Second post-op, first fill

The plastic surgeon said things are looking good! She did my first tissue expander fill today. She used a magnet over my skin to locate the port on the expander. Since I'm numb there I didn't feel the needle at all! She filled my right side with 100 mls of saline and the left with 50 mls. She had put some saline in at the time of surgery so the total in my left is 100 and right is 250. It's pretty awesome to not be flat on the left side anymore!
She said my back pain was just the rib because it has no protection from that muscle. I suspect the drain tube is lurking in that area also because I think I can feel it under the skin.
I left home with all 3 drains and I came home with...all 3 drains. Darn! Oh well, I go back next Tues. She told me not to worry about the irritation around the drain sites.
So, a very good appointment!

Tissue expanders

Here's what they look like:

Since I had my chest muscle removed with the first mastectomy they used the lat flap for coverage. 

The yellow thing is the magnet that the surgeon moves over the skin to find the injection port.

Below shows a needle in the port. Skin is numb so it doesn't hurt.

Lat flap incision/scar

Took the tape off my back. Tried to get a pic showing the length of the incision.

The tape on my side is where the drains are.

Foobs

Hopefully this link works:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/joannamontgomery/post-mastectomy-my-new-foobs_b_3886195.html

Tried to link it so it would go right to the article...didn't work.

Lat dorsi flap

Along with the lat dorsi muscle that was tunneled under my skin and around to my chest the surgeon also took an area of skin from my back. This was for added coverage because my skin was so thin on my chest. It's a small area in the middle where my nipple would be normally. Almost a triangular piece of skin. I took the paper tape off the incision two days ago and there's a area that hasn't healed well yet. I'm worried about that so I'm glad I see the PS again tomorrow so she can take a look. They like using the lat flap because of the ability to keep the blood supply intact. I don't really have any pain under my arm where the muscle was tunneled to the front (sounds ickier than it actually is!).

My other side had a skin & nipple sparing mastectomy so at least I got to keep something! :-)

Showering with drains

I usually don't take long to get ready in the morning...usually. With 3 drains it becomes more of an ordeal. Here are the steps I take:
1. Take all 3 out of pockets attached to camisole & make sure all tubes are going out the front.
2. Put lanyard around neck and thru camisole; attach safety pins on drains to lanyard so they don't fall & pull out (OUCH!).
3. Step out of camisole.
4. Take off gauze/tape around drain insertion sites & spray with Bactine to numb them a bit. Pulling the paper tape off hurts in the areas where I'm not numb.
5. Strip drain tubes and empty bulbs. Record amount.
6. Take all 3 "passengers" (drains) into the shower & be careful while reaching for shampoo.
7. Step out and pat incision areas dry. Dry off "passengers".
8. Pull up camisole; take off dripping wet lanyard; insert drains back into their respective pockets.
9. Cut slit in small gauze square and apply antibiotic ointment to gauze. This fits around drain tube and covers painful irritated area. More paper tape. I do this for all 3 drain sites.
10. Pull camisole up over shoulders, put on another shirt over it. Ready to go! ( Ha ha! Ready to go take a nap...).

It is much easier than last time because my range of motion is so much better. I think I pinned the drains to my shirt last time and that works fine also.

Feeling good!

I've been feeling pretty good the past few days. I hurt a rib while sitting in a chair on the deck last night. No idea what happened. Ha ha! That's still painful...but that's what I've got Norco for!
I'm a pro at stripping and emptying my drains. The are called JP (Jackson-Pratt) drains and work by suction. The bulb on the end fills with fluid and I have to strip the plastic tube to prevent clots from forming. Then I open the bulb to pour the fluid into a measuring cup; squeeze the bulb and plug it to create the suction vacuum. I then record the amount. I do this for each of the 3 drains.
I cannot wait to have them removed! The total 24 hr volume has to get to 25ml or less. Today's was still over 85mls.