It's hard to believe that I'm a week beyond surgery number 1. That means I'm only 2 weeks out from surgery #2. I'm not quite ready but I'm sure I'll be ready to get going when the time comes. I see my PS on Tuesday and I'm hoping the stitches come out...all 60 of them. I had Mattie take a picture of my back and I counted those suckers. I don't want to make anybody queasy so I'm not posting the pic but everything seems to look pretty good to me. The tissue is still alive, which is the most important thing! I've had some discomfort this week (rash, muscle cramping, drain) but I'm only dealing with one incision, one drain and nothing has been moved. Next time around I'll have incisions over 3/4 of my torso, tissue expanders placed,more stitches, and 3 drains. I'm already looking for the humor in all of it so the funny posts are in the works. Keeping a smile on your face is half the battle.
Since we've covered the basics of the procedure and a refresher on the drains, I guess it's time to introduce you to tissue expanders. I'm trying to think of them as something other than a torture device. :-)
We'll start with the professional illustration...
Since we've covered the basics of the procedure and a refresher on the drains, I guess it's time to introduce you to tissue expanders. I'm trying to think of them as something other than a torture device. :-)
We'll start with the professional illustration...
I will have two different types of expanders. The one of the right side will be like the one pictured above. There is a port (yes another port) in the expander. When it's time to start filling them (in 6 months) they will use a magnet to find the port in the expander, insert a needle and start filling them with fluid. The picture above shows the method that will be used on the non-radiated side. On the radiated (left) side, the port will be away from the actual expander. They don't want to mess with the "rebuilt" side so port, and therefore needle, will be down below my chest. Here's an example of the difference...
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| This version has the port in the expander. |
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| This one has the port away from the expander. |
Hopefully, that makes it a little more clear.
I hear that the expansion can be mildly uncomfortable to horribly painful. I've got a few months before I find out for sure but, as always, I'll tell you how it feels.
It's time for me to get some rest. Catch you later!
Love to all,
Andee