Diane was taken to surgery around 8am and I saw the surgeon shortly after 10am. The recovery time will be much shorter than the previous procedures since no muscle work was involved. There are no surgical drains to mess with either.

More later.

A ribbon of scar tissue has formed and is causing irritation and pain on her ribs.  During the day her undergarments put pressure there and at night she has trouble sleeping on that side.  Massaging the area on the other side helped to keep scar tissue from forming but on this side it did not help as much.

We were hoping that the previous procedure would be her last even though we knew there was a chance there may be one more.  Diane had been doing real well otherwise, so when the surgeon explained the options, she was a little upset and disappointed that she would have to go through the pain and recovery one more time.  Diane has had some time before the surgery was scheduled and is ready for tomorrow, she knows that it is something that needs to be taken care of now, not sometime later after she is completely healed.

The upside is that the surgeon will also do some minor adjustments to the position of the implants and tighten the pockets a little.  This will plump the implants a little more so that the ridges or creases in the implants won’t be as visible.  Diane is so slender that it is difficult to get the pocket size and positioning just right, a body type with more fat surrounding the implants would hide more imperfections.  This alone was not worth having the surgery and we would not consider it except for the pain and discomfort caused by the scar tissue.

I will be blogging from the hospital, check back late morning or early afternoon for updates.  Thank you in advance for your prayers.

Diane has been walking, getting back in shape.  She had gained weight because of the reduced physical activity and the need to eat every time she took medicine.  The city has added some nice paved walking/running paths in the greenbelt (floodway) in the past couple of years which makes the activity much nicer than utilizing the city streets and sidewalks in the past.  The greenbelt is just half a block away so it is convenient too.

Diane’s mom is getting married in the middle of November so we will be seeing a lot of family and friends for the first time since all this began a year and a half ago.  Diane should be doing just fine by then and will be able to thoroughly enjoy the time with her mom.

Wednesday we visited the surgeon’s office and the nurse removed the rest of the external plumbing, the surgical drains.  They serve an important purpose but they are a pain in the “you know what”.  Diane commented on the amount of fluids that we emptied out of the drain reservoirs over the week since the surgery.  It would be a lot of fluid for the body to absorb and get rid of on its own.

The tubing was inserted lower on her sides this time, last time they were inserted at her arm pits.  The lower location was a little less irritating than at the arm pits but the tape still caused plenty of irritation and itching.

The nurse that removed the drains was real nice, she assists the surgeon when he performs procedures in his office.  We have had a wonderful team taking care of the princess, they have been professional, extremely skilled, and will patiently answer all questions put to them.  We are pleased with the final result so far barring any last minute complications.

Then off to the out-patient surgical center where we saw more familiar faces.  More questions to answer while another technician checked blood pressure, oxygen levels, pulse, etc.  The IV was administered, this is always an adventure due to Diane’s small, tough, rolling veins.  Then the waiting began.

Since we arrived later in the day the pace was not hectic like it is in the early morning time slots.  This can be good or bad, if you are anxious about the surgery the hectic pace takes your mind off of what is coming.  Diane is used to the process and is always in good spirits, talking with the nurses, joking around with them, giving advice on how to deal with those pesky little veins, etc.  I am the one that is the basket case, I always worry when she goes under the knife.

The anesthesiologist arrived and informed us that he had checked on the status of the surgical suite and was told that the current surgery was going to go over the allotted time.  They were not sure how long they would be needing the room, so we knew that we had a longer wait, but did not know how long.  The anesthesiologist eventually returned and let us know approximately what time the room was going to be available.

The surgeon arrived and Diane asked how his morning went and he said it was busy and since the room was delayed he was able to have a nice lunch.  Diane told him she was jealous since all she had recently was a piece of toast and a few swallows of juice at 5am.  The surgeon then asked Diane if she wanted him to be hungry during surgery or well fed and strong.  He is young, friendly and confident in his abilities without being arrogant; Diane really likes and trusts him.

The surgeon took out his little marker and had Diane stand while he did his pre-surgery marking.  He told us that he was going to do additional work to correct the positioning of the implants and she would definitely have at least one surgical drain.  This extra step is not that unusual.  When the plastic surgeon does his initial work he is immediately following the surgeons removing the breast tissue.  It can be difficult to gauge the results from the positioning of the the internal bra he creates from muscle stratus that holds the expanders and then the implants in place, plus all bodies do not heal and recover the same.

The surgery went well and was completed in the time frame that we were expecting.  The surgeon came and explained to me that all went well and he was able to adjust the positioning.  He said the implants fit well and the result should be soft, well formed breasts and that  Diane should be very happy with the results.  He said that her breasts will now compliment her slender frame.  The hard, stiff coconuts are finally gone!

The recovery nurse called and told me that Diane was doing well coming out of anesthesia, but was experiencing quite a bit of pain and they were trying to take care of that for her.  She also let me know that with the length of the surgery and the delays getting started Diane would not be processed through the out-patient section, she would be going to a room to finish her recovery before going home.

By the time Diane got to her room the floor was in the middle of shift change and to top it off the floor was full and overflowing to a lower floor.  Everything progressed very slowly from that point, Diane was doing fine but starting to loose patience.  The pain medication took close to an hour before it was administered, the antibiotics that were prescribed via IV were almost overlooked, and it took multiple pushes on the call button to get a response.  We were both tired, Diane was experiencing more pain than she should have been and my back was barking at me.

The surgeon inserted a small tube connected to a ball that was placed in a small canvas pouch with a waste band attached.  The pain ball administers a numbing medication until empty, then we can pull the tube out.  This should last until sometime Saturday, I can only imagine how much pain Diane would have been experiencing without it.

After the antibiotics were gone the checkout procedure started, albeit slowly.  Diane was able to get up and tinkle, then we tried to get her dressed.  We had to take a short break due to a little dizziness and nausea.

We finally left the hospital sometime after 11pm.  I got Diane settled in bed and went to the 24hr pharmacy to pick-up some muscle relaxers.  I was finally able to get some supper after I gave Diane her medicine.  We never knew what the schedule was at the hospital, so I could not leave to get supper.

Diane slept good last night and is doing well considering everything she went through yesterday.

The power just went out for a couple seconds, the lights went out and there was silence.  It has been raining but it has not been storming here.  Maybe there are some storms in the area that affected the power.  Very strange.

So if the surgery is not completed by that time period the patient is admitted and goes upstairs to wait until they are ready to be discharged.  That is what we are looking at right now unless the surgery goes quicker than expected.  That is doubtful because the surgeon had already informed us he has some extra work to do to make the results match his expectations.   He has a reputation for being meticulous in his work.  I will let y’all know more when I know more.

Thank you for all the support and prayers.  Fred

I have been struggling through a back injury and I take muscle relaxers at night that make me a little drowsy so if  you want more information you can visit Jessie’s Journal by clicking this link or the one in the sidebar.  Jessie lives in Ireland and is part of a non-denominational mission team and therefore will be relying on co-workers and friends for local support since she lives away from family.

Sleeping has been the biggest challenge, our bed has been taken over with an assortment of props and pillows.  There have been many nights when all of that has not been good enough and she sleeps a good part of the early morning hours in the recliner.  Muscle pain and spasms in the back, sides and chest area have become extremely annoying and uncomfortable.  The weather even pitches in to provide pain and discomfort when there is a front moving in and rain is in the forecast.  Plus each time saline was added to the expanders the pain and discomfort increased until her body adjusted to the additional size and weight.

The surgery is scheduled for 1:00pm and the surgeon told Diane it would last approximately three hours because he has some internal adjustments to make.  As long as everything goes well Diane will be home  late afternoon or early evening.  I will be blogging with updates from the hospital and later on when we arrive home.