Just as an FYI, if you are a guy or just a casual acquaintance of mine, the following post may contain more information that you want. Just thought I'd warn you in advance. For myself, I'm beyond caring who knows the details.
Last Friday I had my first follow up with my plastic surgeon. I had my surgeons do a skin and nipple/areola sparing surgery. This is when they make a small incision, remove all the breast tissue from inside the breast, but leave all the old skin, including the nipple and areola.What is probably more common is for them to remove the nipple and areola and all the breast tissue, but save the skin and at a later date, reconstruct the nipple and areola using skin taken from another part of your body.
Anyway, I probably shouldn't have asked them to save the nipple and areola. I don't think my plastic surgeon and/or my general surgeon had quite the experience or skill level necessary to do it sucessfully because I don't think they have done many of them before. When I was in the hospital, a couple of the nurses said that this was one of the first ones they'd seen. So... shame on me. I should have asked more questions, but oh well it's done. So now, the issue is that the nipple and portions of the skin around it have died because the circulation was compromised during surgery. So I have to goop on this cream three times a day to protect the wound until we know if there is going to be good skin that grows up underneath the dead skin or if I am going to need a skin graft. It's kind of nasty. I'm planning on a skin graft, probably some time in January.
Some good news is that of the four drains I had coming out of my body, we were able to remove two of them. They were longer than I expected. I only thought the tube extended an inch or so inside my body. Turns out, it was closer to about 6 to 8 inches and was curved up by my collar bone and around the top of each breast, ending around the sternum area. Of course, the two she removed were not the ones in the most uncomfortable locations, but it is still nicer to have half as many tubes and containers hanging from me constantly. The other two have just dropped to the maximum output of fluid in a 24 hour period (30 milliliters), so they should come out this Friday at my next appointment. (Unless I can find someone to take them out earlier.) I hate them. I have seriously considered taking them out myself. I watched her do the first two. It didn't look that difficult. Just snip the stitches and pull... I think I'll feel tons better once they're gone. Not so much like an invalid. I should even be able to drive since I'm off the narcotics too. I'll have to win the battle with Neil on that one first though.
So that is the latest. A little closer to what I hope will be a little calmer life. I've had three crappy Thanksgivings, three crappy Christmases, and three crappy wedding anniversaries. I'm looking forward to being able to celebrate the holidays next year without having to deal with a horrific autoimmune disease, chemotherapy, or having just been taken apart and put back together.
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