What it is I am having done~

    

What it is I am having done….

 

http://www.cancer.org/cancer/breastcancer/detailedguide/breast-cancer-treating-surgery

 I will have both of my Breasts removed.. The difference between this picture and my surgery is I will be able to hopefully keep my nipple, and my incision will be slightly different…

 Why am I having it done…. To avoid this….

 http://www.activebeat.com/your-health/women/10-life-saving-metastatic-breast-cancer-facts/

 

 What my incision will look like… The Reduction incision… Why my surgeon chose this..

 

http://www.breastcancerupdate.com/miamiconference2002/program_agenda_FD_A_SA.htm

The nice thing about being a surgical nurse, is knowing what the incisions will look like, which ones work best and having the knowledge base to feel 100% confident in my choice of General and Plastic surgeon. The Reduction incision is a nipple sparing incision. It follows the natural fall of the breast creases… The goal is to leave me after the reconstruction with the appearance that nothing happened.

 

They remove all my Breast Tissue and then… The put in the spacers...

 

 

http://bertalippert.com/my-breast-reconstruction-journey-phase-one-tissue-expanders/

 

Tissue expanders will be inserted, behind my muscle,  ( as all other tissue will be removed) and if needed they may be removing muscle from under my arms/back to assist in holding up the implant.. The plastic surgeon will insert the spacer and place 100cc of normal saline in each ( which is a very small amount that will not be visible). The spacers will then be accessed once my tissue and skin has healed. 

Drains…

 

http://ww5.komen.org/BreastCancer/MastectomyTheSurgicalProcedure.html

Surgeons use JP drains or hemovac’s to remove fluid and blood. This reduces the formation of hematomas and infection. They are drained throughout the day and removed after about a week. I will have any were from 1-4. Given my small size I will more then likely only have two. one on each side of my chest. 

 

A few weeks after Surgery and for the next three – four months…

 

 

http://www.curediva.com/blog/blog-homepage/expanding-the-situation/

http://cureaging.org/a6/c,k/videolist/mastectomy+reconstruction+surgery,0

This is what my family’s summer will consist appointments..... Appointments where I will have my spacers inflated and where a lot of my guilt lies… I wish I was confident enough to just say.. to hell with the breasts.. who needs them… Have the mastectomy and not cause anymore disruption in our lives.. our summer..... but I’m not… I am full of scares.. From head to toe and I just can’t add two more to my 10 scars and feel any type of confidence.. I hate them, they make me feel ugly, insecure and I want my breasts.. As superficial and silly as some make think. I’ve given up a lot and my body shows just that.. These I want to have and feel they are apart of me feeling like a woman…

Post Surgery~ I will be unable to lift anything over 10lbs for 6 weeks, and then approximately 3 weeks post reconstruction. The hope is that during the initial surgery all tissue is healthy, nothing has changed since my MRI. That I do not get an infection or hematoma forms. That the skin flaps heal and the spacers inflate with no issues. Then the reconstruction occurs with no infection or complications.

It’ll be a long road and one that I’m ready to put behind me but I am certain I am in the best of hands… This next month is full of pre-op appointments, blood work and tests… Then it’ll be surgery…. and I've got this... This is where I change my ending...