Grandpa Bambu Post-Op....

[Grandpa Bambu]

Feb. 16, 2005    Surgery Day

Well, it's done and over with! 

Surgery was at 11:30am today and had to be at the hospital for 9:00am. I really don't know why they make you wait for so long  . So... at 11:30, three Med Assistants prepped me for about 10 minutes or so. Dr. Fielding then came into the operating room, he made some circular marks on my chest with a marker, then took some pics. I then lay down on the Op. table and a plastic mask was put over my face. The Med Assistant said "Good Night", I said "Good Night" and that was all I remember until I woke up in the recovery room.

No pain what so ever !  Like many others have said, just a mild discomfort as if you have had a chest workout. That disapated at about 5pm though .  I was given a prescription for 40 Tylenol 3's, if necessary.

I felt very cold after the Op. I told a nurse and she gave me a pre-warmed blanky. Nice touch! If I recall correctly, someone else on this board mentioned that they felt very cold after their Op. as well.

Lots of drainage however. I've gone through 2 shirts and lots of gauze pads. My recovery nurse gave me a bunch of gauze pads and tape to take home. Which was really nice of her to do. Dr. Fielding, his Med Assistant team and all the recovery nurses were very nice.

Now I am anxious to see the results. Have to go back to St. Joe's next Tuesday for the follow-up. I hope Dr. Fielding will take off the bandages then, so I can get an idea of what my chest without Gyne looks like .

Will post 'After' pics ( pic link in Sig below ) ASAP....

[Grandpa Bambu]

Day 1

Stayed up late last night playing Half-Life 2. Awesome game! Very addictive! Had a bit of discomfort/tightness so I took two T3's. Woke up at 12:30pm today    with the same discomfort as last night. Took two more T3's.

Drainage has slowed to a minimum.

Called St. Josephs hospital to book a follow-up exam - 2pm. Booked for Tuesday Feb 22nd. ( 6 days Post-Op )

Changed dressing today - 8pm. Was getting a tad nasty with the fluid drainage from yesterday.

[Grandpa Bambu]

Day 2

Woke at 10:30am. As I got out of bed while sitting up, I felt a bit of pain/discomfort ( nothing major ). Lasted a few minutes, then disipated.

Getting a tad itchy under the bandages.  

When I press on the right side of my chest, I can hear some fluid moving around in there...  

Removed the bandages as they made me feel very itchy. Took some pics and updated my Gyne photos.

[Grandpa Bambu]

Day 3

Nothing unusual to report today....   

Swelling starting to go down.

Took more pics and posted ( 7pm ). Stood up 'straight' while taking the pics. Felt so good! At first I was stooping and didn't even realize it!

Damn, this is great! My m(o)(o)bs are gone! It's too good to be true...

Chest is getting very itchy now.... also starting to feel depressed.  (1:45am)   

[gynegoawayplz]

congrats on your surgery, the swelling will go down over time, you picked a great surgeon.  

The hard part is over

[14 yr old surgery 2/18]

...the coldness most likely comes from the sterile water the PS pours all over. Im not too sure why he poured it into the incision, but i had local, i was wide awake and watching most the procedure, and the water was COLD.

[Grandpa Bambu]

Day 4

Swelling continues to decrease  

11am - not as much discomfort/pain today  

4pm - took more pics and updated photo Page.

8pm - feeling a little sore now. Took two T3's.

[Grandpa Bambu]

Day 5

12pm - Feeling better every day. Not much soreness toay .

Going to take some more pics....

[Grandpa Bambu]

Day 6

Not much discomfort at all today.

Had follow-up exam with Dr. Fielding today. He said I'm healing nicely but wasn't too happy that I took the tensor wrap off. He told me to wear one for another two weeks. A student nurse put a new tensor on me.

I asked JCF a few questions and here is what he said:

Exercise: Treadmill in a week and resistance training in another two weeks.

Tanning: The Doc said to take it easy with tannning for this summer. Keep it to a minimum as the suns U.V. rays 'may' harm the healing scar tissue.

Fluid: The RHS has some fluid build-up, but that will dissipate into the body with time.

Bulges: The bulges at the sides of the chest is some major swelling. Especially on the right side as the Doc had to do some major Lipo there.

Forgot to ask about how much Gland/Fat he took out. Have to see him again to sign some forms for work. Will ask him then.

Took more pics...

That's all for now....  

[Grandpa Bambu]

Day 7

Did a little bit of work about the house today. The chest started to get a tad sore. Took some T3's.

Continue to wear tensor bandage.

Went to Weight Watcher meeting. Weighed in at 204.8 lbs. Down from 227 lbs.

Took more pics and posted.

That's all for today....

[Grandpa Bambu]

Day 8

Bought a better tensor wrap today ( Pic on the Pics Page.... ). Much better than the tensor that the hospital supplied. Much easier to put on, more comfortable and nowhere near as itchy as the hospital wrap. I'm not trying to Dis the hospital or Dr. Fielding but IMHO, you need something a tad more supportive . I highly recommend you invest a few $$$ in a good quality tensor wrap or a compression vest/shirt if not included with surgical fee.

Chest is looking much better today. Swelling continues to decrease and bruising much better than yesterday. Especially on right side.

Took more pics and posted...

[Grandpa Bambu]

Day 9

Saw Dr. Fielding today at his office. Had to have some 'return to work' forms filled out for first day back to work next Wednesday. It will be good to get back working again. Getting bored of doing nothing most of the time :-/. JCF said the chest looks good and that I wont have to see him for another 3 months.

D@mn , forgot to ask the Doc ( again ) about just how much he took out. Oh well, maybe at the 3 month follow-up exam.

Wore the new tensor wrap all day. Feels really good! Very supportive. JCF said that I should try and wear it for at least a month. That's no prob. This tensor feels very comfortable with next to no itching.

Some sad news.... My Wifes Step-Father died today at 6am :-/ :-/ He had a very bad heart for seven years. He had a number of strokes/heart attacks over those 7 years and with each attack, his heart got weaker and weaker. He fought it right up untill the very end. He will be sadly missed by all his family and friends.  

[jc71]

Bambu, why don't you just call JCF and ask how much was removed? If they return your call next week, that's better than waiting till the next appointment (3 months).

Sorry to hear about your step father in law.  My dad had a weak heart too and died from a heart attack about a year ago. Sad.

[Grandpa Bambu]

Bambu, why don't you just call JCF and ask how much was removed? If they return your call next week, that's better than waiting till the next appointment (3 months).

Yeah.... I might just do that.

Sorry to hear about your step father in law.  My dad had a weak heart too and died from a heart attack about a year ago. Sad.

Sorry to hear about your Dad. Yes....it's very sad when the one's who are close to you die.  

[Grandpa Bambu]

Day 10

Nothing much doing today....

Bruising continues to clear up. Almost gone actually!

The chest is a tad sore when I wear the tensor wrap. Especially when I raise my right arm over my head. Ouch!  

Took the usual pics and posted...