My surgery on Tuesday (May 20, 2014) went well. The doctor seems pleased with the results. Two drains came out on Thursday and the last two came out on Friday. Most of the breast area is numb. It's a bit sore and bruised but not terribly painful. The one area that is very sore is on the left side where the doctor made stitches inside to create a new breast shelf to make my left side the same height as the right side. My original breasts were uneven by more than an inch. The trouble with the left side is that I still feel the area where the new shelf was made and it's that very tender spot on the midriff just under the breast so it hurts like crazy.
Although I'm pleased by the fact that all the scaring and necrosis is gone on the right side. I'm disappointed by how much he had to reduce my size to make things even and straight. The left side was smaller to begin with and he had to make it even smaller to put in the new shelf. At this point I wish I would have left well enough alone and not gone for the new breast shelf. So far, the result is a very straight unnatural looking line across the bottom of the left breast and the circles where the flap show are smaller but still a lot bigger than I'd hoped and very uneven with each other. The left flap circle is very low on the breast mound. Originally the left side was lower than the right. Now the right side is lower than the left. Arrrggg!!
Fast forward one month . . . I was so unhappy with the results I couldn't bring myself to finish this post. It's now June 26th. I'll give this another shot.
On June 9th I went to see Dr Cober again. There was good news and bad news. I told him how unhappy I was with the left side. He said that he purposely made the left higher than the right side because when it heals it will be lower. That's a relief. At this point I was still an a lot of pain. I'd gone back to work but it was constantly putting ice on my left side to help with the pain and swelling. He also told me that one of the reasons severe pain was a large hematoma in my left breast. He gave me the option of going into surgery again to have it removed or just waiting for my body to absorb it. I took a few days to make up my mind but I decided to just wait it out. So he referred me to physical therapy (PT). So I've gone to PT a couple of times and will start going twice a week on July 7th.
Another fast forward . . . tomorrow is Labor Day (September 1, 2014). So it's been over three months since the surgery. I've been feeling healthy since about the middle of July (3 months after surgery) at that point I was back at the gym and could do pretty much anything without pain. The hematoma is still there. It's not painful anymore but it's very hard. It feels like a large hard disc. It is under my left arm and on the side and bottom of my breast. I believe it has gotten smaller but only slightly. The edges of it used to be smooth and rounded and now it is less rounded.
It bugs me to no end.
I can't bring myself to post a picture. I hope the ultimate outcome will be good enough that I will at least be okay with posting a before and after shot on the private BRAC facebook pages. Right now I'm not able to do it. I'm still glad I had the PBM but wish I would have made different choices regarding my phase 2.
My next step is an appointment with my plastic surgeon in November. It is supposed to be a pre-operation appointment to get nipple reconstruction. Maybe the hematoma will be gone by then. I so hope so.
This has been a long journey . . .
Fast forward one month . . . I was so unhappy with the results I couldn't bring myself to finish this post. It's now June 26th. I'll give this another shot.
On June 9th I went to see Dr Cober again. There was good news and bad news. I told him how unhappy I was with the left side. He said that he purposely made the left higher than the right side because when it heals it will be lower. That's a relief. At this point I was still an a lot of pain. I'd gone back to work but it was constantly putting ice on my left side to help with the pain and swelling. He also told me that one of the reasons severe pain was a large hematoma in my left breast. He gave me the option of going into surgery again to have it removed or just waiting for my body to absorb it. I took a few days to make up my mind but I decided to just wait it out. So he referred me to physical therapy (PT). So I've gone to PT a couple of times and will start going twice a week on July 7th.
Another fast forward . . . tomorrow is Labor Day (September 1, 2014). So it's been over three months since the surgery. I've been feeling healthy since about the middle of July (3 months after surgery) at that point I was back at the gym and could do pretty much anything without pain. The hematoma is still there. It's not painful anymore but it's very hard. It feels like a large hard disc. It is under my left arm and on the side and bottom of my breast. I believe it has gotten smaller but only slightly. The edges of it used to be smooth and rounded and now it is less rounded.
It bugs me to no end.
I can't bring myself to post a picture. I hope the ultimate outcome will be good enough that I will at least be okay with posting a before and after shot on the private BRAC facebook pages. Right now I'm not able to do it. I'm still glad I had the PBM but wish I would have made different choices regarding my phase 2.
My next step is an appointment with my plastic surgeon in November. It is supposed to be a pre-operation appointment to get nipple reconstruction. Maybe the hematoma will be gone by then. I so hope so.
This has been a long journey . . .
