Operation with Mr Vijh on the 18/06/2018

[ShadeThrow]

Luckily my GP is a 15 second drive from my front door. Extremely quick visit probably took 2 minutes in the room for her to just look at them. She told me dont use any deodorant on them. I assume its because it would likely irritate it a lot. 

[Hondacr84]

How are you coping now?

[ShadeThrow]

Things are a lot better now thanks. I still have horrific bruising and my entire chest is yellow down to my ribs apart from the purple parts  but the pain has subsided a great deal. Its mostly just discomfort now when standing but i can certainly feel it healing. 

[Hondacr84]

Great news. Hopefully the discomfort gets better this week for you.

I'm finding that the recovery is now going really slow. Small patch of purple has appeared middle of my stomach. The area around the incisions still feel numb and bruised. I find that I can not raise my elbows above my nipple line.

[pIxulz]

Yeah I struggled with my arm mobility in the first week as well. Id say it started to feel more normal after the two week mark. 

Overhead mobility is still a bit tricky for me and I feel more of a pain in my left side more than the right. 

[Hondacr84]

Looking forward to see how I am on Monday as this is the 2 week mark.

What week are you now on?

How is your bruising?

Any sensation in the chest?

How are the incisions and the surrounding area looking?

Thanks

[pIxulz]

Officially 4 weeks post op this Thursday.

Bruising is hardly noticeable now to look at, still hurts a little bit though. No noticeable swelling either. I am slowly gaining sensation in my chest again, it's still a little numb around my nipple though.

Incisions are healing up well. Can still feel a bit of pulling if I extend my arms too much overhead though, I think it's because the skin is pulling the incisions. May give mr vijh a ring soon to see if I can take my compression vest off, it's been pretty horrible with the heat wave we've had...

[Hondacr84]

Good news. Not sure if I've seen any before and after pics of yourself, happy with the result?

Where are you hurting, incision area?

Have you noticed much change between week 2, 3 and nearly 4? I personally think that the recovery is so slow one day I'll wake up and I'll realise it's gone - hopefully...

Are the incisions visible/raised still?

I'll be seeing Mr Vijh just over my 5 week point. I'll ask him then but I thought it wasnt until week 8. I guess each case is different depending how quick the heeling took.

[pIxulz]

Yeah I'm pretty happy. There is a little scar tissue I think on the left side but I think this will reduce overtime, it's still early days.

Yeah just around the incision area mostly. Little bit of pain from the bruising but it healed pretty quick.

I noticed a big difference in the first few weeks, bruising went down really quick mostly. Although I think the last bit of recovery will be slow for me now too.

Incisions are visible but not raised and are fading slowly.

[Hondacr84]

Sounds like a good outcome so far then, you must be pleased.
Probably a stupid question but how can you tell what scar tissue is?
I keep thinking that I had the OP weeks ago and I've not actually reached the 2 week mark yet so I need some patience....

[pIxulz]

Yeah I'm pretty happy with it so far. I am carrying a little extra weight so it's hard for me to tell if my chest is swollen or if it's fat. Could be a bit of both.

Yeah I had no idea what it was either. It's basically like small lumps of tissue you feel in your chest, they're not very noticeable but you can feel them and sometimes see them. Can be quite common with post op gyno surgery but they clear up overtime. Especially if you massage the area so I've heard.

[Hondacr84]

Yeah I'm trying to eat healthy and to keep under 2000kcal but it's hard.  I miss not being able to move around properly and especially the gym.
I'll start to have a feel after my 2 week point to see if any have formed.  Maybe see what Mr Vijh says at your appointment. 

[ShadeThrow]

Do you have swollen/hard areas directly under the incisions? I seem to have on both sides and not sure if its just because of the compression vest pushing everything up or not.

I'm doing the opposite for calories for sure! I figure my body needs as much fuel as it can get to heal it. I'll try get my diet in order after I feel back to normal.

Overall feeling fine now. Nipples are still black but the area around seems to be peeling so I think it will sort itself out.

Got to admit this was timed horribly considering the weather. A compression vest is not helping me cool down. 

[Hondacr84]

I still have swollen areas on my body. Had a quick feel around the incisions, not able to feel any lumps but I've not pocked too much...

I find the compression top is ok when in the house today. Had to pop to town earlier for 30mins and found it hot then.

I do find that the compression top creates a lot of dents in the chest and I have it buttoned on the last notches.

Comparison photo attached.
Top is post OP 5 day
Bottom post OP 10 day

[Hondacr84]

It's now day 12 and bruising is still present. Odd sensation in my left nipple area. 

It seems I have a raised lump/strip under each pec which starts near my sternum and follows the contour of the pec until it reaches either side. This is present in the previous photo which I posted. 

I'm not sure if this is normal after surgery/lipo or if it's scar tissue etc.

Has anyone else seen or have had this issue in the past?

Just sent an email into Mr Vijh as this has been on my mind for the last 3/5 days and I wanted to raise it now and not wait another 4 weeks until I see him.