Last Two Drains: You're Out!

On November 7, it was time to visit the plastic surgeon's office again. This is pretty basic - so here's a [mostly] photo narrative of what happened.

FYI: Each breast area drain tube is an actual tube until  about 1-2" inside the body. Then it's a tube that's split lengthwise: one half goes around the top of my expander to the middle of my chest, the other half is cupping beneath the expander, then up towards the middle of my chest. Both of those are about 9-10" long. And yes, detailing this makes me feel tough. :)

1. Left breast area drain tube - out.

2. Left breast area drain tube - out.

3. Look at all that came out! (No questions about the scissors allowed, smartypants.)

4. Bye-bye, fanny pack!! Even Jill knows this is a great thing! Yee-haw! My waist is now unencumbered.

5. Here is what a tissue expander looks like. They are made of heavy, thick, textured plastic. Two were implanted under my skin during my surgery (the first step in reconstruction).

photo courtesy of:
http://organizeinstyle.typepad.com/biggirlpanties/2010/11/expanders.html

6. The tool held over my breast tissue is much like a stud finder...it magnetically finds an area on the expander. This area is a port (much like my chemo port) through which a needle is inserted and saline is added to gradually fill the expander.

Check out Jill's bling!
She wanted it in the picture. :)

7. Jill used the stud finder to find the correct place for the needle for the saline injections. "X" marked the spot!

8. Time to inject the saline. BIG syringe, small tube, and small needle for the injection. This was not painful for those of you that might grimace at the photo. For the most part, my breast tissue is numb/has a slight tingly feeling. That is normal and it may stay like that for the rest of my life. I felt pressure and a prick, but nothing to give me the heebie-jeebies. My first fill was 120cc on each side.

The first fill went well. That evening I definitely felt more pressure in my chest and was sore. So bumped up the pain killer pills that I'd been cutting in 1/2. So proud, though, of my growing "little lady lumps"...now at a whopping 270cc!