I’m back at the hotel after picking up prescriptions and eating an amazing L-inner at Buff’s in Murfreesboro with my hubby and basically no one else in the little wings and burgers place. Surgery pain blockers are just now beginning to wear off, started at 8:15am this morning. Hubby is doing an amazing job of babysitting this chatterbox, and now I sleep, then write more tomorrow…
Stage 2 DIEP
Ramping up to my Revision Surgery…
Ok all, time for a realtime medical style update again. I have final details, insurance backing, and plans laid out for my revision surgery a week from today. August 16th at 8am.
Remember please as you read through this post that I share very personal and often private thoughts and decisions in hopes of helping others going through the Breast Cancer journey. My decisions are mine and my family’s, and are very specific to me and my situation. Every Breast Cancer patient is different and should feel the ability and support to make choices best for themselves.
Ok, now to my plan: As I have mentioned in a previous post in March or April, Dr. Higdon and I had decided on August so that I would have plenty of time to make my final decision of what I would like to have done in this fine-tuning procedure.
I have decided to have:
Scar Revision on my abdominal donor site scar to remove hardened areas and reduce the gnarly appearance from the incision split around 2 weeks after DIEP.
Fat Grafting will be the longest part of the procedures. The surgical staff will use special tools (more fine and specialized than liposuction tools) to move living fat cells from donor sites around my trunk area and reintroduce small pockets of them into my chest area to balance out my new breasts and to fill in some indentations near the upper left portion of my chest which will also smooth out the appearance of a large mass on my upper sternum as a result of scar tissue from my original Mastectomy/Reconstructive surgery followed by radiation, and smooth out any puckered area left behind after the initial DIEP flaps have healed and settled into place.
Dr. Higdon will also be working to soften the areas of hardened fatty tissue and scar tissue left behind from my radiation treatments and possible fat necrosis from the DIEP surgery.
The final procedure will be nipple reconstruction, this part isn’t a necessity, but a choice. If you want to know more about “how they do that?” I have included links to a drawn diagram and some other helpful preparation links for Revision/Stage 2 Surgery after DIEP flap Reconstruction. Three to four months down the road I will be having pigment added to give an appearance of normal colored areola and nipples, again my own preference. Remember, I no longer have either due to the bilateral mastectomy, during which they could not spare that portion of my breasts.
Shawn and I will be heading down to Nashville on Thursday night, checking into a hotel and getting a decent night sleep before our 6am Outpatient Surgery registration the next morning. I am told the procedures should last around 2 hours, we expect 4 just because my stuff typically takes a bit longer than the planned minimum. I will be under general anesthesia, but will be released as soon as I come out of recovery. Outpatient, baby! I have been told by my nurses that I won’t have many limitations, but I will be sore. Most women who have had the fat grafting tell me it feels like you’ve been at the gym, but you haven’t, for several days. It’s manageable by Tylenol/ibuprofen in most cases. I will be able to be very mobile that same day, but still have to take it all in-stride, not overdo it. Shawn has some business at some Steel plants within an hour or two of Nashville, so we will be making it an extended stay in the area, with him by my side all Friday, then me being able to rest in the hotel while he runs out and about on Saturday and Sunday, using the hotel as base of operations. This extended stay, paid for by his work in the area has been a blessing, as most women suggest staying over in a local hotel at least one night immediately after this phase. Riding on a plane or in a car can be torture on a sore body, when having to travel a long distance for the right surgeon.
I will have bruising and bandages and an abdominal binder/compression garments for two weeks. The first three days I’m not allowed to lift anything more than a milk jug. After that, I’m supposed to be able to do anything that won’t place any pressure directly on the front of my chest.
So there it is! I’m sure I will be posting alot during my hotel stay, so stay tuned…
Example: Nipple Reconstruction technique
Dalynn's Road to Recovery 