Surgery Completed with Dr. Karidis 3.3.12 (21 DAYS POST OP Pictures added)

[linkin]

Hey guys!

I am on the other side!  

Basically...exactly the same story as the other guys so you can skip this bit if you've read it all before! Got there for 7:30 this morning, checked in, shown to my room. A friendly nurse did baseline observations and asked the important pre-op questions. I filled out some forms and chose my lunch  
Then I got changed into the sexy gown and DVT stockings, I like to think I was looking pretty good!
The anaesthetist came in to see me and then Mr K poppped in about 8:30ish I think. He took some pics and marked me up. He was very nice and confident he would give me a good result.
I went down to theatre about 9:10, and was asleep 10 mins later. Woke up in recovery about 10:20am feeling a little dizzy but actually not too bad at all. My chest stung a bit and the garment was a little tight but not too bad. They gve me some tramadol and this got rid of the pain. I was so thirsty so they gave me some water which was soooo good! They monitiored me for about half an hour then I went back to my room where my Mrs was waiting for me.  
I tried to sleep but couldn't really and I was actually pretty 'with it'. I had to go to the toilet pretty much straight away and felt a bit dizzy but was fine when lying back down.
The nurse did my blood pressure and oxygen sats every hour or so, and my lunch arrived about 12:30. The club sandwich was good, as was the ice cream! I ticked quite a lot on the menu and it all turned up so I was happy...I was so hungry it was gone in 10 mins!
Watched Liverpool vs Arsenal on Sky and then soccer saturday. By 3ish I was feeling pretty good, and in the end about 4pm I asked to go home and they said it was absoltely fine as my obs had been good all day.
I'm now back at home and feeling fine. No more painkillers, no more pain really. Just feels like a heavy chest workout but nothing more. I've got a bit of seepage from the incision sites but this is normal apparently.

So...so far so good. A really easy and pleasant experience, and at the moment, I'm so glad I've done it. As others have said it's like a weight has been lifted off my chest, literally..haha!
Really looking forward to taking off the vest/dressings tomorrow to see what's underneath!  

Will update soon guys, thanks for all the info from the other guys on here who inspired me to go and do it, espcially Thetodd, Chopper and Ad21 (plus loads of others over the years!)

[dexs]

Congratulations linkin

Would be good to see some before or after pics. 

[zm]

How are you feeling bro? I had the op with Karidis yesterday too. Talking of which on the paper work did it have a different Dr name. My one said something like Dr BESU or something. ?

[linkin]

Thanks dexs! 

ZM....I think that was the anaesthetist's name wasn't it? Something like that. He also has to get a consent form from the patient.

So, day 2...after a terrible night's sleep where I just couldn't get comfortable on my back I have now taken off the vest for the first time, removed the dressings and had a shower.

I think it's looking good so far...certainly flat! A bit concave but that's to be expected I suppose. A bit of creasing too but this is where the dressings and the vest have dug in. The incision sites are good, one of the nipple ones is already hard to see! The right nip leaked a bit yesterday which seeped through to the vest but is pretty much dry now, and the other vest is in the washing machine.

The incision at the left armpit is the one that leaked the most, and there's some fairly hefty and lumpy lines of bruising just below it, but I'm hoping this is where the dressings have impeded the flow of the blood downwards. I think this will improve within the next few days.

I have got some pre-op pics which I'll stick up at some point, and was planning on taking some this morning with the vest off but I felt a bit dizzy/queasy when ripping off the tape over the dressings (I'm a bloody idiot....so many people have said to shave beforehand and I just didn't get round to doing it! Make sure you do as ripping the hair off is the most painful thing!). The Mrs was also feeling lightheaded and ill too as she's terrible with blood/gore, so she wasn't much help!   Will get some post-op pics and stick them all up soon.

Pain-wise I'm absolutely fine. Had a bit of a sore throat in the night, but the chest was really fine. A little bit niggly but honestly ok. I have steered away from the co-dydramol & tramadol which they gave me (they can both clog you up a bit) and just taken paracetamol which has been fine so far. I'm planning on just sticking with this for pain if I have any more (2 tablets 4 times a day is very effective). The nurse said the next few days would be the worst so I'll see.

Will keep you update on progress. Planning on taking it easy and trying to aid healing however I can. Looking forward to seeing the changes and hoping it all fills out a bit which I'm sure it will.

[Dracksus]

Sounds like it's going well for you mate 

I'm happy with mine so far also, next to no pain. - I was the same, bloody difficult to get to sleep when stuck on your back... hopefully tonight will be better!

Good luck with your recovery!

[linkin]

Cheers Dracksus, you too mate!

So as promised here are some Pics:

Pre-op

[linkin]

48 Hours Post-Op

Left hand side looking a bit lumpy and bruised, must have taken a bit more of a beating! (please note pictures taken in mirror so left looks like right and vice-versa!) 

[Birmingham]

Wow it's like someone took a knife and just chopped off everything that stuck out from your chest.. Looks brilliant. I have a similar case to yours as well so this is very encouraging

[ChestMan]

Good stuff linkin. Thanks for posting your story and pics. Looking good.

Good luck with you recovery.

[about2change]

Goodluck with recovery mate...

On your right side, do I see a cut? Or is it just bruising?


I'm sure everything will be perfect, after all you had the best possible doctor

[dexs]

Great result linkin well done mate

what a transformation.  Your flat as a pancake

[zm]

linkin, i can't believe flat you are dude....

what's the bruising in the middle about?

[chopper]

Stonking job there, i think you will love the result. When you start having bad days come back and look at those pre op pics, because never again will it ever be that bad even during peak healing. Welcome to the other side 

[linkin]

Cheers guys for your comments....I appreciate it!  

Yeah I seem to have some pretty substantial bruising...I think I must be a bit of a bleeder! There's no seepage from the incision sites though so that's all good.

About2change: no cuts just pretty significant bruising. I think the padding on the day of the op impeded some of the blood that had accumulated and this caused the 'lines' of bruising that you can see on my left side.
ZM: The bruising at the bottom in the middle looks pretty bad but it's getting better. I think it's just the effect of gravity. As I said I suppose I just bled a bit more during/directly after the op.

Felt a bit weird today...woke up in the night basically numb on my right side..I thought i'd had a stroke or something, and was a bit panicked, but I think it's just because I'd been in a weird position on my back for a number of hours! Slept really badly after that for the rest of the night. Damn vest is so annoying! Still felt woozy today, even though the previous 2 days were fine. Hopefully I'll be better tomorrow. Will be nice to feel normal again!

[Dracksus]

Pics are looking nice and flat mate

Are you wearing the compression vest over your stomach at night or just over the chest? Perhaps it's having it over your stomach when sleeping at night that made you feel woozy.