DIEP Surgery Done
Hi Ladies,
Well it is day 10 post surgery and I am doing very well but boy what a marathon it has been. There were no ‘major’ hiccups, thank goodness, even with fairly smooth sailing this operation was HUGE! For those who don’t know I had a right breast mastectomy and bilateral reconstruction (left breast has had tissue expander since March) DIEP flap – using tummy tissue.
The surgery went for about 9 hours and when I woke up in recovery my surgeons told me they were very pleased with how everything went. However as the recovery nurses were monitoring me they noticed changes to my right breast so surgeons were called back. There was a bleed which needed to be fixed asap so it was back to surgery for me. They resolved the problem in an hour or so only to find there was one tiny piece of gauze missing. My surgeon was adamant it was not left in me and was anxious for me to get back to recovery as I had been anaesthetised for so long. Later xrays thankfully proved him to be correct.
So at 2am (13.5 hours later) I was returned to my room, which was one of those high dependency ones. I had one to one nursing for the next 36 hours. The nurses were fantastic and even though I was pretty doped up at first I can still remember the great care they gave me. That first 36 hours was all about sleep, pain, drugs, physio and lots of poking and prodding.
The physio was mostly for my lungs, so they would roll me to my side and try to get me deep breathing and coughing as well as get my arms and legs moving for circulation. It was painful and exhausting but necessary. They sat me up on the edge of the bed late on Friday for about 1 minute – major achievement!
After 36 hours I was moved to a regular room and continued to improve. After a week I was allowed home under strict instructions to rest, which at the moment is all I am capable of. Each day I feel a little better – I am out of bed for longer periods of time and taking less pain relief. One thing I have learnt this year is to listen to my body.
As for my new boobs – they are GREAT! Very natural looking and feeling. I have to wear a bra and lovely high waist support undies 24/7 for 6 weeks. My surgeon had not operated in this hospital before so all the nurses were eager to see his work and they were all very impressed. It was nice to get lots of compliments about my new boobs – bruises, scars and all. The flat tummy is a bonus (but a very painful one).
Thanks to all my friends here for all your messages of support. I’m sorry it has taken me a while to post but until now I haven’t been able to focus for long enough to write anything.
Love to you all
Ann-Marie xx
