Breast Reduction: Stories

Part One: My Story: To come

Part Two: POSTPONED.

September 11, 2012

I am crushed. Grief-stricken, in fact. I went to my pre-op appointment this morning, about an hour away from where I live. They called me yesterday to ask if I could come in 15 minutes earlier. After checking in, filling out a little paperwork, talking with my surgeon's nurse about my chart getting moved to the new system, blah blah blah... "someone" was supposed to have called me yesterday to cancel my appointment.

Not to just cancel my pre-op appointment. To CANCEL my SURGERY.

THAT IS SUPPOSED TO HAPPEN IN EIGHT DAYS. 8 DAYS!!

But... you asked me to come in earlier?

We don't know what happened. You should have been notified. Your Surgeon has broken his leg, and cannot do your surgery until late October, at the earliest.

But, I have 6 weeks scheduled off at work. I'm a hairdresser. A busy one. All those appointments?? My partner has a week scheduled off to take care of me. You can't be saying what I think you're saying. He broke his leg? ... Really? ... He broke his leg??

So, I guess, I'm no longer part of the "September 19th" club. They won't even be able to give me my new date until mid-October, and it will likely be postponed until January, since I can't afford to take off 6 weeks right around the holidays, the busiest time of the year.

It's like being pregnant, and having that due date first in your mind the whole time, and waiting for it and eating sleeping breathing it... then 8 days away, they say, "Oh, whoops! Sorry, you still have to wait another 3 or 4 months. Ish. We can't even tell you when exactly." Late December maybe, if the Surgeon isn't on vacation.

Grief really is the best word for it. Disappointed doesn't begin to cover it.

Sigh.

Part 3: To Be Determined

October 8, 2012

I have a new date! Finally. January 7th, 2013. 91 days away. My first countdown was only 48 days, this time was more than twice that. BUT. In THREE MONTHS, the dream will finally come true.

One bonus to the postponement: Shortly after my surgery was postponed, we decided to buy a house! We started the pre-approval paperwork on September 25th, looked at our first houses last Monday, October 1st, and made an offer on the PERFECT house that afternoon!! We should close, as long as nobody breaks another freaking leg, on Halloween, and "take possession" that day!! Sooooo excited!!

Also, we had a home visit this morning from a dog rescue organization in our area, and we will be fostering some doggies soon! We initially were going to just adopt a second dog, but seeing how much good the rescue does bringing dogs to New England from southern kill shelters, we opted to foster instead. So we will have a rotating second (and third!) dog, and will be helping find more deserving dogs their forever homes!

Everyone said "there's a reason for everything" when my surgeon broke his leg and had to postpone my surgery. Well, I've got TWO good reasons! I'll be more than ready for my surgery in January, from the comfort of my new home, with all the four-legged love I can handle to help me recover :)

Chins up ladies! The universe never sends us the wrong direction. "It is not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy."

January 2, 2013

I just got back from my Pre-Op appointments! Everything looks good, I'm all set to go! Monday! 5 days!! It's real! I AM SO EXCITED.

I met with my PS, the Nurse Anesthetist, and my lead OR Nurse. My surgeon took more pictures, since it had been a while (my surgery was originally scheduled for Sept 19, but my surgeon broke his leg). We discussed my general health, history, and the surgery itself. I emphasized that I want him to err on the side of SMALL. My biggest concern is that I'll go through all of this and still wish they were smaller. He said when I check in for surgery, he's going to mark me all up, and that's the most important part. That's his map, and once he gets into surgery, it's more or less "just" connecting the dots. He said to remind him before he makes his map that I want to be a SMALL C rather than a full one. I told him not to worry, I would certainly remind him! He says there is a 90% chance I will have to have full nipple grafts, and he warned me that the healing takes longer and isn't pretty, and if he can avoid it he will, but he suspects it won't be avoidable. I was already prepared for this so it didn't come as a surprise.

The Anesthetist was very nice and explained exactly how the sequence of events would go. When I get there, they will take a urine sample for a pregnancy test (I'm gay, so there's no chance of that! LOL!), it's a silly paperwork precaution. Then they will right away give me something to relax me, before I even get the IV in. Once the IV is in, my PS will come in and mark me up, then the party starts! He said they'll relax me enough so that I won't care what else is going on or what they do to me, lol. Then I go to the OR. I'll be in surgery 2.5 - 3 hours, but to me it will seem very quick, like I took a nap. I'll be in patient recovery for about 3 hours, then they'll get me ready to go home. I'll have drains in each side, and everything will be "wrapped up like a neat little package" under a surgical bra, and I'm to touch nothing, remove nothing, basically do not disturb, aside from the drains, until my post-op appointment in one week. So no showers for me! I had my hair cut extra short in preparation for this!

The OR nurse said that most patients right out of surgery say that it's more of a stinging pain they feel, and I'll be medicated generously as needed. She actually recommended that I get Arnica to take, she said it makes a big difference in bruising and swelling and that I would be glad that I took it. I had already ordered in on Amazon on the advice of you ladies, so I'm glad I did!

Before surgery, I have to wash for 3 consecutive days with Dial to decrease bacteria on my skin. The night before, no solids after midnight, but I can have clear liquids up to 3 hours before I arrive. The anesthetist actually suggested that I have some kind of sports drink at that 3 hour mark, for electrolytes and hydration, and that patients find they feel better after surgery if they do. I'm all for that!

It was so much information, I feel like I should have taken notes in case I forget something important! I think just writing it all down here right after getting home will help me remember. Now I just have to wait! 5 sleeps to go!!

I can hardly believe this is happening again. At 10:30 this morning, the office manager called. Right after I left yesterday, my surgeon resigned. No warning, no explanation. Nobody to replace him. My surgery is cancelled. He was the only surgeon I could find to accept my insurance.

He looked me in the face and discussed details of a surgery he knew was never going to happen. 4 days away. I just had my pre-op yesterday, I finally believed it was really going to happen, even after the last time it was postponed. I had the time off scheduled again. My partner and so many other people have rearranged their lives twice for this, and it's just cancelled. I am devastated. I have been crying for two hours. I don't know what to do, where to start, how to face starting the process over again. Depressed and angry and disappointed and sad. I'm scared to hope this will ever happen for me.

If you ever meet Dr Jeffrey Cole, punch him in the face for me.

I am seriously SO ANGRY. I'm a hairdresser. As I said earlier in my review, it is a huge pain to plan around something this big. 6 weeks planned off inconveniences a LOT of people! I was supposed to have surgery Monday. I went back to work yesterday, Tuesday. Today is Wednesday. Every client I see knows that this has been in the works --twice-- and so therefore wants to know what happened, to commiserate and sympathize. I appreciate their concern, and it is validating to have so many other people angry at the situation on my behalf. But to have to tell the story, or pieces of it anyway, time and time and time again ... it's just making me so CRANKY!! Yes!! My surgeon is an unforgivable ass! Yes!! It was unprofessional, and I'm probably better off! But I am still very emotional about everything that I have gone through and continue to go through. Nobody can face their grief constantly and stay chipper all the time. People mean well, but honestly, I just don't want to talk about it anymore!

I called looking for surgeons today. There are none in my county that accept my insurance. There is one in the next county, but they don't accept patients from out of their local area (weird). So the nearest surgeon to me that does breast reductions and accepts my insurance is 2+ hours away. It's as if nothing I've gone through up to this point ever happened. I have to start with a referral from my doctor, who must again verify with the insurance company that I meet the list of criteria (I was already approved once, I don't understand why this is necessary). Then I have to wait for an appointment to meet the doctor for consultation. Wait for them to submit the application, wait for the letter of approval that isn't even a sure thing anymore, because they don't care that I was approved previously. Wait for the pre-op. Wait for the surgery. Drive two hours one way for each appointment. All without knowing if any of it will ever actually get me closer to my goal.

I AM SO ANGRY!!! I thought I was near the end of all of this. Life on hold. I'm not waiting for anything anymore. I'm just going to live my life as if a reduction isn't even a possibility. I'll just continue to endure constant pain and discomfort. I just wish I could get past the anger.

Third time's a charm? After two extremely upsetting experiences with cancelled BR surgery, I have a third and hopefully final date. I'm reluctant to be excited, and as pure self defense against a third bout of cancellation related depression, I hardly can believe it's actually going to happen. My pre-op is scheduled for the end of June, and I already have the post-ops scheduled as well.

My new surgeon seems to be a stand-up guy. It's a good thing, too, because this is my last option. As it was, because of where I live, there are few choices that will accept my insurance. I had to cajole the receptionist into even giving me a consultation appointment because I live 110 miles away from their office, and they have a policy against taking patients outside a 60 mile radius. He requested that I stay close (hotel for me) for the first 24 hours, to be on the safe side. It's only a 1 1/2 hour drive from home to the office, but apparently this policy evolved from distant patients skipping post-op appointments. I was lucky, and he saw how desperately I need this once I got into the office to see him.

The best thing I think about this new surgeon is that his method is completely different than the other guy's. The old surgeon would do a lollipop incision with drains. My new surgeon does an anchor incision with NO DRAINS! Also he said he has NEVER had to do a full nipple graft, whereas the old guy said he may have to. So, assuming it actually happens, I think I will be far happier with the outcome.

Cross your fingers and toes, hold your breath, wish on a star...