Surgery complete Mr Levick 05 Nov 2014 (pics/diary)

[FlatAsAPancake]

Well done mate. I'm assuming that the jelly-like substance is the gland?

[brittguy1068]

Congratulations on going with it in the end,..   

I guess I should also thank you if your cancellation was for Wednesday October 22nd,..  I was originally offered Thursday 23rd, but decided to think about it on the way home after consultation, and by the time I got home and called the office the slot had gone, but they could fit me in on the 22nd if that would work.. I took it and now Im 16 days post op and wish I had done it years ago..

Best of luck with your healing, and shopping for those tight t-shirts next summer   

[bob1234]

Thanks everyone.

Yeah, the stuff in the container is pure fat from the lipo, the "burgers" are mostly gland. The pink stuff in the middle is pure gland I believe and the orangey stuff that coats it is fat. Can't believe I actually had burgers for dinner last night, not sure what I was thinking...

Ha, glad my cancellation didn't go to waste then Brittguy!  I checked your thread and seems like things are going great for you so congrats!

[bob1234]

So amazingly 7 days has flew by, and I am one week post-OP!

So far I think things are going well. I stopped taking the co-codamol on Friday (2 days post OP) as any pain seemed to have subsided by then (and I was having some err, constipation issues which I think were linked to the painkiller -- lovely stuff  , but that "resolved itself" by Sunday after not taking them for 2 days).

I changed the gauze under my armpit incisions over the weekend too, then completely removed them yesterday (6 days post OP), as things seem to have dried up. The left armpit incision seems to be healing well, the right-armpit incision isn't too bad, but there seems to be a bit of a skin-fold, not sure if that's anything to be concerned about....


Mobility: my movement has been quite good although I struggle to get say a glass down from a shelf above my head or to put a seat belt on.

Binder: The discomfort from wearing the binder isn't as bad as I was expecting (although maybe that's because I was expecting total hell). I can sleep OK on my back too which surprised me. I also found I had to re-tighten the binder pretty much daily as it would slip down during the night/day...not to the point where it wasn't doing its job, but to the point where it was looser/lower than it should ideally be. Luckily I had someone to help me with this as I don't think I could achieve the required tightness on my own.


Tingles: yep, few of these, but sure it's just the sensation in the very early days of returning, and they are quite infrequent (one every other day perhaps) and nothing to worry about.


Swelling/fluid: except the overhang above binder I can't see much? (I know the swelling will probably get worse over the next few weeks right?)


Other misc things: I found myself quite tired for the days that followed the general; I'd be fine in the morning, but be knackered by the evening. Nothing that stopped me doing anything, but I did notice that I would nod off a lot more easily in the evenings, and I would feel pretty wiped if I was in a social scenario in the evening (not great at following the convo flow). That seems to have passed by now though.
I'm wondering do I really need two compression vests? Can't I just stick the binder back on for 30mins while the other one is in the wash?

I think Mr Levick said he recommends continuing now with vest and binder on top...how long until just the vest alone? Also how long do I need to continue with Arnica?

I guess I can have a quick shower finally!  

Anyway some pics:

[FlatAsAPancake]

Everything looks and sounds normal. You will notice the majority of the swelling around the 3rd week I found then the scar tissue afterwards.

Re the tiredness, completely normal. Your body  is burning a lot of energy trying to repair itself so nothing to worry about.

I only had one vest. I did what you mentioned.

I kept going with the arnica until it was all gone. As you have considerable bruising I'd recommend you do the same.

I took the binder off after wearing it 24/7 then I wore the vest 24/7 with the binder just at night for one week then continue with just vest for three more weeks. I ditched mine after this point.

[bob1234]

Thanks for the reply, I think I'll try and get a refund on my second compression vest then...

Yeah, I'm expecting the "rollercoaster" from herein. What was the swelling like for you at week 3, was it fairly solid or more like soft or even fluidy and was that all over the chest, not just the overhang area? and the bruising gets darker still?

I think I'll wear the  binder over the compression vest for another week like you say, as it's really not bothering me too much, and as Levick said "can't have too much pressure for too long" (although I quickly learned on day 1 post OP that too much pressure was stopping me breathing, haha).

[bob1234]

I am a tiny bit worried about the rightmost incision. Don't think the pic quite does it justice, but the wound looks worse than the left, kind of more open and more like a "skin flap" from above, with clear fluid rather than dried blood like the leftmost. I'm not thinking longterm aesthetics worries here..I just don't want it to end up infected now I stopped taking the antibiotics..hmmm...

[FlatAsAPancake]

The swelling was fairly soft but then it turned into hard scar tissue.

My bruising wasn't as dark as yours but I'd imagine you're seeing the worst of it.

The picture doesn't do it justice as you say but it does look like it has a little pus in it. Keep the area sterile and if  it continues to weep then speak to Levick who may recommend some further anti-biotics.

[bob1234]

2-week post-OP update:

I still have some overhang swelling at the top, and there is the usual lumps and bumps across the chest that seem to come and go. Bruising is a lot reduced from last week, and my left incision looks like it is almost healed (and going to heal with minimal scaring). Things aren't so great with that pesky right-incision. I think I must have perhaps over-stretched and knocked the scab off, and now it looks somewhat inflamed and rather angry. Obviously a big contrast to how the left-incision is healing, so I've emailed Mr Levick to ask his advice. Maybe I need a trip to the GP or some more antibiotics . Not sure. I'm still wearing the binder+vest combo day and night, as I've not reached my "I can't stand it any longer" threshold yet, so why not. The vest's spine, where the fishhooks are, digs into me quite a lot at night, but it's not too bad (I'd personally say the binder alone is comfier than binder+vest, but I'm sure the vest alone would be comfier than the binder). I also experimented putting a sock down between vest and binder on a particularly lump ridge and it seems to help (any better ideas??). Otherwise I feel pretty good, more like I'm no longer in the "I've just had an operation" mentality, and getting back to feeling completely myself, almost forgetting I need to take it easy, and apart from things I have to do big stretches for (top cupboard glasses, putting socks on, ...) I feel like I'm back up to speed. I sent the 2nd vest back and they had no quibbles about a refund, so the plan is just to wear the binder while this thing gets washed every few days. Hopefully by next week most of the bruising will have gone, and this infernal right-incision will start to look better.

[bob1234]

Mr Levick got back to within about 3 milliseconds regarding my concerns about inflammation of the right-incision and said all is well, it is nearly there, and in a few days it will healed before it goes a bit lumpy and finally soften/settle over the next few weeks.

[freedom1987]

You look amazing already! Such a huge difference.

Remember keep the pressure on and try avoid stretching!

[bob1234]

Cheers freedom!

3-week post-OP update:


Bruising seems to have gone down quite a lot and I think some of the lumps of swelling have gone a bit (sure they'll be back as from what most people have said swelling only really begins after a few months). Right-incision still very weird looking; I was told by Mr Levick that it is "proud flesh" or granulation tissue, and that unless I had scurvy it would eventually heal. It is still very wet, and bleeds on my vest quite a bit. I'll be glad when it heals up.

Otherwise not much to report. I am still wearing the binder+vest combo (since I'm lucky enough to be working from home at the moment, and it's not causing me too much jip, and I figure the more compression the better. I think I'll switch to just vest in a few days though as I'm getting a bad back sleeping in the binder). Except the right-incision mobility is quite good. Still tight if I stretch for something and chest still mostly numb (although a bit better than it was).

It's weird the areas I seem to have bruised: all the way down at the bottom of my stomach is bruised, when my chest isn't so much, I think it's the vest pushing the fluid down there.

Not taking arnica anymore, still drinking pineapple juice!

[AchillesUK]

Looking good.

Re the bruising, I had bruising all over too, I think its the binder/vest which push in at different parts. It will all clear up eventually.

Good to hear you're tolerating the vest/binder too, keep them on as long as you can bear. Must be a bit easier with this freezing weather too!

[bob1234]

Hey, so just a 5 week post-OP update:


Most (if not all) of the bruising has gone now, and I am looking less like I've just been ranover . Also happily the right-incision seems to have dried out in the last week, although I don't want to get excited too soon in case it gets knocked or otherwise worsens again, but so far so good. The left incision is basically just a line now.

My mobility has improved vastly, and I feel apart from very large stretches I can pretty much move my arms as I please now.

Feeling has also begin to come to back to the chest, although it is only partial, semi-numb and kinda tingly sensation. It also becomes less and less as the radius to the nipple decreases. It seems to be improving though. It's interesting when I don't have the vest on and get cold, the skins immediately surrounding the nipple does not develop goose pimples, whereas the outer skin does..

I finally took the binder off and am wearing just the vest now.

I have some lumps and bumps developing (not sure if the pics show them?). I feel like they are hard horizontal ridges that run across the pec, basically a line below the nipple, a slight concavity around the nipple, then a line above it. They are not balls, but strips. Still some swelling above the chest too (where the binder did not cover), but it also seems to have diminished from what it was.

I guess I should start massaging soon to try and dissipate the scar tissue ridges? I'm just a bit worried it will still be too sore to touch like that..

[jinr0h]

I do not recommend massaging so early from personel experience, i did this about 4 weeks post op and it caused some extra swelling(which was very prominent) 1-2 days later... you dont want this.
Other than that i think you look perfect atm , grats