 2013. The procedure was an anterior fusion of T-8 and T-9 because it was pinching my spinal cord 3.5-4 mm. The fusion itself went well although I spent eight days in ICU before being transferred to a regular room for two additional weeks. For my neurosurgeon to have access to the anterior thoracic portion of my spine, I had to have a thoracic surgeon open my L side, insert chest tubes and deflate my L lung. The surgeons also broke a piece of my rib to use as an autograft in the fusion. about two days after surgery, while in ICU, after physical therapy, my vitals were not looking well and the doctor quickly performed two bronchoscopies on me (VERY UNCOMFORTABLE) removing blood, fluid and plugs. One plug was the size of a "mouse" according to the doctor. My collapsed lung had re-inflated after the procedure and all seemed well. It's now almost two months later, and I have severe discomfort on my L side and once or twice a day I have stabbing pain under the L breast that radiates about two inches further left. I am short of breath (but that could be due to inactivity) and it hurts my L lung to breathe, shallow breaths to deep breaths. My blood pressure is low and my heart rate is usually over 100 bpm (tachycardia). I am on pain management and have been for two years for the spinal issues, but the meds don't seem to alleviate the deep pain in my L lung and discomfort on my L side. FYI, I have SLE (systemic lupus) DX made in 1988, but symptomatic since 1982. My Rheumatologist did a blood test (cannot recall the name of the test) on me five+ years ago and told me the test showed I was prone to DVTs. I dismissed it. My lupus has been fairly stable for ten years. I don't know if I need to go to the ER to make certain this is not a blood clot or just dismiss it as post-surgical pain. It is not getting any better and the days are turning into weeks with no change. What should I do and if I go to the ER, what should I tell them, and what tests should be performed? Perhaps I should try to ignore it, but the stabbing pains are hard to ignore! AAAAA YYYY@YYYY AAAA