Post-op numbness?

[Always.Wanders]

I know it's probably too early to tell much, but I had top surgery about 4 days ago and I thought it was odd how little pain I've had. I've been very tired and weak, but the extent of the pain I've been in has been a little soreness and some irritation from the medical tape. Reaching or bending to far, or putting to much weight on my arms or chest hurts, but I have a much larger range of motion than I probably should from what I've read.

So I'm really worried because, my chest is almost entirely numb. Basically, where the incisions were or where the tubes for the drains are is where the sensation cuts off. I was expecting some loss of sensation but nothing like this. I feel like maybe the tubing is inhibiting the healing process some, and maybe more sensation will come back after the drains are taken out, but I don't know how long that'd take.

I had peri with Dr. Johnson in Massachusetts and I'm very excited about it. Even without sensation, this is what I needed, and I'm thankful for it. I had a peek while I was still in the hospital and it looked great albeit swollen. I have a follow-up scheduled for six days from now and I'll have a better look then, and I should have my drains taken out as well.

Apart from the lack of sensation, recovery is going really well, the swelling seems to be going down, the drains are doing their jobs, and I didn't have a bad reaction to any of the anesthetic or medication. So I'm feeling pretty good about that.

Has anyone experienced similar numbness post-op? I plan on calling her office on Monday to talk about it, but until then I just want to hear about similar experiences to mine. I think I might have more sensation than I did a few days ago but it's hard to tell if I actually do or if it's just wishful thinking.

Any input is appriciated. Thank you!

[Ender]

Even with a peri, nerve damage is possible.

I had a peri with Dr. Medalie, and in some ways I had the opposite problem that you are having.  After my surgery, I was surprised by how much I felt the pain; I had read so many of accounts from guys (who had the DI) who said that they had very little pain, never really needed the vicodin, and felt pretty decent after only 2 weeks.  It took 3 months for my chest to stop aching almost constantly, and it still acts up once in a while (about 18 months postop).

Another thing I noticed: my right side was slightly bigger than my left, so the surgeon had to cut out more tissue on my right side.  Because of this, I was expecting my right side to hurt more, but it actually hurt less.  When the bandages came off and the swelling went down, I found out why: despite it hurting like hell, I had almost full sensation to touch and pressure in my left side, but my right side was numb to touch and dulled to feeling pressure.  Once my chest healed more, I tried pinching both my left and right side.  My left felt pretty normal, but my right was hypersensitive and a light pinch hurt way more than it should.  I took that as a good sign, actually; the nerves were still there.

After 18 months, I'd say my left side has almost normal sensation.  My right side still has noticeable numb areas, though it has gotten heaps better.  The hypersensitivity has largely (but not entirely) gone away, and I have gotten back a fair amount of touch/pressure sensation.  Apparently nerves can grow, but it takes a really, really long time.  I had some dental surgery done in middle school, and a large nerve in my gum line was severed.  I had numb gums for a few years, but the sensation is back now.  I'm hoping my chest has the same healing abilities, and it's getting there--slowly.  Oddly enough, my areolae and nipples are still responsive to touch and temperature (cold or touch make the areolae shrink and the nipples protrude, with warmth having the opposite effect).  Sorry if that's TMI, I just think it's neat that my nerves are still intact enough for that; I wasn't expecting it.

Hope some of this is useful to you, but really: 4 days is very early postop and with the swelling still going on, it's hard to tell.  And even if you feel able to move your arms about, I'd recommend going easy on that.  Even though they're smaller, peri scars can stretch, too.

[Radar]

I was extremely numb (as in no feeling at all) for awhile. My feeling has slowly been coming back. At 5 months I still have some numbness at my incisions, nipples and surrounding skin. What surprised me was how numb the whole chest area got.

My nerves are growing back but it's slow. I've heard healing from nerve damage and gaining sensation from any trauma/surgery can take awhile. My nerves tend to grow back slowly anyway.

I didn't have as much pain as I thought I would either. However, it wasn't easy on my body overall (I had a DI). Even though some guys talk about top surgery like it's no big deal (healing wise) if you think about it it's a big operation. There's alot of components to heal. Then again, maybe it's just because I'm older and the young ones heal up faster.

[bojangles]

Yeah, lots of numbness that has gradually diminished for the most part. Little bit still remains at 7 months.

[sneakersjay]

I still have a large patch of numbness under my left arm and I am more than 3 years post-op.  Right side is fine, though.  And I have nipple sensation.

I had a large laceration on my arm that had numbness for quite a while.  I can't remember how long it took before all of the feeling came back, but it was years as well.

It's normal, no matter what type of surgery you have.


Jay

[joeybrogue]

I'm a little over 4 months now and I'm like, completely numb still.  I can feel above my sternum and a little to the upper right and left, but near the nipple and if you "cup" your chest (right hand over right pec area, and vs) -- not a thing.  I'm not too concerned, I did pinch my skin the one day, and boy I felt that!  It's quite superficial I suppose!