Eight days after my surgery my right drain was taken out. You track the fluid that comes through daily and when it gets under 30 mL a day, they consider taking them out. The worst part of drains is the clogging and you have to "strip" them. It is not hard just frustrating, so I was glad for it to go.
The nurse cut the stitch and pulled it out, no pain but man, was it long! Never knew that much was inside me! The plastic surgeon called me at home two days after my surgery which was a nice touch. He reminded me about removing the gauze and that was the first time I saw my breasts' incisions. Very clean horizontal lines, not bad, somewhat swollen and a little bruised in color. Since I had a lot of tissue to work with and they half filled my expanders, thus I had breast mounds which was nice.
Nine days after the surgery, my husband and I went to the general surgeon and he released me from his care. I was so taken with him and would recommend him for internal needs in a second. Awesome work!
Ten days post op, I returned to my plastic surgeon and the left drain was ready to come out! Yea! I had my first social event that night and tubes would definitely impact what I could wear. I had purchased a dress before the surgery knowing it might not work and it didn't. My daughter had to drive me to my appointment, so she took me to Dillard's where I must have tried on 12 different dresses. That itself was tiring. I found two that looked good so I bought them both and I slept the whole 20 minute drive home!
My first fill to the expanders was July 9; you have to wait 4 weeks post op. By this time I was able to drive myself. They numbed the area and put in another 125 mL (?) not really sure. The expanders have a magnet that identify the port. In his office, the surgeon uses another magnet to find the port. The solution is in huge syringes that look like reverse amniocentesis. It really was not painful. I took two Tylenol before I arrived. They say it is good to feel it because it means you have feeling back in your breast.
I returned two weeks later for another fill, but my surgeon felt like the pockets were wide enough. Another blessing to having a lot put in during the surgery and a body that was already "expanded." I want to end up a C-ish size and he is being careful to not get them near the size they were.
So now we wait until I am 4 months post op to do the exchange surgery where the expanders are exchanged for the silicone implants. I have been released to do "normal" things, being cautious about my choices. My family went zip lining in the Ozarks and as much as I wanted to do that, a harness across my chest and hanging from a wire within 2 months of my surgery just did not seem wise. It has been a really hot summer with multiple days over 100, so I have been inside with little physical activity. School is starting soon and I will get into some type of routine.
There were many things I could do. So my final post will list all the things I could do in these past 8 weeks post op. This is so doable and so worth it!
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