Apr 18 2009
The surgery or here we go again
I had my surgery on Mon. like planned and got home yesterday afternoon. This one was much worse on me than the first one. There are a few things I don’t remember about Mon. LOL But I do remember how I was treated. I really like the hospital I am going to, everyone is so nice. They have taken very good care of me both times I have been there. I got there at 8am and went to registration, the girl who registered me walked me up to where I had to go. Once there I had nurses and doctors in all the time.I got in to my gown and got in bed. They came in and took blood, set up the IV and ask all kinds of questions. I talked to the anesthesiologist and signed the paper to give consent. About 30 mins. before the surgery another nurse came in and gave me a shot to relax me. And the doctor came in to make sure all was well, and I knew what he was going to do.
**** I want to tell you something about the difference in hospitals and why you should look for one that is good. I have had outpatient surgeries in the local hospital that I mentioned in the first couple posts. I would get there 2 hours early, like ask. First thing is to get in a gown, they have recliners that you sit in, then a nurse would come in with a warm blanket and cover me up, then another nurse would come in and put the IV in. Maybe an hour later you would see the anesthesiologist , the rest of the time you would just sit there waiting. I don’t know if I can get sued for telling the names of the hospital here, so I have chosen not to, for now anyway. But I want to make sure that you know you have to look for and go to a hospital that you feel comfortable in. I can not say that enough. I think that if you find the right doctor for you, you will also have a good hospital.****
There were two operations at the same time. First he did the left side.He had to put a port in and did this first because it was a minor operation and was best so the other side would not be contaminated and risk infection. I have already told you about the port so I will not repeat it here. The incision for this is 1.5 inches and has 5 tape stitches, one more a little higher up on my breast bone that is small and has 2 tape stitches. Mine is called the power port. So now I can go around telling people that ‘ I have the power’. LOL Sorry about that.
Next he did the axillary lymph node dissection. He went in where the sentinel biopsy was done and extended the incision. This incision is approximately 4 inches in length and has 11 tape stitches. in the upper underarm area, and a small incision, an inch or so away for the drainage hose. The drain hose has a bulb like thing on the end where the fluid drains. This has to be checked 3 times a day and emptied. That is not hard to do, the only thing that is bad about that is it hangs down from my armpit to past my waist. UGH!
He did say that I was luckier than some, the nerve that runs down the back of my arm was good sized so he didn’t do any damage to it, just had to cut around it. Which means I did not lose any feelings down the back side of my arm. I do have some burning feelings down my arm and under, in the pit area. He took out 10 more lymph nodes. Which were housed in a mass of fatty tissue, he just took all the fatty tissue out, cutting around the nerve.
Another reason I say this one was worse is because he went deep in to the armpit, which is a touchy area, every time I move my arm I know it. I will not start exercises until the drain tube is out. It looks like that might be Monday. it is still draining a little today. After surgery was over and I was out of recovery I was taken to my room. **Here again is an example of a good hospital. I never had to ask for a pain shot, the nurses were right there on time. My DH wanted to stay in the room with me, I had a single, the nurses went and found him a recliner to sleep in and had to move furniture to get it in the room. **I know my local hospital would not do that. The next morning the doctor came in and looked at his work,answered all our questions and showed me again (the nurses already had) how to empty the drain. Told me what to watch for and said I could go home as soon as the physical therapist had seen me. A short while later she came in and asked some questions about how I felt, what I do at home, if it was a one story house or two, if I had any steps to go up to get in the house. and if there was anyone who would be helping me. Then we went for a walk down the hall to see if I had my balance etc. and out to the stairwell where she had me walk up and down 3 steps without aid. She said I was doing good She had some papers me wanted to give me but she had to go get them ,in the mean time I could get ready to leave. She came back about 15 mins. later with a notebook filled with all kinds of info on breast cancer and what was offer at the hospital. Then a list of other places to get help and info. I was out of the hospital by 10 am.
I didn’t do anything Tues. except check my email and write to a few people who ask me to let them know when I came home. Weds. I was just to tired to do much of anything and I knew I had to go back to the hospital for 3 more appointments on Thurs. So I just took it easy all day. In the next post I will tell you about Thurs and Fri.
Until then stay healthy, GOD bless, Linda
