Post mastectomy and feeling abandoned.

Post mastectomy

I had my mastectomy on Monday and was discharged less than 24 hours later on Tuesday.

I have an Exudrain in the middle of my chest and it feels like about a foot of tubing runs around up to my collarbone and back down under my armpit. I was given a little book on it and a few spare drain bags and sent home, half an hour away. I have had no home-care nurse or a community nurse (mentioned in the booklet) to help me with the drain although my hubby grins and bears it holding the bag while I measure and record the drain output twice a day. Actually now I just do it all myself and check the waterproof seal tape in the bathroom mirror myself every day.

On Friday morning I had an appointment with my GP who travels half an hour up to our little town on Fridays. He checked the seal on the tape and the drain system.  Said it was a very nice neat job. He took my blood pressure and let me go after prelim checking for any early pathology results. It looks like it will take the full two weeks to find them out.

On Friday afternoon I had an appointment half an hours drive in to supposedly see the surgeon as he said when he discharged me from the hospital he would see me on Friday at outpatients clinic and the hospital would organise the appointment.

I was called in by a young lady and my husband came as well. I am so glad he came in with me as what happened next he would think I was raving mad and making it all up.

Firstly we both had to walk very briskly to keep up with her ushering us in. I was only 4 days post op so quite a bit slower than usual and I would have lost her if hubby hadn't gone in front to keep an eye on where she was going.

There are two main entrances to outpatients and usually I have been taken in through the door on the left as it leads straight down the hallway to a row of doctor’s offices on the left. Not this time, we were called through the door on the right. Trotting along behind her, we were taken through a ward of men in beds getting some sort of treatments with nurses in attendance. Ewe! Talk about their invasion of privacy and mine. Out into the other hallway to the row of offices and into the one I usually see my surgeon in.

The lady explained all the doctors were away for the afternoon and that she, a trainee doctor would be seeing me for this appointment.

I asked how did the operation go and were there any hiccups or complications as I was still pretty out of it when he saw me on Tuesday morning early? I had been throwing up half the night. Hubby asked had she been present at my surgery on Monday. She replied, no she had not been present at the surgery and my medical file she had only listed basic information that I had been given a mastectomy. She didn't say if one sentinel node was taken, two, three or what?

I must have looked pretty healthy trotting along behind her as she didn't bother taking my blood pressure.

She asked what pain meds I was taking and I replied Nurofen and Panadol but she didn't ask how often or in what dose rates. I haven't died yet so I must be doing it right.

Then she got me to take my shirt off and show her the operation site. She remarked that the tape had a bit of dried blood under it and wanted to rip it off and put new tape on. I said it had been there since day one and my GP just said it looked ok. I am not sure how she thought she could pull it off with the drain and plastic piece and stitches in it. She decided against it fortunately for me.

Then she didn't like the way the drain was flexible out of the chest and went and got a piece of dressing and tape and put it over the top so it sits down flat now. The only trouble is she has not considered she just locked any germs down underneath the drain on my chest and I cannot antibacterial wipe that section clean now.

I told her the output of the drain was currently about 80ml per day and I had some new bags the hospital had given me and could she put a new one on for me as this one had 200ml in it already? Obviously that was beneath her so she trotted off and grabbed, yep you guessed it, a trainee nurse.

The trainee nurse couldn’t quite figure out how to change the bag and unlocked both seals at the same time. Fortunately the trainee doctor realised that wasn’t right and locked down the top seal for bag changing.

The bulb had about 15ml in it, and I explained that I had already measured and expelled it 3 hours earlier and that tiny amount in there was a part of the next 24 hour reading. The nurse expelled it all; read the bag and said 200mls. It was already 200mls before she expelled it so I am not sure how good her eye sight was. She managed to attach the new bag without further incident and the doctor showed her how now the top bulb seal was allowed open and the bottom one clamped shut. At least she is learning. Now I have adjusted my measuring time by 3 hours so that bit extra lost doesn’t fudge further figures.

There was a message on my file apparently to contact the breast nurse. Neither the trainee nurse or trainee doctor knew who the breast nurse was or how to contact her so I gave them her name and number and the nurse went out to call her. This is late Friday afternoon and the nurse just got a recorded message - hours 8 to 4 Monday to Friday. Hmm, appears the breast nurse knocked off early so I will have to contact her on Monday myself.

Now as to when can I actually see my surgeon doctor, the trainee nurse told me he was a specialist doctor with his own practice and it would take at least a month to get an appointment with him and she would arrange for me to see her again on Tuesday afternoon. BTW this is an absolute lie. The surgeon is the resident general hospital doctor and has no private practice of his own.

I don’t know what to do apart from calling my breast nurse on Monday morning and asking her advice. I really don’t want this trainee nurse trying to remove my drain on Tuesday without supervision. Perhaps I could get my breast nurse to be in attendance on Tuesday for the appointment?

I have no idea how on earth I am going to get the pathology results from the surgeon on Tuesday week if I cannot get in to have an appointment with him at outpatients.