Well the day is finally here. I finally get this stuff out of me and find out just how far it is. We take off for the hospital and wait to be called back. Surgery is suppose to start at noon and the plastic surgeon says I should be able to go home afterwards.
I am finally called back by the nurse to get prepped. I explained to her what happened with my other procedure and the IV so she immediately wrapped my hand and arm in a warming blanket while she took all the other information and vitals. She checked my hand, found a good vein and got the IV in the first time.... thank goodness. Next they call my husband back to sit with me while we wait... Not very long after that though the anesthesiologist showed up to discuss what she was going to do and shortly after that the surgeon was there. One last trip to the restroom and the anesthesiologist gave me something because I don't even remember being wheeled into the surgery room. I am sure that was so they could shoot the dye into the nipple on my right breast so that they could do the sentinel node biopsy.
The next thing I remember is vaguely waking up. I remember hearing my husband asking for juice cause he was light headed... silly guy didn't eat the whole day and here it was 5:30 pm or so... I remember thinking that I can't breathe... every time I did, it hurt. I remember the nurse keep asking me if I was ready to go home and that if I was going to go home I needed to start getting dressed. Well I tried... she helped me up to go to the bathroom and it hurt so bad that there was no way I was going home at that point. Back to the bed I went and the next thing I remember was actually being in the hospital bed in the room. The doctor really didn't want me to stay in the hospital and I now know that if the PACU nurse would have given me a few more hours, I would have been OK to go home. I had a wonderful nurse and MA that took care of me overnight and I left the next morning.
The plastic surgeon came in the morning I was in the hospital looked at the incisions... that was the first time I actually saw what it all looked like, but there was lots of gauze over it. To my surprise, I was just fine with it.... and I headed home.
Here are some pictures of what to expect the day after surgery... These pictures are GRAPHIC... Please be aware of this if you choose to open these links. These links will open in another window, so please make sure to close that window when done.
Mastectomy Scars Day After Surgery
Mastectomy drains
More Mastectomy drains
Saturday, August 22, 2015
Friday, August 21, 2015
If its not one thing, its another
Got the results of the PET scan back and not only are the lymph nodes under my left arm "lighting up", but they say there is a spot on my throat that they want me to have checked out.... Off to the Ear, Nose and Throat doctor I go.
He does a flex scope in the office and says that he doesn't see anything that really concerns him, but that I still have my adenoids... Apparently they are no longer needed and usually shrivel up by the time your an adult. He wanted to remove that and have it biopsied. He says it is a quick procedure and done at the day surgery center at the hospital.
Two weeks later, I am having this done. I hate needles and especially IV's. The nice nurse tried the first time and said she hit a valve and couldn't go any further. Then a second, not so nice nurse tried in the other hand... couldn't get it and it hurt so bad I was screaming. They finally wrapped the original hand, my right one, in a warm blanket and got the vein to come to life and finally got it in... That was the worst part of this whole procedure. Everything else was great and we actually did it under like a twilight, were I can hear everything going on.... very interesting.... back to work the next day.
A week later at my post op appointment, the pathology report is clear... Woo Hoo... and no more visiting with the ENT doctor.
He does a flex scope in the office and says that he doesn't see anything that really concerns him, but that I still have my adenoids... Apparently they are no longer needed and usually shrivel up by the time your an adult. He wanted to remove that and have it biopsied. He says it is a quick procedure and done at the day surgery center at the hospital.
Two weeks later, I am having this done. I hate needles and especially IV's. The nice nurse tried the first time and said she hit a valve and couldn't go any further. Then a second, not so nice nurse tried in the other hand... couldn't get it and it hurt so bad I was screaming. They finally wrapped the original hand, my right one, in a warm blanket and got the vein to come to life and finally got it in... That was the worst part of this whole procedure. Everything else was great and we actually did it under like a twilight, were I can hear everything going on.... very interesting.... back to work the next day.
A week later at my post op appointment, the pathology report is clear... Woo Hoo... and no more visiting with the ENT doctor.
Appointments, Appointments, Appointments
Its July and we are finally getting the ball rolling with the oncologist, breast surgeon and plastic surgeon. The first appointment was with the oncologist who read all of the information sent to him by the surgeon in Oregon and sent me to the breast surgeon. He also set up blood work, CT scan and PET scan.
The breast surgeon requested yet another mammogram prior to her seeing me. Once in her office, we discussed what she sees and her thoughts. She believed that the two small tumors is actually a larger tumor. She also was worried about my lymph nodes and did a needle aspiration biopsy in the office. Unfortunately, that came back a cancerous. Based on what she was seeing, she was great with my desires of a double mastectomy. She felt that was the best choice also. She stated that we would end up doing not only the mastectomy but also remove the lymph node pad under my left arm and a sentinel node biopsy on the right side to check for cancer there also. When we were done, she referred me to the plastic surgeon.
The plastic surgeon is really easy on the eyes. He explained what will be happening during the immediate reconstruction. He showed my the tissue expander, which is really more of a plastic type feel compared to what I was thinking. For some reason, I was thinking that they were metal things. After our consultation, I called the plastic surgeon and told her I liked him and was ready to move forward with the "Double Mastectomy with Immediate Reconstruction" surgery. UGH... They coordinate their schedule and give me a surgery date of August 11th, almost a month later, but at least there is a date now.
The breast surgeon requested yet another mammogram prior to her seeing me. Once in her office, we discussed what she sees and her thoughts. She believed that the two small tumors is actually a larger tumor. She also was worried about my lymph nodes and did a needle aspiration biopsy in the office. Unfortunately, that came back a cancerous. Based on what she was seeing, she was great with my desires of a double mastectomy. She felt that was the best choice also. She stated that we would end up doing not only the mastectomy but also remove the lymph node pad under my left arm and a sentinel node biopsy on the right side to check for cancer there also. When we were done, she referred me to the plastic surgeon.
The plastic surgeon is really easy on the eyes. He explained what will be happening during the immediate reconstruction. He showed my the tissue expander, which is really more of a plastic type feel compared to what I was thinking. For some reason, I was thinking that they were metal things. After our consultation, I called the plastic surgeon and told her I liked him and was ready to move forward with the "Double Mastectomy with Immediate Reconstruction" surgery. UGH... They coordinate their schedule and give me a surgery date of August 11th, almost a month later, but at least there is a date now.
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