Hello everyone! I promised to relay my experiences of getting the surgery so here I am.
The surgery was done by Dr. Bartlett in Brookline, near Boston, MA. Overall I am fairly happy with my experience. The entire staff there was very polite and thoughtful. The doctor is well known for taking his time during his procedures. My surgery took 3.5 hours. He told me before we started that would take his time and make sure everything went well. Which is exactly what I wanted to hear.
I had to be at the office at 6:45 AM for prep so I could begin the actual procedure at 8. Before I left I had to wash with this extra strong medical grade soap. It was strange washing my chest, knowing that in a few hours it would be completely different. The feeling was bittersweet because they had done a lot for me. On the other hand they were holding me back from where I needed to be. There was paperwork to be completed and instructions to go over. The nurse made sure the medical binder that I'm going to have to wear about a month fitted right. They gave me 2 Tylenol, a strong painkiller and other pills to relax me. They all worked pretty well. I was nervous for certain but it wasn't anything unmanagable. Dr. Bartlett came in and made me pose for photographs from several angles which I'm never a fan of but that's how it goes. Then he spent a very long time drawing on my chest, mapping out exactly how the work is to be done.
I hugged my partner goodbye and walked into the surgery clinic they had right there in the office. I've had surgery before so it wasn't that intimating. I laid down, they took my blood pressure and put my legs into a sort of massaging tube. Just to keep the blood circulating when I was laying there for 4 hours. Everyone fussed all over me and the IV was eventually started. I don't remember falling asleep. When I woke up I was in the recovery room I believe and the nurse was there telling me everything had gone perfectly.
According to my partner, that was the third time I woke up but I have no memory at all of the first 2 times. He must have gotten me to the car somehow, but I have no idea how. We drove back to the hotel where were we stayed in case there was any complications. I think he might have stopped at CVS, although I'm not sure. He laughed at me for asking the same questions over and over again. It's just that my memory after the anesthesia was basically shot for the rest of the day. Everything would be black and then I would wake up in someplace completely new. Very strange. Good thing Greg was so patient and willing to be there for me. Who knows where I would of ended up otherwise.
I have two large squeezable bulbs dangling on the front of my body. They keep filling up with blood and so on. I have to measure the amount and then throw it away. It's a bit gross but it doesn't bother me. It bothers Greg a lot more which makes me laugh. So far they've been half way filled, about 50 MG, 3 times a day. I'm hoping the seeping will taper off so I can get them off next Monday when I visit Dr. Bartlett again.
The painkiller they gave me, hydromorphone, works very well. So I'm not in that much pain. Just slightly spacey and out of it at the moment. The sorest parts right now are under my armpits and down a bit to my ribs. Although if I stand up and start moving around everything on my chest hurts. So I think I'll just take it easy for a few days. They also put a patch on the neck, under my ear which stops the nausea which I'm also grateful for. It makes me a bit thirsty but that's a small price to pay.
Until Monday I have to keep this binder on, morning, noon and night. I can't even take a shower, which is going to suck after a bit. Worse though I can't see how my chest looks now. I have a good imagination and I can picture it well but there's nothing like the real thing.
If you have any questions about how everything went down, let me know. I'll be happy to answer them. I also have some very nice but used binders from LoveBoat if anyone is interested in those.
