Right to be concerned or too early - paranoid?

[Vestyn]

Hi all, first post, here.

I am Day 6 post-op (DI with total nipple & areola removal) and I'm concerned about my process of healing and the way it's looking so far. I know you can't get a feel for the final results for months afterward, but...I dunno, it's so saggy and puffy - is that normal? Or am I looking at revisions down the line? (God, I really hope not; the anesthesia recovery has been about the worst experience of my life...) I flew home yesterday, so I have an appointment tomorrow with a local GP to start removing the sutures.

Picture: http://s1380.photobucket.com/user/Vestyn/media/Picture9_zps3985b506.png.html

I've also noticed that the pain - a sharp, pinching pain like, right behind my armpits? - as well as the dull ache from the compression bandage has been getting steadily worse every day post-op. I refused all pain meds except paracetamol/acetiminophen because the pain was quite manageable at the beginning, but now I'm popping paracetamol as often as safely possible. My surgeon confirmed on my Day 4 consultation that there's some internal bleeding but not enough, he thought, to warrant aspiration. He said to just keep compressing it for the next month, but each day the compression has been feeling less and less tolerable. He took out the drains after only 24 hours - I haven't heard of anybody else doing it that early, so now I'm kinda freaking out that the drains were removed too soon and my skin is going to be stretched out because of internal bleeding and...ugh.

Is it just post-op jitters? Or am I right to be concerned?

[Bimmer Guy]

Hi, Vestyn.

I see you wrote this last night.  How did things go with your GP today?  Were they concerned?

[Vestyn]

Thanks for the follow-up, guys. Day 8 today.

The appointment went well (after some initial awkward fumbling about "No, they didn't *find anything,* I got the mastectomy for...aesthetic reasons...") but she recommended we leave the stitches in for a few more days. She's a GP and not a cosmetic surgeon, so she had no commentary on how my chest was *looking,* but she treated me with complete professionalism and respect.

She did, however, have some choice words for my surgeon who didn't prescribe any kind of topical antibiotic ointment for the incisions or instruct me on how to clean them. She cleaned it up with iodine, swabbed on bactroban, and covered them with sterical gauze, telling me to do this 2x/day until our next appointment. She also recommended I switch from paracetamol/acetaminophen to ibuprofen for pain management and that's helped with the swelling A LOT. I'm still bruising and tender in places but I'm pretty sure the suspected sera/hematoma has been absorbed.

So feeling more positive nowadays and the pain is quite manageable, as long as I take it easy, stay diligent with the medication and keep my chest wrapped up. Looking forward to the day when I can take off all compression and support and walk around without pain! Hopefully my skin will have settled in a position I find more-or-less satisfactory, too.

[devention]

How are you doing now? Has the swelling gone down at all?

[Alexthecat]

It does look puffy. I'd wear a compression and see if it helps.

[Vestyn]

Hi guys,

This is kind of an old thread now, but I just wanted to follow up - thanks to Brett and devention for your concern, guys.

I'm a couple days short of being 6 weeks post-op and my 48 hours of panic have completely blown over. That first appointment with my GP made such a difference; once I switched from Tylenol to ibuprofen it helped manage the inflammation and its associated pain so I could compress without feeling like I was going to explode. Also, I did the physical therapy-type exercises for about two weeks which helped me a lot mentally, if not physically. I realized that the sharp, shooting pain I'd been describing actually probably stemmed from keeping my torso unnaturally stiff. Once I relaxed and let myself ease into familiar movements, the pain completely disappeared after a few days.

Aesthetically, I'm 95% pleased with the results. Now absent of swelling and inflammation, my chest has great contour, which I'm so relieved about because I elected for complete nipple removal and didn't want to look like, you know, a flat, white slate, lol. And several people have said that the absence of nipples isn't really even that noticeable - it's there if you look for it, but doesn't jump out at you or anything. The 5% dissatisfaction comes from the fact that I think the surgeon could have tightened the skin a bit more - the skin of my pecs sag a bit more than a normal guy's for my age and weight, I think - especially when viewed from the side - but I also don't think the average person would notice if they weren't critically evaluating it.

I posted 5-week post-op pics as well as a lengthy review of my surgeon and his clinic on transbucket if anyone's interested. Same username.