A word of warning about post-surgery compression vests

[diplomaticimmunity]

Hey guys!

I had my surgery last Wednesday and put on the compression vest immediately after (with the help of the nurses).  The vest I used was the following: http://www.underworks.com/men/post-surgical-vests/power-compression-post-surgical-vest. I ordered a size L as the M turned out to be far too tight when I tried it on before the surgery.

On Friday I took off the vest for the first time to shower and I noticed that the pressure of the vest towards the top of my chest - along with the gauze pads - was creating divots above my nipples and a cavity in my upper left chest where the vest was folding over.  The vest was also so tight over my armpits that it created little 'rolls' of skin along with bruises where the material pressed against my skin. Overall the pressure of the vest with the bandages was causing all sorts of asymmetries on my chest. I sent some pictures to the surgeon's office and I was advised to come in on Saturday. On Saturday morning before going to the surgeon's office I removed the gauze pads and switched to another Underworks vest with no hooks.

When I got there on Saturday the surgeon advised me to stop wearing ANY vest as it seemed to be doing more harm than good. He sort of "ironed out" some asymmetries in my chest with his hand before extracting fluid and air that had accumulated in the upper chest (ouch).

Fast forward to today, Wednesday, a full week after the surgery and things are starting to look very good. I only have bruises and I haven't taken any pain medications in a few days.

Now, I'm in no position to advise against the use of compression vests all together but definitely keep in mind that the vest + bandages combination can create asymmetries, divots and unnecessary bruising. Perhaps even the size L was too tight for me...but I'd imagine that the nurse or surgeon would have noticed this when putting on the vest.

I hope this can help someone catch potential issues with complications due to the compression vest after surgery.