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Belly button help????

UPDATED FROM Yell326
12 days post

12 days post-op: over the past 5 days my belly...

Yell326
WORTH IT$15,975
12 days post-op: over the past 5 days my belly button has been bleeding. It has one big scab inside it. When I saw the Dr's PA a couple days ago for drain removal she said to put Bacitracin on it & it will eventually heal. I have read a couple people's experiences where the BB became necrotic. The PA said blood was actually a good sign because it means it has a blood supply & that would be the cause for it to die. Do any of you guys have a BB that's bled slightly for awhile? I would love to ask my Dr but he has been on vacation for all of last week. & this next week.

Other than the BB, this are slowly improving. Slept in my own bed starting 2 days ago, hubby was happy about that and not the couch. No need for pain pills but I do occasionally take my muscle relaxer when my stomach has spasms. Dreading going back to work in 5 days... Would have liked to take a full 3 weeks off.

Happy healing you guys.

Yell326's provider

Dr. Stidde

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My doctor is a perfectionist & I can tell that he values his work. Very intelligent man. I was his only surgery on my day. His team, followed up with me that night & the following day to check on me until my day2 post-op check. The annesthesiologist called me 2 days following the surgery & was great easing my fears of general annesthetic. Dr. Stridde had to correct my mangled Twins belly & a very advanced CC case that the previous surgeon had botched.

Replies (5)

September 10, 2012
I wanted to check in with you and how you're doing? It seems like you've had a tough recovery reading your updates. I agree though, you're past the hardest part! I hope your return to work is smooth and easy for you :)
September 10, 2012
Twinsmomma: thanks for thinking of me. It has been rough but I thinks it's because I had major MR & my CC revision required some digging around in the breast pockets. I had my 1st ultrasound treatment today @ my PS. This is complimentary & is supposed to help with swelling & nerve repair. I am very swollen & I think it's gonna be here for awhile.

I'm dreading going back to work in 4 days. Part of me likes just lounging all day but the other part knows that I really could use a full 3 weeks off.
September 10, 2012
I hope you're work is light and you don't work on your feet all day. I'm only getting help for a week after surgery, then I'm pretty much on my own...so, I hope to heal super quick!
Did some of the silicone leak from your previous implants? I saw you replaced them with saline. Do you regret silicone? That's what I'm getting....
September 11, 2012
I originally picked silicone because it felt so natural. Within about a year I started noticing that my right one was very firm & had a small "bubble" on the outside. When I went to my PS (different Dr. Than the one who did the BA) to eval my stomach situation I had him look @ my breasts. He told me I had CC in BOTH breasts but one was more advanced than the other. I told him I had no idea implants weren't supposed to be that hard. He said because both had CC, he thought it was probably the DR's technique & the fact he squeezed a large silicone implant through a tiny periareolar incision. He said that type of incision had to go through the mammary glands which harbors a lot of bacteria & that may have caused a post-op infection. My doctor also said that since I had such a reaction to the implants, it would be a good idea to try saline (different components in it). My PS went with an inframammary incision & even formed a new sub muscular pocket. I don't regret silicone but I go feel that I wasted $7k for the first surgery. Then to fix the CC was much more difficult & painful. Hopefully this works;)

Do you have a preference? My PS also said that saline implants are easier to work with b/c you fill them once placed. He also said b/c I'm going sub-mus I won't notice a big difference 'feeling' wise (plus I was used to rock hard ones before).
September 11, 2012
I feel so bad for you. I didn't have that much trouble with saline at all! I've had them over 20yrs, but not been happy because of the placement above muscle made them appear even more fake than they needed to be plus I had that saline dimpling. I'm too thin skinned and skinny, I didn't have enough of my own tissue to cover them properly. The other problem I ran into was a mammogram that had been done and caused a temporary leak. 2 Dr's told me a leak would immediately be flat with saline, but the PS doing my MM said that filler valve can get squeezed during the mammogram and let saline out. Then when the squeezing releases the leak stops. I lost an entire cup size with my last mammogram, I didn't go flat, just enough to have to buy new bras. Just something to keep in mind with them.
I'm going with silicone for the natural feel and look on me. I just don't have enough of my own tissue left to cover any saline, even under the muscle. I am just going to hope they don't leak silicone ever :(
UPDATED FROM Yell326
3 days post

Day 3 post-op. I'm beginning to space out my pain...

Yell326
Day 3 post-op. I'm beginning to space out my pain meds where I take one every 4-6hrs. I am very emotional right now but I can't cry because it hurts my stomach too bad. I knew this would be painful & drawn out after reading others experiences but "in the moment" you just want to scream! My kids came home from Nana's last night & the noise of them bickering made me want to just go crazy. I've seriously had 5 different moments today where I had to just take a deep breath & remind myself that this will all be worth it & there's no turning back now. My breasts are very painful & swollen even though I've been icing. It is very painful when I take in deep breaths on the left side. At first I thought I may have a pulmonary issue ( possible embolism) b/c I woke up from general w/ a raspy fluid in my lungs but doctor said that it was deep tissue pain from him separating the muscle from previous capsule. My stomach feels very tight but I don't have pain-possibly b/c I have pain pump? I do have a irritating cough from the general annesthetic & it hurts when I try and clear it. Doctor recommended holding a pillow tight my belly & them cough but it still hurts!!!

I felt like I was managing my pain well the 1st 2 days & I was taking my oxycodone religiously (averaged 15mg every 4hrs). Ialso was trying to prevent myself from getting constipated from all the meds but it's happened. I finally went day 3 but it took a ton of effort to turn my bowels on. I have taken colace since night of surgery, mirilax, tons of water, on top of that I'm a clean eater (I.e lots of fruits & veggies). Last night I took a glass of apple juice w/ mirilax in it & waited. After 3 hours, did MOM & about 2 hrs later I started getting some painful cramps. I had to undo my binder b/c it was hurting, & after I took it off I had to go!

I feel like everything is so tight in there my bowels are confused. Have any others noticed there BMs were awkward or am I just scared to push. I know straining can damage my internal sutures so maybe I'm mentally crating this problem.

Sorry for the long rant today. Recovery is "feeling' better but it's a long & drawn out road. Take care.

Replies (1)

September 1, 2012
Hi there- just read your post, looks like we had our mm on the same day. How are you feeling? I have not had success yet with a BM? Going to try mom after a nap. I have been eating very clean and light, drinking water as much as possible. And colace twice daily since before surgery. Hang in there I think we have gotten past the hardest part!
UPDATED FROM Yell326
1 day post

Well I tried posting last night but I was way to...

Yell326
Well I tried posting last night but I was way to groggy to type.

My surgery went well. Took 7 hours which was a little faster than they had estimated. The doctor said that my nuscle separation on my stomach wall was more than the average & he ran the sutures all the way up to almost the base of my ribs. Prior to surgery he said he may need to do a small vertical incision to keep my scar low, and he did in fact do that. My scar looks awesome- super low! Lipo of the hips was very straight forward. My breast aug consisted of removal of my silicone implants (with capsular contracture) & replace with 390cc saline implants. Dr said the the capsules were very thick! They acted like my capsule was one of the thickest they had seen. He the cleaned the pocket thoroughly & corrected the pocket so that implant is beneath the muscle.

I have 3 drains (one for tummy & 1 for each breast), compressions boots that hook to a machine, catheter, & pain pump. I look like a wreck but my husband has been awesome! Last night around 4am I had the worst pain ever in my life. Took about 1 hr to get under control & now I'm pretty comfortable (as long as I don't move;).

I am so happy that the surgery if finally behind me. I was so nervous and anxious about the length of surgery and saying good-bye to my family.

Well pain pills are making me sleeping. I will post before pics soon.

Replies (1)

August 30, 2012
Wow, hope each day gets better and you are recovering quickly. You had a lot done so no wonder you are in a lot of pain. I will be getting muscle repair and hope it doesn't make recovery harder. Can't wait to see your pics. Happy healing.