Minutiae of PBMX-HELP

Hi Marie.  My bilateral mastectomy surgery now seems like such a long time ago, although it has only been about 18 months since I had a bilateral tram flap reconstruction immediately after mastectomy.  I had skin sparing, but opted to not do the nipple sparing.  After some thought, I felt I just wanted as much of my breast cells removed as possible.  Along with LCIS, my previous biopsies came back positive for a garden variety of abnormal cells, so It just felt safer to me. 

The best guidance I received pre op came in the form of reading what women had written about their experiences on these forums.  There is a wealth of info about what to expect post op, what to bring to the hospital, and what to expect once home.

Hospital- my cell phone was very important.  Hospital gowns were easier to navigate the first day or so, then I believe that I wore soft night shirts/gowns that buttoned in the front.  My plastic surgeon had wrapped my breasts in a binder during surgery, and that is what I wore until I got home.  Then, sports bras and a special soft bra that my plastic surgeon supplied.  I had quite a few drains. Once again, the plastic surgeon supplied a wonderful cloth holder for the drains.  You probably will have a few drains, and they will need to be emptied and the amount of fluid drained noted so that your surgeon has an idea about when each can be removed.  I had a notebook which all of that info was recorded in until the drains came out.  We also used that notebook to keep track of pain meds.  A shower seat helped during my first few showers.

As I am writing this to you, I realize how much my plastic surgeon and his staff facilitated my recovery.  I would recommend talking to your doctor and/or staff, and ask what they suggest.  They have been doing this for a while, and know the tricks of the trade:)

I am sending you hugs, and reassurance that waiting for the surgery is emotionally more difficult than recovery.  I remember waking up post op, and once I realized that it was finally all over, I felt that I then could concentrate on doing something instead of waiting.  I felt that I finally had some semblance of control.  Just a wee bit, but some just the same:)   Please feel free to ask me any questions, and I will write more as I remember.  Again, I would recommend reading past discussions about surgery.  It was my lifeline pre-op.  Thank you ladies!

Marie - go to the Before Surgery thread and there are great posts.  One item I never would have thought of but was GREAT was taking an extension cord to the hospital.  Cell phone cords are way too short to reach the wall and sit on your bed and you won't want to be climbing out of bed for the phone.  The nurses even commented on how smart that was. 

My PS was adament that I keep my elbows to my side for 4- 6 weeks, so I bought a grabber that I could use to get the laundry out of the washer, one or two pieces at a time. Also I needed a back scratcher. Also a lightweight stool to kick around the kitchen so you can reach things in the upper cabinets. I'd also work on stregthening your leg muscles so you can get to your knees and back up without moving your arms. Your pecs may be sore for a while, so a heating pad is useful, as is the self heating sticky muscle pain pads. I echo the soft-t idea. I had a compression garment for 4 weeks and the elastic really irritated my skin, but the soft-t was heavenly. I still wear them to this day, but they are no longer cut up the middle   Be sure your shower has a sprayer head on it, so you can rinse off without getting your sutures/drains wet. I hooked the drain safety pins to a shoe string around my neck to "shower".  I bought the lightweight zip up sweatshirts at Walmart. They have inside pockets that are great for drains. Also I confiscated a bunch of dry-cleaned dress shirts that my son was giving to Goodwill. I cut the long sleeves into short sleeves and pinned my drains to the compression garment. It looked sort of snappy for going out.

The leadup to surgery was worse than the actual surgery. I needed help with my dressings which I was to change after 24? 48? hours post surgery and I was to change them twice a day. My daughter is a nursing student, so she had a lot of experience in wound care and drains those first few weeks. I slept in the lazyboy until my drains came out - about two weeks - then I made a nest in the bed with a bunch of pillows so I could sleep on my back. Strong ab muscles are good for getting out of bed without moving your arms.  I swept the wood floors with a Swiffer and my feet (we had 5 dogs and a lot of dog hair at the time!)

Best of luck! Things are gonna go great!