My trip to Poland- Katarzyna Ostrowska-Clark

[f22]

Hey,

Thought I would share my experience travelling to Poland to have surgery with Katarzyna Ostrowska-Clark, hopefully it'l; be helpful to others on the fence. I have previously followed the accounts of 'jakeyboy','isambard','mart' and 'redman85' and this was what initially provided me with the helpful info I wanted and gave me that final push. Thanks guys!

I arrived in Szczecin today (well technically yesterday as it's 00:30am now) after a really early flight (06:25) so hardly got any sleep. Got the 'Interglobus' transfer that Jeremy organised to the Ibis hotel. The room is basic, clean and all I need I must admit I do feel slightly odd doing this in a foreign country, however I am so excited to get this over with as I'm sure Katarzyna with give me excellent results as I have seen with others.

I am expecting a call from Jeremy around 8am to go for blood tests and an ultrasound.

I will post some pre op pics now and keep this updated throughout the process.

[f22]

[Redman_85]

Hi f22,

I am guessing you are probably post op by now so firstly congrats mate, welcome to the other side.  You may be resting in the clinic or asleep right now but I am happy to help with any questions you may have regarding short term recovery and healing. 

I am exactly 2 weeks ahead of you, had my surgery on the friday and even stayed at the Ibis and used interglobus like you have.  Dont tell me you are in room 124 too?!

Tomorrow you will probably have your first check-up and bandages replaced, I felt really vulnerable at this stage when they first expose your chest but its good to have a look at the results.  You will then likely walk next door to get your medication then grab a taxi back to the room.

I was advised to rest up for day 1 post op, I chilled out in my room, taking my laptop was a great distraction and time waster.  Things will feel numb and awkward but you should be able to get downstairs to grab something from the Ibis restaurant.  The fajitas arent too bad.  Day 2 you should be able to get a bit more mobile, try walking down to Subway for lunch, which is straight out the hotel and left, right at the junction and further down on your right hand side. 

At no point did I ever really have any problems with pain, but be strict with taking your medication at the right times as I did.  The worse bit of the whole experience for me was probably the end of day 2 or 3, when I was overcome by this incredible itching/tickling sensation like someone was literally rubbing my nips with a feather. Unbearable.

All the best mate your in safe hands.

[mart]

Hope the surgery went well mate look forward to the pics. yes it does feel weird doing it in a foreign country but your in safe hands with Katarzyna.

[f22]

It's the morning after now, and I've just had breakfast. First of all I would like to say that everything about this clinic is brilliant. They make you feel really at home, the nurse literally waited hand and foot on me all night! I can understand why people that have come here have been inspired to share their story.

The blood tests found that my prolactin levels are high and this is what could have caused my gyno so I need to get this sorted once I get back to make sure the glands don't return. I was so nervous before getting onto the operating table but once I layed down I was given the stuff that relaxes you and it felt so good! All I remember is waking up in my room with the nurse next to me and the surgeon came in and said everything went fine. I managed to get some decent sleep despite having to sleep on my back which I'm not used to. I would say I haven't really experienced any pain, it's just a bit uncomfortable. 

I've just had breakfast and waiting for the surgeon to arrive to change my dressings etc. I can't wait to see my chest! I will upload pics later today once I get back to my hotel.

Thanks for the advice redman, I will probably have a bunch of questions for you over the next 2 weeks if you don't mind 

[mart]

Glad to hear it all went well mate. The nurse really looks after you, she kept bringing me water and checking on me every so often. Can't remember her name she was only young and had short black hair, attractive girl. Just about to put some updated pics on my thread i'm 10 months post op now.

Get some rest mate.

Mart.

[Redman_85]

How's things mate?

Couple of days post op now, bet you are looking forward to showering if you haven't already.

My scabs are starting to fall off now, or maybe I am being too rough with the massaging. I get the missus to do it in the evening some nights, gets the mood going haha

[f22]

Well there was a little bit of a complication.. Once Katarzyna removed my dressings the morning after, there was quite a lot of bleeding that had built up on the right side. She was not happy with this so made the decision to go inside under local anaesthetic to remove the blood. This was slightly uncomfortable but not too bad. She then fitted me with drains. The left side was completely fine. This has slightly delayed the process but I seem to be back on track now. I went in today after quite a lot of blood had drained on my right side, she removed the dressings and seemed much happier about it. I briefly got to see my chest laying down and it looks very promising 

I still have the drains in and she says if there's not too much drainage when I go back in the morning then she can remove the drains; I'm praying! I want to have a shower so bad! Hopefully then I will be able to get onto massaging etc... I don't want to take pictures of my chest until the drains are out, so hopefully I'll be able to tomorrow.

This part of the process is pretty depressing if I'm honest, but It's only a few days and I'll be flying back home. Szczecin isn't the most uplifting place really...

[Redman_85]

Sorry to hear there was a minor complication. Sounds like they sorted you out pretty quick though and now your on the road to recovery.

I know what you mean about szczenin, my lowest point was actually the day I got there. After surgery I had something to concentrate on, but it really does help to get out and have a walk around the place for an hour or two to break your days up.

5 nights seemed like ages to wait to come home at first, but it will fly by. I actually look back fondly, I'm having a bad time at work right now so would love to have the week off again!

Rest up, these hematomas happen so don't worry about it I'm sure it won't delay your recovery. At least your nipple didn't drop off or anything I suppose.

[f22]

Ok so I can finally get some post op pics up! I have just had my last consultation with her, got my drains taken out, drained a bit of the left side with a syringe. I'm flying back tomorrow, can't wait to get out of this place! Just had my first shower and it was euphoric haha.. Was very interesting to have my first propper look at everything once the markings and surgical stuff was washed off. I didn't have lipo so I think I'm looking different to most of the people who did. I am pretty happy with the results so far, Katarzyna said my tissue was unlike most people she had operated on and that I needed to do a lot of intense massaging to even everything out. It feels as if there is quite a lot of fluid etc under the nipple but once this dissipates I'm pretty sure the nipple will get flatter and rest nicely on the muscle, giving me a nice contour. The main thing that I'm delighted about is the lack of nipple puffyness, these pics were taken right after a boiling hot shower for about 20 mins. Pre op my nips would have looked all puffy and feminine, making me want to grab a knife and chop them off. But now the nipple pretty much stays erect the whole time. I think things will drastically improve over the next couple of months. I really want to do some exercise, they say leave six weeks, but I definitely feel like I could go for a light jog now with no problems.









I know it doesn't look like much has changed, but my issue was more of a puffy nipple issue than anything else.

[f22]

Cost breakdown for whoever is interested:

Surgery (gland excision, no lipo): £1240
Minibus tranfers: £47
Ultrasound and blood tests: £52
Ibis Hotel (5 nights): £150
Spending money (including food, taxis and medications): £80

Al in all, I think it was £1570 well spent, lets hope my final results are great!

[f22]

There's a lot of fluid under the right side, and a smaller amount under the left. Really pissing me off because it kinda looks like I have a gland again but when I press them it just feels like a water balloon. Think I'm gonna have to get them drained.

[dexs]

Where is all this fluid coming from even when you had drains?

I had surgery last week with Karidis and hardly any fluid build up.  What is his surgeon doing that is different from others?  Every post I read It mentions about draining via a syringe or via drains.

Also it looks really swollen......I'm just curious if this is normal as on the UK board you don't really hear of these symptoms.

[f22]

It's fluid that has built up after having the drains... Everyone reacts differently to surgery, there is no set in stone way that a person heals. It's not that swollen now and I'm probably going to have them drained tomorrow.

[f22]

Update:

Ok so I'm 9 days post op now. I feel pretty much no pain at all and have hardly any visible bruising, but I guess it helps having darker skin. I'm very happy with the left side, it is almost completely flat against the pec muscle but there is still a small amount of scar tissue and "gunk" which I'm sure will decrease over time. However, I'm not too pleased with the right side at all... There is some sort of trapped fluid or something under the skin which is making the nipple protrude similar to pre op. I really hope this goes down soon, If the RHS was the same as the LHS then I would be over the moon. I am now starting to increase the massaging; gonna do around 20mins a day with bio oil and hematoma cream that was prescribed. I guess I shouldn't let myself get down it's still only 9 days after.. it feels a lot longer. Please let me know what you think. I'll be going to the doctors tuesday to get my hormones balanced, hopefully this wont take too long. I will also have my stitches removed.

LHS

LHS

RHS

RHS