AUGUST 2015 SURGERY SISTERS!!

mjh1

molly and 39andhip - so sorry your surgeries had to be rescheduled.  I know how frusting it must be for you with all this prep and anxiety and now have to wait another week.  You will always be August surgery sister no matter the date!!!  Please keep us informed. 

AudreyB

So sorry your surgery was cancelled and rescheduled guys. I would have been one unhappy camper if that happened to me what with all the prep that goes into scheduling with work and home.

I went for my first post op yesterday. All is well. Healing nicely although my incision lines are sore from the tape being removed and reapplied. My girls look good. A little bruising that I only noticed in the exam room. I guess I have very poor lighting at home. Lol. It's a faint yellow bruising, nothing major. PS wants to see me in 4 weeks. I have a 3 week restriction on lifting my left arm above my shoulder due to the amount of work he had to do on that side. He also mentioned we can discuss if there is a need for a revision at that time. He had to remove a lot of skin on the left side. I think he is seeing something he can improve so I'll take it in stride. Definitely not rushing into another surgery. I'm all surgeried out. I'm very symmetrical and that was very important to me as I spent a lifetime with very uneven boobs.

39andhip

I'm definitely more nervous for the reconstruction than the mastectomy, though I'm a little weirded out that a mastectomy is an outpatient procedure! Yikes.

Artista928

Mastectomy is booked as a 23 hour procedure, so it's technically outpt. At least where I am. If you need more time due to pain, nausea, then your surg can auth for you to stay longer.

Molly50

my mastectomy is scheduled for an overnight stay. My Lx was outpatient. I agree that I am rather scared of reconstruction but I have months to live with my TE while I get my other TX. BS said it could be up to a year before I can finish reconstruction.

Artista928

I'm estimating I'll be in my TE's until mid-late spring '16. I start chemo end Sept/early Oct for 2-3 months (don't know for sure yet as appt with MO next is 9/23), then rads 3 weeks later puts me in Jan and that's for 5-6 weeks then about 3 weeks rest from that before PS would do exchange. I was diagnosed 6/2 but could have been much earlier had I done the mammo sometime before the 5.5 years of letting it go, dealing with anxiety and other stresses..

39andhip

My mastectomy is scheduled for 1 PM and they said I might be going home by 6 PM?! WTF? Not that I want to stay, but still...

SummerAngel

I don't see how you could go home at 6pm the same day, that doesn't make sense!

quiltlibrarian

39 I had my simple mastectomy at 8:30 am woke at 10:45 am went home at 5 pm. Surgery only took 1 1/2 hours skin to skin, also no nodes were took. I had good pain control before they let me go. Was happy to go.

If I had to have nodes taken I would have to stay overnight.

Hugs

39andhip

Thanks quiltlibrarian. Good to know! I'm also having a simple mastectomy with no nodes removed. (I had SNB with my first lx.) I am having a tissue expander put in, but since it is just very temporary (hopefully) it will just be under the skin and not the muscle. Both my BS and PS said the surgery would only take an hour, and that there should be minimal pain, and I will likely feel pretty good very soon afterward. I just don't know whether or not to believe them or not. LOL.

Molly50

39andhip, if you don't have good pain control they won't let you go home.

Artista928

...or good nausea control... If you don't feel right leaving, tell them how you feel (pain, nausea- not that you'll feel better if you could just stay a little longer cuz then it won't be auth'd). It's in your hands ultimately. They don't just toss you out if you don't feel ready.

mjh1

39andhip - you're have a MX and TE and you want to go home the same day??  I would definitely stay at least overnight so they can observe you.  Just tell you're BS or PS that you're not ready and they will authorize you to stay.  Every time a doctor tells me there shouldn't be too much pain I ask them if they had the procedure done and they shut up very quickly.  Definitely cannot go by what they say because they just get their info from other patients in which everyone's pain level is different.

P.S. A MX and TE takes way more than an hour.  I had bitlateral MX and TE's and that was almost a 6 hour surgery.

39andhip

mjh - I wouldn't say I WANT to go home - since I've never had a mastectomy before, I don't have any idea what I'll want when the time comes. However, the operation is being done as an outpatient procedure, so the default is to go home the same day.

radgal

rad gal 8-25-15 lumpectomy and intraoperative radiotherapy: right

BDawk

My Bilateral was done on 8/12. I had immediate recon - so I had the dreaded drains put in. As my bday was yesterday, I got a belated present. Today, the PS took out all 4 drains!!!

That is me doing my happy dance!

Molly50

Happy birthday BDawk! What a great present to get your drains out!

Suzy1067

Yay BDawk!!  That is a great gift .  You'll feel all sorts of "freedom" now!  Thinking or and praying for those going into surgery today - SummerAngel - YAY Exchange!, georgie61 - you'll do great!, dobbin - MX & vogliodipiu - LX, you all will be on the road to recovery shortly.  Praying for you all!
39andhip - I trust the doctors and staff will have your best interest at heart and do what is right for you!  Just don't be afraid to speak up if you feel anything doesn't seem quite right for you.

XOXO,

Suzy

quiltlibrarian

BDawk always a good day to have drains out. Happy Bday.

AudreyB

Happy Birthday BDawk!

Blessings to all having surgery today, peaceful healing hugs too.

Molly50

SummerAngel, Georgie61, dobbin and vogliodipiu praying for today. mjh1 and kimmer33 praying for you for Monday!!

hummingbirdlover

Hi August sisters,

I had my exchange surgery yesterday. I feel pretty good. It was outpatient (hooray) and I don't have drains (hooray again). I am just so happy to have this behind me. Hugs to those who are headed in today and next week

BDawk

Hang in there to the gals having surgery today -- it does get better

Kimmer33

thanks Molly! I head in bright and early on Monday, 6:15am!!

quiltlibrarian

Hummingbird, good to hear that you are home.

mjh1

Bdawk -

 

Ringelle

anyone have mastectomy without immediate reconstruction? I'm wondering how many times you saw bs after surgery. I had a post op after 2 weeks. My incisions are healing well and there is no sign of infection but I do have Serena's in both sides. BS put me in ace bandages. I was told to come back in 6 months for follow up. Is this normal?

mjh1

kimmer - I'll be thinking of you across the falls as we'll both be walking in the hospital together.

 

Kimmer33

oh mjh1, same time? I am out west, near vancouver so maybe a time difference! Hugs to you!!! Keep me posted, feel free to send a private message if you want!

tessu

Hello. On Aug 20 I had right-side mastectomy without reconstruction, 9 axillary nodes removed (all clean!), breast tissue path not ready yet. Biopsy path one of those rarer very aggressive types.

Single drain pulled 5th day post-op when output dropped, as per protocol. Wide elastic binder in constant use.

Yesterday evening noticed seroma (?) fluid, no pain, no infection signs. Scared. Will seroma prevent immuno/chemotherapy? What did I do wrong? (Following post-op instructions to the letter.) Afraid to get caught in the middle because surgeon wanted to do immediate reconstruction with back flaps to prevent seroma, but oncologist said NO, and I chose no recon. So is seroma my fault?

Really scared