Surgery Yesterday with Dr. Fielding

[Billy9994]

Hi all! This is my very first post although I have been reading this message board on and off for a while.  Thank you to all who have posted, you helped me find a surgeon.

I had my surgery yesterday.  It seemed to have gone well although would've been nice to speak with Dr. F post op to see how things went and what type of surgery he performed (lipo vs. excision vs. both).  When he was marking my chest on the table he said it was "all gland" although i was under the impression that he needed to open me up before knowing for sure.

Am I correct in assuming that it was all gland excision since I have no drainage AT ALL?  

I feel very swollen which is normal and my chest is tender to the touch all the way up to my neck. The tylenol 3s help although i have only taken 1 so far today as it is more a matter of soreness vs. pain and Tylenol 3 is very constipating due to the codeine.

The foam pads are quite thick and cannot be concealed in my opinion (if you are going back to work) unless i was given exceptionally thick foam.

Also i was intubated during surgery and my throat is quite sore.

I have some before pics I can post at a later date when there is something to compare it to.

Can anyone answer my above question? also do i need to buy a compression vest to put on as soon as the foam pads are removed? (which will be next Tues Mar 7). And have any of you done massage to minimize scar tissue?

I am open to answering any questions for those who are new to this.

Thanks,
Billy

[Achilles]

First off congrats on the surgery! I had miune with Fielding 2 months ago too!  I had lipo and gland excision and didn't have any drains.  I don't thik drains are the norm actually.  But you oculd always call his office and ask to speak with him, that's what I did and he told me what he did, how much he took out, etc.

You don't need a compression vest once you take off the pads.  The tensor wrap which is currently over the pads at should be enough for compression.  I didn't do any massaging of the area; didn't take any vitamins, didn't really do much, just let nature take care of itself (best advice I can give you too).  Just relax.  Post some pics whenever you get the chance.

[Billy9994]

Thank you for the info! it was helpful... are you happy with your results?

[Achilles]

No problem!  I'm very happy with the results!

[PW22]

Hey! We must have had surgery within a few hours of each other. Mine was on the 1st with Fielding as well (11:00PM). My appointment is Tuesday to get the wrap off too.

I asked Fielding about the compression vest pre-op, and he told me the same thing that was mentioned earlier, that keeping the wrap on for a week was sufficient.

I had an extreme case (i'll post a before picture soon), and he said he had to remove quite a lot of gland tissue (more then assumed), and I didn't recieve any drains.

As far as vitamins and massaging, he told me it wasn't really necessary, I believe its depends on your own personal rate at which you heal.