October 2018 Surgery Support Group

thanks, Dani. I’m lucky to have lots of help. Pain from the ooph is no joke, but mostly only when moving.

Kat22 Best of luck with your surgery today!

Hi everyone, still in hospital, surgery was yesterday morning. Went very well, except... they expected to do direct to implant but my skin was pretty unhappy from the tissue removal (And I'm very lean, so not much subcutaneous layer) that the PS has me in vac packs for two weeks so the skin can heal a bit, and then the implants will be placed. Nipples seem fine, she says. While I'm really disappointed I have to wait and do this again (ugh), I trust that she is making the right decision in order to have the best cosmetic outcome. BS said she got everything out, still waiting on pathology.

Good morning all I hope everyone is recovering nicely.

Anxiouslady - My surgery was the day after yours and I have the same pain and discomfort. There is some uncomfortable pressure on my chest but my pain is coming from my underarms.

Well it looks like the Hyperbaric chamber they had me in for 10 days hasn't helped the blood supply to my right nipple. Had my follow up with PS yesterday hoping to get drains out and fill expanders. PS looked at me and said we need to go back into surgery and remove the right nipple and all the skin around it which is a large area. It is all dying and we don't want it to get worse. So they took one drain out and then it was off to pre admit for surgery on Monday. I'm so happy my doctors are very cautious and good but they are 3hrs away so having to continually make arrangements for my kids is getting difficult. My little one gets so upset every time I have to leave and my middle child just seems lost. I was just away from them for 5 days and now another 1-2 days and I still have 2 more surgeries after this one. Sorry for my rant I'm just emotionally drained

kanona, I just wanted to say how sorry I am that you have to go back for more surgery, especially after spending so much time in the chamber and with your long drive etc. It is ok to feel overwhelmed or frustrated. God knows I do almost every day. But you will get through this and some day this will just be a distant memory. And remember you have all of us here. Vent away whenever you need! I’m a firm believer in letting it all out and then moving on to positive thoughts. Sometimes the only thing we can control in this crazy battle is our mental strength. Sending you hugs

Hi all, I'm playing catch up a week after my BMX. I'm doing well, the stitches and drains are itchy and pulling, but I'm fine other than that. Pathology came back with no residual cancer remaining and none in the node they took! Yay! I hope everyone else is healing well. Good luck to DeeDee, Trshyla, and Nesha as you get ready for surgery.

Bookworm14, my breasts are also lumpy and very creased. It's discouraging, but the PS says they will smooth out as he fills the TEs. I'm consoling myself with the fact that I still basically look like a wrinkled version of "me" and this could be back in the day when they didn't have the NS/SS options and everything would be flat and gone. So glad I didn't wake up to that. My breasts are totally numb, though - I'm wondering how much sensation I'll get back. I can understand your frustration at having to wait, especially since the surgeon's front desk scheduled you incorrectly and it ended up being in your lymph nodes, too. If it's any consolation, I was also told that even thought they don't see anything in the nodes on MRI/other imagining, it can be there. My PS refused to say I had no residual cancer left when I did my post-chemo MRI, for that reason, despite it not showing anything left. They don't truly know until the take the node/tumor bed and run pathology on them. It's definitely frustrating.

Sillyoldrabbit, the SNB dye makes sense. I had the radioactive dye injected about 2.5 hours before surgery, I felt like there were about 5 injections, which is partly why it was so painful, although maybe the radiologist was simply pushing the plunger on the syringe several times.

PurpleCat, I hope your muscle pain is better. I was given muscle relaxers which actually helped more than the pain meds did. If you're still having problems, maybe that would help?

Anxiouslady, yes, I'm a week out from surgery and still sore and swollen in the SNB area, not to mention my breasts. Give it more time. Do you have a drain? I do and they're still getting quite a lot of fluid in them.

Proud_Patriot, I was told that breast size may not be able to be the same because they also take out all the fat in the breast and the remaining skin is very thin. It can only hold a certain size/weight (my PS will reinforce with alloderm). They said to think of chicken skin and how thin it is on a breast and how it might be pushing things to put in a heavier, larger implant. I guess this isn't the same as breast augmentation where you can get pornstar boobs. It took me awhile to understand why not, so I hope this helps..

Kanona, I am so sorry that you're facing more surgery, especially with how much it is upsetting your kids. Feel free to vent - sending big hugs to you!

Wishing you all a good, pain free weekend.

Hey everyone! Hopefully everyone is doing well. I am home now after my UMX. I gotta say the pain was a lot worse than I expected that first night. And I was pretty nauseous from anesthesia. I was in there just over 4hrs. But they were able to do direct to implant so I was glad for that. I finally relented and took the pain meds so I could sleep. The pain I am having is really from under my arm and down my side. But it is definitely better than the first night 😳. I am currently propped up in my bed and hoping for some good sleep

apatient,

I have the same problem with the extra tissue under the arms. Mine is only on the left and the right is concave a bit. I do agree the PS does not really care...they told me that when the final implants are done then they will worry about symmetry. Kind of sucks to have that extra padding there as you end up holding your arms out funny!

Dani444,

Glad that you are through with surgery and were able to direct implant! Yeah the pain is rough the first couple of days, but it gets much better....the drains are what suck! Did they give you some stretches to do when you got home? Hope the recovery goes well!

GAWarrior,

Glad that the test came back so great! Yeah it is a big shock to see your breasts for the first time after surgery. While I have not really cried through the whole process, the first look in the mirror did...kinda brought home the fact that this is all real. I am really hoping that our doctors are telling us the truth about the final outcome...and my OCD is really kicking in on the uneven thing. But I do have to say they look a bit better with the other swelling going down! Just like you, I have quite a bit of numbness. Hopefully, that will get better for us both.

Anxiouslady,

Awesome that you negative nodes! Completely understand about the underarm soreness. The hospital sent in a therapist before I left and ga e me exercises to do...did they provide you with any of that info? I am two weeks out from my BMX and had 16 nodes removed and I still do not have full range burn it gets better daily. Underarm is still a bit swollen.Hope you're recovery goes smoothly.

Star2017,

Great that your surgery is completed, and that your pain level is manageable. I did not know that they could do both surgeries at one time. Would you recommend that over separating the surgeries? Just wondering because those are my next two surgeries I am scheduled for after treatment.

Proud Patriot,

Sorry that they still found cells, but it is great news that no other cells were found in the other nodes, and being downstaged! Sorry that you are not happy with the size of the expanders. My doctor did not tell me what they put in mine, but my natural size was a 40DDD so the smaller size is great on my back! My doctor recommended to not go larger than a C. I would think there would be some way to allow for larger implants during final implant or possibly doing fat grafting. Later to increase the size? I know some people have said it works well. Wer you happy with the TE besides the size issue such as smoothness or evenness?

Hi everyone! Thank you for your prayers and kind thoughts during my lump/sln surgery yesterday! Everything went smoothly. I didn't think my dye injection was too bad. The wire procedure wasn't aweful, either, but they had a hard time with the mammogram afterwards. They started off telling me that they wouldn't need to compress very much, but then they couldn't get the picture they needed, so it got more and more rough. I ended up bleeding quite a bit and it was a little scary for me. It was better when I just didn't look.

But, it didn't last too long, and then I was done. When they started my anesthesia, it was kind of funny. I was in pre-op, and the anesthesiologist had been asking me about my allergies and I am allergic to several antibiotics. So, she asked if one was okay and I told her it was and she said she was adding it to my line and it would probably sting a little. In my mind, I was just getting the antibiotic. Apparently, she gave me everything in that little injection. The next thing I remember, I was drinking a coke in recovery. Ha! I have no memory of going to surgery. None. My husband was smiling beside me and it was over. It was awesome!

One other odd thing is that my throat is very sore. Not just a little sore. Very. They told me before surgery that they would intubate me and that it was standard, but WOW. My throat bothers me almost as much as the surgical site. But, I am really already not needing much pain meds. Ice is working better. I have loved ice packs on my surgical site and soup and juice for my throat. I woke up this morning wanting popsicles.

I should receive my pathology results on Wednesday, if not sooner. I'm just so happy to have this behind me. I do know I'm moving on to radiation next month, so looking forward to keeping in touch with those of you continuing on to the Nov. rad board!

I'm having a rough time right now, need to vent. I expected DTI but in surgary the docs decided to put me in this vaccum therapyfor two weeks because my skin wasn't happy an the right side and she wanted it and my nipple to get adequate blood flow. I totally trust their decision. It's uncomfortable as heck, combined with muscle tightness extreme in the upper chest. Also, I tried taking the Norco she gave me but that stuff is so strong and ended up giving me nausea and a bad headache. Switched to OTC Ibuprofen which is ok during the day but I wake up feeling so stiff with headache. I can't get comfortable at night. My sweet DH has been waiting on me hand and foot and we've got a thousand pillows and stuff, but it still sucks.

Also, right now I'm completely flat. I look under the compression bra thing and I see them there, just deflated, under vaccum. It's weird. I just try to remember it's temperary but I have these moments of sadness at their loss. They used to be really nice ones when I was younger. I was a 32D. I always felt they were big for my more waif-like frame, but they had many admirers 😉, though I did enjoy when they shrunk after breastfeeding and gravity because I'm active and it was hard to find bras that fit me. I'm not devastated at the loss, but sad. Also I didn't expect to have a flat period.

Nervous about pathology, haven't gotten it back yet. Doc says the nodes looked normal but no way to tell until biopsy. I am so scared of chemo. I'm so sensitive to drugs, I just don't know how I'll manage.

I'm so pissed at this disease right now. Ugh. Sorry to be negative. It's a pendulum of emotions, as you all know.

I hope you all are healing well and getting through this, and are on the upside of the emotional parts. Much love to you all,

Dove

I had bilateral mastectomy on Oct 8 with tissue expanders placed. I got 3/4 of my drains removed but ended up getting a fever last Saturday. The fever is now resolved and I am on 2 Antibiotics. Saw the PS on Thursday. He was hesitant to remove the last drain since the output was approximately 40mls. The drain color has improved and is looking back to “apple juice” looking color. PS said he would not remove the drain until we have 2 days of output of less than 30ml. Sadly I woke up today with already 30ml of output. Just feeling a little defeated right now. Monday would make it 3 weeks with the drain.

Munmunmary- Welcome!! I'm so sorry that you are still dealing with that drain! That has to be so hard. But, that's great news that your fever is under control. Hang in there, and thank you for keeping us posted!

DeeDeeT,

Glad your surgery went well! Ah the anesthesia...I remember...nope I don’t! It is crazy how fast that stuff works and then you wake up feeling like you just closed your eyes! My throat was a bit sore that first night, but I brought Ricola throat drops to help. Use this time to eat what you crave, and good luck with the reports!

Bookworm14

The drains were almost all clear. Almost 20mls per day, but then the fever came and the drain became cloudy with stuff in it. (Yuck) But now the drain is clear but more output! Funny thing is the swelling has come down significantly. My elbow can actually touch my side. So I have no clue. I think my PS was just waiting for the thevolume to decrease.