The Gauze Nightmare is over.
Today I went to see my plastic surgeon for a followup, and for him to remove the lovely padded bra I've been sporting for the last week. It started with him opening up the front velcro closure of the gauze bra. Immediately I felt a sense of relief and less compressed. It wasn't like a tourniquet or anything, but it was definitely putting pressure on my skin, not to mention the irritation.
Once the bra and associated gauze were removed, I could see that there were, indeed, gauze pasties that were stitched to my skin. He began snipping away the gauze and I could feel the scissors on my skin (a good thing!). He was very happy with the healthiness of the skin and he said that it looked great. From a layperson's viewpoint, it looks kind of bruised and it's obvious that it's not completely healed, but he's mostly concerned about whether or not the skin graft has taken. He said it was about 99% healthy. I'm gonna go ahead and assume 100% doesn't really happen. Don't ruin it for me.
There are some dissolving stitches where the graft is stitched to my skin, and the whole circle is kind of indented, but I expect that to even out over time. I can shower again (yay!) and for the next week I just have to keep the area most and covered with these neon yellow strips after I shower. So, I still have to wear the gauze bra, but at least it's not stuffed with more gauze!
They completely removed the steri-strips from my inner thigh, and that area is feeling pretty good. There is definitely some subcutaneous "toughness" that I assume is scar tissue. I hope that gets better because right now I don't feel like I can run or do yoga. I'm sure it will improve, I guess it's just a matter of when.
I'll see him again in 6 weeks. For the time being, I have to still be careful to avoid trauma to the area, I have to keep it clean, then dry, then moistened so that the skin graft heals properly. The stitches will eventually dissolve, and it will look fabulous :-) During the surgery he also removed a bit of a dog ear on one side, and it looks SO much better. I am so happy with how it looks now, and I can only imagine that it will look better as time goes on. Well worth it!
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Captain's Log
Day 4 from the couch.
The native is getting restless. It's been several days since I've left the house, aside from my doctor's appointment on Wednesday. I haven't showered since Monday morning, though I did wash my hair yesterday and took a sponge bath.
I've mostly been sitting on the couch, since I can't do much physical activity. I have to make sure my chest is well protected and doesn't get bumped or pushed, and I can't move my legs too much or else the stitches will pull. I've been working from home (and eating) during the day and knitting at night. It's so hard to just sit at home all day with nothing to do. I am so looking forward to going back to work!
It's so ironic that I'm doing all this to feel better about myself and how I look in the mirror, and right now I look like a tragedy!
I don't mean to complain. I know this is all part of the process, but it's so odd to feel so good and be able to do so little. I can't wait until I am back to life and yoga.
The native is getting restless. It's been several days since I've left the house, aside from my doctor's appointment on Wednesday. I haven't showered since Monday morning, though I did wash my hair yesterday and took a sponge bath.
I've mostly been sitting on the couch, since I can't do much physical activity. I have to make sure my chest is well protected and doesn't get bumped or pushed, and I can't move my legs too much or else the stitches will pull. I've been working from home (and eating) during the day and knitting at night. It's so hard to just sit at home all day with nothing to do. I am so looking forward to going back to work!
It's so ironic that I'm doing all this to feel better about myself and how I look in the mirror, and right now I look like a tragedy!
I don't mean to complain. I know this is all part of the process, but it's so odd to feel so good and be able to do so little. I can't wait until I am back to life and yoga.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Post-Op #1
I had my first post-op appointment with the plastic surgeon today. Things look good. The donor site is healing pretty well, and I got a sneak peak underneath my bandages (though there wasn't really much to see).
My chest is currently covered with lots of gauze, held in place by a lovely netted bra. It has a velcro closure in the front, and there was a piece of the hook-and-loop that was scratching my skin until I covered it with medical tape. The doctor pulled away the gauze this morning to reveal what Rusty called "pasties" that are basically stuck to the grafted skin to protect it. That's really all I saw, but I could tell that the skin around the stitches was very healthy and not the slightest bit red, which is good. I expect that the surgeon will finally remove the gauze nightmare at my next follow-up, though the grafts will still be pretty sensitive.
The donor site (aka my inner thigh) is understandably a little messier. It's kind of hard to avoid moving my legs. During the surgery, they basically cut round "full-thickness" pieces of skin from my inner thigh (to graft onto my chest) and sewed the holes shut. They placed steri-strips over the incisions (steri-srips are basically surgical tape) and I have to keep the area clean and dry without touching it too much. Sounds like fun, huh? :-)
So, for the next several days I'll still be sans shower (even MORE fun) and just trying to take it easy... not walking much, not lifting much, etc. At least they haven't restricted me from knitting.
My chest is currently covered with lots of gauze, held in place by a lovely netted bra. It has a velcro closure in the front, and there was a piece of the hook-and-loop that was scratching my skin until I covered it with medical tape. The doctor pulled away the gauze this morning to reveal what Rusty called "pasties" that are basically stuck to the grafted skin to protect it. That's really all I saw, but I could tell that the skin around the stitches was very healthy and not the slightest bit red, which is good. I expect that the surgeon will finally remove the gauze nightmare at my next follow-up, though the grafts will still be pretty sensitive.
The donor site (aka my inner thigh) is understandably a little messier. It's kind of hard to avoid moving my legs. During the surgery, they basically cut round "full-thickness" pieces of skin from my inner thigh (to graft onto my chest) and sewed the holes shut. They placed steri-strips over the incisions (steri-srips are basically surgical tape) and I have to keep the area clean and dry without touching it too much. Sounds like fun, huh? :-)
So, for the next several days I'll still be sans shower (even MORE fun) and just trying to take it easy... not walking much, not lifting much, etc. At least they haven't restricted me from knitting.
Monday, January 11, 2010
I'm home!
Sorry to all of you feed readers out there... I accidentally created a blank "I'm Home" post. Here's the real one.
So, I am home from surgery. Things were running a little late at the hospital, but I was running a little early! I woke up out of anesthesia very quickly and I went home shortly afterward. The pain isn't too bad so far. I just feels like someone took sandpaper to my boobs, but that could actually be considered an improvement on the left side, considering I haven't felt much on that side since the mastectomy :-)
I have my first post-op appointment with the plastic surgeon on Wednesday. Originally, it was going to be Monday, but after the surgery they said they wanted me to come in on Wednesday. Not sure why, but I think maybe they just want to monitor the donor site.
After we left the hospital we made a quick stop to Chipotle. All day without dinner - I needed a burrito, STAT. It was soooooo delicious. And I didn't even feel bad about it because I haven't eaten all day.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the well wishes, the happy thoughts, the prayers, and the warm feelings. I will keep you posted in the days ahead.
So, I am home from surgery. Things were running a little late at the hospital, but I was running a little early! I woke up out of anesthesia very quickly and I went home shortly afterward. The pain isn't too bad so far. I just feels like someone took sandpaper to my boobs, but that could actually be considered an improvement on the left side, considering I haven't felt much on that side since the mastectomy :-)
I have my first post-op appointment with the plastic surgeon on Wednesday. Originally, it was going to be Monday, but after the surgery they said they wanted me to come in on Wednesday. Not sure why, but I think maybe they just want to monitor the donor site.
After we left the hospital we made a quick stop to Chipotle. All day without dinner - I needed a burrito, STAT. It was soooooo delicious. And I didn't even feel bad about it because I haven't eaten all day.
Anyway, thanks everyone for the well wishes, the happy thoughts, the prayers, and the warm feelings. I will keep you posted in the days ahead.
Surgery Update 2
Megan is out of surgery! I spoke to Dr McSteamy a little while ago and he was pleased with the results and everything was without incident (as expected). Megan is resting comfortably and I'll be able to see her in the recovery room after she "sobers up" from the anethesia.
Surgery Update
Things are a bit behind at the hospital, but just a few minutes ago at ~2:10 PM I saw Megan off to the operating room. Aside from being quite hungry, Megan is in great spirits and looking forward to being on the other side of today. The surgery will take about 1.5 hours, and she'll have another 2 hours or so in the recovery room to sleep off the anesthesia. I'll write back soon when I have more information available!
Surgery Today
I just realized I never posted my surgery time. We have to arrive at the day surgery center at 11:30, which means I probably won't actually go in until 12:30 or 1. The surgeon says it should take about an hour to an hour and a half, but we'll probably be there for 5 hours.
I'm so hungry!!!
I'm so hungry!!!
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Building a Better Boob
Today I had my pre-op consult with my plastic surgeon (Tabouli McSteamy, you may remember from a blog entry almost 2 years ago). Yikes, it's been a long time. Anyway, we are about to complete what I hope to be the last stage of reconstruction - nipple reconstruction. At this point, it kind of seems a little too much to write about in a public forum to my family and friends, but why stop now?
Before the bilateral mastectomy, my oncological surgeon recommended that he remove both nipples as well as the breast tissue. The nipples are a part of the breast where cancer can grow, so they are oftentimes removed during a mastectomy. It was pretty much a sure thing with the side that had cancer, but I thought for the sake of symmetry (and to prevent recurrence, of course) I would be okay with removing the right one, too.
Several months after my tissue expander exchange I was mostly happy with the shape and feel of the new boobs, but there was definitely something missing. Well, two somethings. I thought I would be okay with getting nipples tattooed on, but the incision was slightly dog-eared and getting that fixed would require another surgery anyway. I decided pretty early on that I wanted to have nipple reconstruction, too.
The radiation on my left side has definitely left my left breast feeling different. The tissue is not as soft, and it's slightly redder. If it hadn't been radiated, my surgeon could have created a nipple using my existing skin. Instead, he'll take some skin from my inner thigh to prevent problems with wound healing. I've had a hard time finding details on how this is done, but here is a medical journal article with some pretty good pictures taken during the surgery. You'll want to scroll down to the "Technique" section and click on the "Figure" links to see how it works. Interesting stuff, but I'm glad I'll be asleep during the procedure.
The surgery is scheduled for Monday, January 11th, and it's expected to last about an hour. I'll go home with bandages that I can't remove until my post-op appointment on the following Monday. That means no showering for a week. Yeah! I'll have some discomfort at the donor site, but I hope to return to work on the Wednesday after my post-op appointment. It's supposedly a much less intense surgery than the tissue expander exchange (and certainly a lot easier than the mastectomy), but I think the skin graft thing makes the healing process a lot more fragile.
I'm pretty excited about the whole thing, but work has been kind of crazy so I'm not looking forward to losing all that time and then coming back afterward.
I believe you may be treated to a blog from at least one guest blogger on that day, but I may check in before then when I know the time of my surgery (to be determined on Friday). Thanks for reading!
Before the bilateral mastectomy, my oncological surgeon recommended that he remove both nipples as well as the breast tissue. The nipples are a part of the breast where cancer can grow, so they are oftentimes removed during a mastectomy. It was pretty much a sure thing with the side that had cancer, but I thought for the sake of symmetry (and to prevent recurrence, of course) I would be okay with removing the right one, too.
Several months after my tissue expander exchange I was mostly happy with the shape and feel of the new boobs, but there was definitely something missing. Well, two somethings. I thought I would be okay with getting nipples tattooed on, but the incision was slightly dog-eared and getting that fixed would require another surgery anyway. I decided pretty early on that I wanted to have nipple reconstruction, too.
The radiation on my left side has definitely left my left breast feeling different. The tissue is not as soft, and it's slightly redder. If it hadn't been radiated, my surgeon could have created a nipple using my existing skin. Instead, he'll take some skin from my inner thigh to prevent problems with wound healing. I've had a hard time finding details on how this is done, but here is a medical journal article with some pretty good pictures taken during the surgery. You'll want to scroll down to the "Technique" section and click on the "Figure" links to see how it works. Interesting stuff, but I'm glad I'll be asleep during the procedure.
The surgery is scheduled for Monday, January 11th, and it's expected to last about an hour. I'll go home with bandages that I can't remove until my post-op appointment on the following Monday. That means no showering for a week. Yeah! I'll have some discomfort at the donor site, but I hope to return to work on the Wednesday after my post-op appointment. It's supposedly a much less intense surgery than the tissue expander exchange (and certainly a lot easier than the mastectomy), but I think the skin graft thing makes the healing process a lot more fragile.
I'm pretty excited about the whole thing, but work has been kind of crazy so I'm not looking forward to losing all that time and then coming back afterward.
I believe you may be treated to a blog from at least one guest blogger on that day, but I may check in before then when I know the time of my surgery (to be determined on Friday). Thanks for reading!
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