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3 weeks post-op
I went back to work Sunday night (at 17 days post-op) and worked three 12-hour shift in a row. Whew! But, other than being tired by hour 9, it went pretty well. I did notice more lower abdominal swelling by the end of each shift, but this went away after 8 hours of sleep. I still have swelling down below my belly button but it seems to be getting less little by little. But it does feel like it's taking forever! I'm posting more pics. My scar is also getting better daily. I'm starting scar therapy this weekend. The weird coloration on the right side under the scar is the remnant of a tattoo, not bruising. :-) I'm having the whole scar tattooed over just as soon as I get the okay from my PS, probably at about 3 months post-op. Can't wait!!!
My prep pre and post surgery. What worked for me.
I've had a pretty uneventful recovery, so I'll give you the run down on what I did before and what I've done after. I have a medical background and I've seen multiple patient recoveries from various surgeries and took that knowledge and applied it to my own before and after-care prep.
First pre-op - I stopped eating meat 5 days prior to my surgery. I only ate a little bit of skinless boneless chicken and salmon up until 48 hours before, then no meat at all. Pain medication and anesthesia can cause major constipation and that is absolutely the last thing you need after any abdominal surgery. Also I started taking generic Colace (stool softener) and an anti-gas pill the day before surgery and every day after for the first week. I did change to every other day after the first week. I was prescribed Perocet for pain, Valium for "anxiety" (I only took 2 of the Valium. My PS wanted me to take one prior to surgery and I took another when I got home after surgery and that was it). I also was given Phenergan for nausea, which I definitely needed as the pain meds made me queasy. I took my last Percocet one week post-op (the day my drains were pulled), and haven't needed any since. I have discomfort of course, but nothing that rest and ice haven't been able to handle. I also stayed away from meat for several days after surgery. I bought Muscle Milk protein shakes and drank 3 of these a day to take care of my protein requirements as well as extra vitamin C, plenty of fresh fruit (made smoothies using greek yogurt and soy milk with the fruit too). Also, I'm into the all natural, homeopathic thing, so I also started taking Bromelain and arnica montana a couple of days before surgery and I'm still taking these now (both advocated by my PS as well). The only other things I bought to prepare for after surgery was a wedge to sleep on ( ordered it from Amazon. It was about $40). A wedge works sooo much better than trying to adjust a bunch of pillows, and 3 large ice packs, the kind you fill with ice, not the gel stuff. I slept on the wedge with the ice packs in place on the incisions over the compression garment and they were wonderful. I also had a heating pad that I used for my back. It really helped with the soreness that came with holding myself in a weird semi-bent position for those first few days. Pillows under knees and fanny helped alleviate pulling on the incision too.
Last thing - make yourself move as soon as you can after surgery, just walk around your house several times a day. All post-operative patients have a risk of blood clots developing in the legs, all of them. Walking prevents these from forming. I'm not saying you need to "exercise" or anything even close, just walk. I would walk up and down the hall a few times, around the kitchen and dining room. That kind of stuff. Just do it several times a day. I would do it every time I got up to go to the bathroom. :-) Another benefit I've noticed with activity (this second week post-op) is that on days I'm more active, I have much less lower abdominal swelling.
I've graduated to sports bra an abdominal binder- the wrap kind now and they're great. I've started scar therapy on my breast incisions but not on my abdominal yet, as it's still healing - i.e. a little crusty and raw yet. I'll post pictures as the weeks go by on how well that works. I'm using the silicone strips. They use these on burn patients and they work extremely well.
First pre-op - I stopped eating meat 5 days prior to my surgery. I only ate a little bit of skinless boneless chicken and salmon up until 48 hours before, then no meat at all. Pain medication and anesthesia can cause major constipation and that is absolutely the last thing you need after any abdominal surgery. Also I started taking generic Colace (stool softener) and an anti-gas pill the day before surgery and every day after for the first week. I did change to every other day after the first week. I was prescribed Perocet for pain, Valium for "anxiety" (I only took 2 of the Valium. My PS wanted me to take one prior to surgery and I took another when I got home after surgery and that was it). I also was given Phenergan for nausea, which I definitely needed as the pain meds made me queasy. I took my last Percocet one week post-op (the day my drains were pulled), and haven't needed any since. I have discomfort of course, but nothing that rest and ice haven't been able to handle. I also stayed away from meat for several days after surgery. I bought Muscle Milk protein shakes and drank 3 of these a day to take care of my protein requirements as well as extra vitamin C, plenty of fresh fruit (made smoothies using greek yogurt and soy milk with the fruit too). Also, I'm into the all natural, homeopathic thing, so I also started taking Bromelain and arnica montana a couple of days before surgery and I'm still taking these now (both advocated by my PS as well). The only other things I bought to prepare for after surgery was a wedge to sleep on ( ordered it from Amazon. It was about $40). A wedge works sooo much better than trying to adjust a bunch of pillows, and 3 large ice packs, the kind you fill with ice, not the gel stuff. I slept on the wedge with the ice packs in place on the incisions over the compression garment and they were wonderful. I also had a heating pad that I used for my back. It really helped with the soreness that came with holding myself in a weird semi-bent position for those first few days. Pillows under knees and fanny helped alleviate pulling on the incision too.
Last thing - make yourself move as soon as you can after surgery, just walk around your house several times a day. All post-operative patients have a risk of blood clots developing in the legs, all of them. Walking prevents these from forming. I'm not saying you need to "exercise" or anything even close, just walk. I would walk up and down the hall a few times, around the kitchen and dining room. That kind of stuff. Just do it several times a day. I would do it every time I got up to go to the bathroom. :-) Another benefit I've noticed with activity (this second week post-op) is that on days I'm more active, I have much less lower abdominal swelling.
I've graduated to sports bra an abdominal binder- the wrap kind now and they're great. I've started scar therapy on my breast incisions but not on my abdominal yet, as it's still healing - i.e. a little crusty and raw yet. I'll post pictures as the weeks go by on how well that works. I'm using the silicone strips. They use these on burn patients and they work extremely well.
16 days post-op
Doing great. Still some lower abdominal discomfort but it's better every day. I haven't had to take any pain medications since the drains came out on the 15th, not even Tylenol. I'm headed back to work tomorrow. Oh, and I'm posting picks today. :-) The first 3 are pre-op, the next 3 are the day after surgery (at follow-up with my PS). After that comes 3 from one week post-op. and the last four are 2 weeks post-op.
Provider Review
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
391 Serpentine Dr., Spartanburg, South Carolina
Dr. Orseck is awesome. He answered all of my questions (multiple questions) and made suggestions about what would work for me/what would look best and achieve the goals I had for my procedure. Also, all of the ladies on his staff are incredibly nice, Brandi has been quick to call me back (after I've e-mailed here with every "after-thought" question I've had since my initial appointment). In addition, of all the PS in Spartanburg, he came with the highest recommendations. As I work in healthcare, I've been able to ask around (I did ask - a lot). His name came up time after time. Also, I've seen his "work." :-) It seems that everyone who has ever had an augmentation is really quite happy to whip out those new-and-improved-girls and let you see them (I promise I've never asked, but I've been privy to 4 sets now). Update - I'm now two weeks post-op and results are awesome. Exactly what I wanted! Thank you so much Dr. Orseck!