Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Surgery Day

If you're reading this, I'm in surgery.  8-12 hours of surgery.

 First the surgeon takes all the breast tissue from my chest.  It reaches up by the collarbone and over towards my armpits.  That should take 1-2 hours.  She'll also take my nipples.  Then she turns it over to the plastic surgeons for reconstruction. 

The plastic surgeons will take the leftover fat and tissue from my abdomen and belly to form new breasts.  They'll be taking a small vessel from my abs and burrowing under the skin to my chest so that the tissue in my breasts has a blood supply.  They'll perform microsurgery to connect it to a vessel in my chest.  Then they'll take some of the skin from my belly to cover the area where my nipples were.  7-10 hours to complete this part.

The area that is around the biopsy that was inconclusive, along with other tissue from my chest that was taken out will be tested for cancer.  If it is, I'll need to meet with an oncologist.  That person will develop a treatment plan which could include radiation, chemo or other options.  From what I know, most likely radiation.  The concern, is that radiation in my chest could cause the new breasts to die off.  If that happens, I'd need to go back into surgery for breast implants.

I'll be in the hospital for about 4 days.  I had an electric recliner chair that I rented, delivered to me so that I can stay on the main level of my house, not worry about stairs and sleep in it. 

I'm accepting any prayers, good thoughts and/or vibes that you can spare.  I'll update from my phone as soon as I can.

2 comments:

  1. Praying for you!

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  2. I'm praying for you!!! Happy thoughts coming your way!

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