So last Thursday I had a bilateral "Goldilocks" mastectomy - it's Tuesday now, so today is the fifth day post-op.
I had three nights in hospital and was discharged on Sunday, and every day has felt like a battle with these dressings. It's a system called Prevena that puts a foam layer over the sutures, and then a plastic dressing over that so that the attached pump can then apply a gentle vacuum.
Even in hospital, every day has brought patches to the edges to try and maintain a seal. It holds if I'm sitting down but the moment I stand up, the pump goes off, and I hear a little whistle from a new leak somewhere in the dressing. It's getting pretty frustrating - I can't shower without it going off and even just doing a wash at the basin triggers leaks. And forget going for 'gentle walks' - I want to, but not if the dressing's going to leak the whole damn way.
I'm due to have them removed on 9 December, so six more days with them. If I thought I was happy to have drains removed, that'll probably be nothing compared to the joy of getting rid of these dressings.
Has anyone else had experience with suction/negative pressure dressings like this?
