On April 2nd I showed up at the hospital at 6 in
the morning… got myself registered…proceeded to the surgical holding pen and at
7:30 in the morning I was wheeled on my stretcher to the operating room.
Within a few minutes I was joined by my
surgeon who had me stand while he marked my breasts and the fun began as he
wheeled on his little stool, back and forth and back and forth, using his green
marker and ruler and then commenting that “They’re really big huh?”
That broke the ice and the laughter ensued, the
anesthesiologist brought his ‘A’ game in the smart ass department and we joked
and he teased about knocking me out and 7:45 was the last time I remember
looking at the clock…
Surgery lasted until 11:30am… it went like clock-work…no complications,
my vitals stayed stellar, the anesthesiologist was in recovery with me and
calling me “teacher’s pet” as he told everyone exactly how perfect my vitals
stayed throughout surgery.
When I woke up, as soon as recognition hit me…I looked down saw that I still
had boobs, though quite a bit less of them, and then felt the searing burn of
the incision of my lower abdomen and I remembered exactly why I was there… once
the morphine did its job and I was virtually pain free, I lifted my head a bit,
looked down my body and greeted my feet. I was giggling with the nurses, they
thought I was too good to be true because I wasn’t whining… why whine? I knew
why I was there, I knew going in that it was going to hurt coming out.
I was released on April 3rd , no drains, minimal
pain, doing rather well and I was pleased, except when the surgical bandages
came off and hurt like a mofo… felt like they were tearing off a layer of skin,
but I survived it.
A week later, first post operative check and all seemed well
and going according to plan… nothing out of the ordinary and I was pleased as
punch.
Three days after that first post operative check and something
started to smell… literally… and it was me. I went to change my bandages and
infection poured from my left breast like a running tap… as I tried to stop it,
it proved a hard opponent and I raised my husband and within minutes we were
off to the hospital because something was not right. Once I had bandages in
place to stop the flow of infection it busted out my areola. GROSS!
Once at the ER the
doctor paged locating and luck would have it, my doctor was in the hospital
after just coming out of the OR. He rushed down to the ER smelled the air in my
little cubicle, looked at me and said , “You have E-coli…” looked at the nurse
and said, “ Get me a suture tray and drains stat… and swabs.”
She told him that she had already taken swabs as he proceeded to unwrap the
suture tray… he then told me that he had to cut me, that it would hurt, but
that I would feel so much better in an hour.
He proceeded… opened up a portion of each incision, pressed
the breasts to draw out the infection… it hurt but wasn’t horrible…and then he
shoved drains inside the new incisions… that HURT LIKE HELL, but I managed my
way through it.
I was admitted and placed on two different IV antibiotics 4
times a day…they burned going in because they were infused rather quickly, and
by the second round I had come to realize exactly how sick I was because I
started to feel better.
The areola went necrotic… not the whole thing, just a portion of it… necrotic
means that the tissue has died and that it will be replaced with scar tissue,
but the nipple itself is holding strong and it’s getting better everyday.
I was told that had I waited 12-24 hrs I most likely would
not be here to write this entry as recount.
Was it worth it? YES
Would I go through the surgery again even knowing that I
would get an infection and lose a portion of my areola? YOU BETCHA
See…I did my homework going in… I knew that complications
sometimes happen especially when there is a huge portion of tissue being
removed. I knew that most commonly complications happen within the second or
third weeks post operatively and I knew that sometimes it’s just the luck of
the draw.
When he told me that I was going to lose a portion of the
areola, I asked him if he was worried about it… he told me that he wasn’t, that
anything is “fixable,” since he wasn’t worried, I am not worried… right now it
looks a mess, but each day it’s healing and looking better and that is all I
can ask.
I am going to have
some extensive scars on the underside of my breasts because of having to be
re-opened, but my scars flatten nicely within a year and I suspect once they
mature they are going to look rather like stretch marks without going
hypertrophic ( keloid)
My tummy has been FANTASTIC… it is healing well, is flatter,
even though still swollen a bit and will be off and on for probably a year or
more, but I have no hanging tummy, it’s gone, and I still can’t believe it… I
caught a glimpse of my silhouette in a store window yesterday and I actually
did a double take and then giggled like a little girl…SO WORTH IT… SOOOOOOOO
WORTH IT!
Just some FYI
The best medical pads (you know the kind they put on to
capture drainage?) are feminine hygiene pads and panty liners because they are
flexible and non-stick… make sure you get UNSCENTED. I am using Always panty-liners and my surgeon
thinks I’m a fucking genius and is going to recommend them to his patients. WAY
cheaper than buying actual non adhering medical pads.
Paper medical tape is WAY better than any other kind… if you
wet it, it pretty much slides right off instead of ripping off layers of skin.
Lipo suction hurts worse than the actual surgical site for
WEEKS… be prepared for that.
Bed-wedges are SO NOT worth the money… buy pillows instead.