[KellyA]

Hi Kevin and Sue,

I did have the same surgery myself in May of this year. I had a double mast. followed by immediate reconstruction with implants. We did not know if they would be able to get the implants in or have to do the expanders. They did get the implants in so that was one less thing to do later.

The surgery itself was not bad. I was actually very surprised that it went as well as it did. I had very loose dressings on just to catch any drainage and those came off within 24 hours. The mast. site did not look bad at all, even just a few hours after surgery. I had four drainage tubes (2 on each side) and those were nasty. They have to be "stripped" every few hours at first and then less frequently until they are removed. I couldn't really do it myself (at least at first). My husband was just wonderful and did it all- dressings and draining the tubes. It really is kind of nasty though, so be prepared. The drains had to be emptied and measured for output. I had mine in for about 8 days.

As far as pain goes, it wasn't too bad. Everything felt very very tight almost like someone was sitting on my chest. My implants went in under the muscle. I did get a bad baackache for about a week afterwards, but that was probably due to the fact that I couldn't really sit up or stand up straight at first. I was a little hunched for a few days. I think that I only used the prescription pain meds for about 2 days. Then tylenol did the trick. Back rubs really helped the backaches. I was able to attend my son's 8th grade graduation in 3 days and at the pool in a swimsuit with my kids in 10 days. I found lots of "peasant" style shirts with drop waists to concel the drainage tubes. Maternity shirts would work too. I am pretty small and thin so the tubes really stuck out of my regular clothes. Also, you might want to use button down shirts or some that you can step into as you won't be able to lift your arms up over your head for a few weeks. One more thing- my ribs were very sore for a week or so because they pulled the skin up from around them to make the implants fit. (cont.'d)