May 2016 Surgeries

Raven... My DH had to remove TWO of mine. One lost suction the first weekand and the other one lost it about 5 days later. The surgeon walked him through it over the phone. We cleaned everything with alcohol and snipped the stitching, then he pulled them out!

It wasn't terrible, just freaky to have my husband do it. It was after hours both times (around midnight) so I was happy to avoid the emergency room!

I didn't wanted to sit there begging for infection.

Hugs... I understand your stress today!

GreyKat, glad your PT could pinpoint the area at least. Here's hoping your "contortions" and heat do the trick to loosen up that spasm.

Just heard back from PS office. Not sure I'm happy about this but he wants to leave it in there, knotted off, until 4:00 p.m. tomorrow at which time he'll snip it off, see if there's any fluid backed up and, if not, just remove the damn thing. So I'm stuck with this "drain to nowhere" for 24+ more hours. I just keep wiping it down with alcohol swabs every time I go into the bathroom for anything. I guess it really isn't all that different from having the damn thing stuck in me with the bulb attached to the end of it but still.......history of infection! Freaked out!

~ more sigh ~

I lurk everyday but still having issues with my hands from cording/lymphedema so I only chime in when I think I think I should!I have to type all day so texting or replies to message boards is limited!

Wanted Raven to know she's not alone in the failing to drain department!

Hi tsoebbin and Angtee - Glad you checked in! (Any other former May ladies out there lurking? We'd love an update!) Drain issues seem to be a common bond today! (I was the nearly 11-week drain lady....sooo glad I didn't come out of exchange surgery with them - and sooo sorry to those who are dealing with them again!)

PS was beyond thrilled with my exchange results at my appt today. He couldn't wait to take a peek, and it was fun to witness his honest reaction to his work. He was both relieved and a little giddy about how well rightie turned out. He's not one to get personal with his patients, so it was actually quite touching to DH and I - made us realize how much extra effort (and technique) he must have needed to make rightie's implant a viable option during surgery. He's already plotting future revisions on leftie to match rightie better - never thought we'd say that! But to be clear, we're not talking showstopper breasts here, we're just talking about taking a horrible situation and turning it into something tolerable. I feel like we're finally on track to accomplish that.

Have a great night all!

Thanks, Midwest! You'll have to keep us updated after your exchange, too!

myToyStory2, that's an awesome story about how excited your PS was about your outcome. I really do believe that these surgeons want the best possible outcome for all of us. And, as you say, that may not boil down to "show-stoppers" but just having anything that makes me not look mutilated at this point would be a dream come true.

Midwest, good to hear from you! Best wishes for your exchange into the New Year. Do be sure to stop in to let us know how it goes!

I went to see the PS yesterday about my busted drain. Basically all he did was snip off the busted end of the drain hose and re-attached it to the bulb. For God's sake....I could have done that! But I didn't want to - you guessed it! - risk infection, so I didn't do it myself. ~~sigh~~ At any rate, even though there isn't much draining he left it in there anyhow and will take it out on Monday. I guess it's better to have it and not need it rather than to need it and not have it - the fluid build-up is the lesser of those two evils, for sure. He did cover it with a Tegaderm waterproof dressing so that I can shower, but I probably will stick with sponge baths until this thing is out of me. He did put in a really thin drain tube this time around - it's those thick ones you get post-mastectomy that hurt like a mother, so at least it's not uncomfortable this time; just annoying.

I also finally remembered to mention to him how mad I was that no one told me to expect all the drainage from the cannula site after the procedure and that the hospital didn't provide me with any absorbent pads for the ride home, and he said that was all his fault. First, someone from his office should have told me what to expect and, secondly, his post-op orders were for fat grafting and did not specifically say "liposuction" so the nurses at the hospital wouldn't have known to give me different instructions. I'm sorry, but that's kind of a crock. I mean, it's nice of him to want to take all the blame himself but I would hope that when a nurse sees "fat grafting" they would be able to make the mental leap and add 2 + 2 to figure out that the graft had to COME from someplace and would then make the connection that they should provide lipo post-op instructions/materials as well. I don't know - at this point my expectations are already pretty low when it comes to medical care but I guess I need to set them even lower at this point. There's a cheery thought.

Grandma, what????

I'm so sorry! Hugs, hugs, hugs to you!

Grandma3x... I hate this crap too...(I actually cursed out loud at work when I read your post). I'm sending positive thoughts your way.

Ugh, Grandma! Not the update we expected to see from you! Two weeks is going to feel like forever...we're here for you!

(((HUGS)))

Grandma, so sorry. My heart just sank reading this. I so hope they are wrong and the worries will be for nothing

Grandma3x, I hope you get good news from your BS. This sucks.

Oh Grandma, I hope it's a false alarm. I'll be thinking of you extra-much while you wait for the biopsy & result.

Yikes, Raven! That's some impressive output!

Glad you were able to get that appt moved up, Grandma! Fingers crossed for good outcomes!