I went back at noon and she performed the procedure in the office. Numbed the area, cut along original incision. Lots of fluid drained out but no sign of infection. It was weird to feel the expander being pulled out. Since I was watching and not grossed out she showed me just how thin the skin was...we could see her gloved finger through the thin areas. Oh wow! She collected some tissue to send for a culture. That was kinda crazy to see! She irrigated with saline and then wiped the inside of the "pocket" with gauze (that felt odd, unpleasant). Poked a hole for the drain tube with a huge trochar that she called a "harpoon". She used my radiation tattoo on my side as a guide to make sure she poked in a numbed area. Sutured me up with absorbent sutures and steri-strips. Done. The worst part was the lidocaine she used to numb the area. That stuff STINGS! We listened to music and chatted the entire time. They were rather amused that I wanted to watch.
If/when we try again it will have to be with a lat flap for the extra skin coverage. I haven't had a problem with the left side so I think that will be fine.
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