POSTED UNDER Breast Reduction Reviews
25 Y/o 38 H - Cincinnati, OH
UPDATED FROM amg603
2 months post
Long time no Update
amg603December 28, 2016
$5,400
Hello ladies.
Back again after almost a month. It's been a long month.
Started doing HBO, and am expecting about 40 treatments. It's $398/treatment. I will end up with a little over $15,000 in debt after this process. It's a bummer, but I'm still saying it was worth it. And it's refining me in ways I didn't even know existed.
So. Went in for an ultrasound of the boob to look for pockets of infection. They saw nothing on the ultrasound. I was convinced that was a good sign. But it was still SMELLY, and I mean SMELLY. I would practically throw up after changing my bandage. I decided to consult a general surgeon to see if they thought I needed a surgical debridement. I met with him two days after the ultrasound. He immediately said he was feeling hardness that could be scar tissue but most likely was infected breast tissue. They would need to go in, widen the incision and clean out whatever necrosis and infected tissue there was. It was pretty good news in my opinion.
On the 21st, I went in for surgery and they cleaned out a LARGE infected abscess with almost a cup of puss inside. It was rancid, according to the surgeon. They cleaned out thoroughly and it was hiding closer to my chest cavity. It was a miracle they went in for surgery and I pushed that something wasn't right. It could have burst and leaked into my chest cavity and stopped my heart. It was all a little much to take in. Overall, pretty painless and they obviously gave me some pretty sweet meds.
I am now packing daily and taking a STRONG antibiotic that makes me so nauseous. It must be working though because my boob is less tender and has NO SMELL! YES! It's the little things ;) I'm still doing M-F Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments. They are waiting to see if the infection clears out to put on the wound vac.
They got my results from the lab back a couple days after surgery and it was a Staph and Strep infection.....
All in all, I'm holding up. Keep the faith ladies. You are worth more than your boobs and any complication modern technology throws your way
Back again after almost a month. It's been a long month.
Started doing HBO, and am expecting about 40 treatments. It's $398/treatment. I will end up with a little over $15,000 in debt after this process. It's a bummer, but I'm still saying it was worth it. And it's refining me in ways I didn't even know existed.
So. Went in for an ultrasound of the boob to look for pockets of infection. They saw nothing on the ultrasound. I was convinced that was a good sign. But it was still SMELLY, and I mean SMELLY. I would practically throw up after changing my bandage. I decided to consult a general surgeon to see if they thought I needed a surgical debridement. I met with him two days after the ultrasound. He immediately said he was feeling hardness that could be scar tissue but most likely was infected breast tissue. They would need to go in, widen the incision and clean out whatever necrosis and infected tissue there was. It was pretty good news in my opinion.
On the 21st, I went in for surgery and they cleaned out a LARGE infected abscess with almost a cup of puss inside. It was rancid, according to the surgeon. They cleaned out thoroughly and it was hiding closer to my chest cavity. It was a miracle they went in for surgery and I pushed that something wasn't right. It could have burst and leaked into my chest cavity and stopped my heart. It was all a little much to take in. Overall, pretty painless and they obviously gave me some pretty sweet meds.
I am now packing daily and taking a STRONG antibiotic that makes me so nauseous. It must be working though because my boob is less tender and has NO SMELL! YES! It's the little things ;) I'm still doing M-F Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatments. They are waiting to see if the infection clears out to put on the wound vac.
They got my results from the lab back a couple days after surgery and it was a Staph and Strep infection.....
All in all, I'm holding up. Keep the faith ladies. You are worth more than your boobs and any complication modern technology throws your way
UPDATED FROM amg603
2 months post
HBO and Wound Care update
amg603December 8, 2016
Ladies. Long week. Woof.
So I am officially 2/30 dives into Hyperbarics. It's been a piece of cake. Just lay there for 2 hours and watch TV. Get out, go home. Hardest part is no lotions, no hairspray, or hair products. Sad day.
Overall, in the last week. There has been little to no improvement on the hole. The underneath pink park of the areola is healing phenomenally. It's starting to scar over. And for most people that would freak them out or they would start looking at Scar revision or reconstruction. For me, scars are great. They mean you've been through something hard. You've fought off adversity and won. So I'm going to keep it. It might not be pretty to look at, but I am. So, it's not a big deal.
The wound is about 2 inches deep and slowly getting deeper each week. There is still yellows drainage and the boob is tender. They are thinking there could be an abscess that's filling and draining.They told me this week there is a chance they will have to put me under to clean out ALL the necrotic tissue. They are looking for beefy red tissue, and they haven't hit it yet. It may be a while yet.... hoping if I need to have another quick surgery, it can happen around Christmas when my family is here.
Wound Regimen (currently)
1. Cleanse with saline
2. Cleanse with Vashe (hospital pharmacy) leave on 2 minutes
3. Pack wound with Mesalt ribbon
4. Apply Santyl to bottom half of areola tissue
5. Cover with gauze
6. Paper tape around the gauze
Change every 12 hours.
Hyperbarics everyday M-F two hours in the tube for 6 weeks. So 30 dives total.
More updates when I have em.
We are warriors. Front lines of healing.
So I am officially 2/30 dives into Hyperbarics. It's been a piece of cake. Just lay there for 2 hours and watch TV. Get out, go home. Hardest part is no lotions, no hairspray, or hair products. Sad day.
Overall, in the last week. There has been little to no improvement on the hole. The underneath pink park of the areola is healing phenomenally. It's starting to scar over. And for most people that would freak them out or they would start looking at Scar revision or reconstruction. For me, scars are great. They mean you've been through something hard. You've fought off adversity and won. So I'm going to keep it. It might not be pretty to look at, but I am. So, it's not a big deal.
The wound is about 2 inches deep and slowly getting deeper each week. There is still yellows drainage and the boob is tender. They are thinking there could be an abscess that's filling and draining.They told me this week there is a chance they will have to put me under to clean out ALL the necrotic tissue. They are looking for beefy red tissue, and they haven't hit it yet. It may be a while yet.... hoping if I need to have another quick surgery, it can happen around Christmas when my family is here.
Wound Regimen (currently)
1. Cleanse with saline
2. Cleanse with Vashe (hospital pharmacy) leave on 2 minutes
3. Pack wound with Mesalt ribbon
4. Apply Santyl to bottom half of areola tissue
5. Cover with gauze
6. Paper tape around the gauze
Change every 12 hours.
Hyperbarics everyday M-F two hours in the tube for 6 weeks. So 30 dives total.
More updates when I have em.
We are warriors. Front lines of healing.
Replies (5)
December 8, 2016
I've been waiting to hear back from you on the chamber. I HATED it. I had 17 treatments and then had to stop. I had too many complications. Are you exhausted after them? I'd go home and sleep for a couple hours. I'm praying all will work out for you soon. You've been through a lot.
December 8, 2016
Biggest complications are my ears continually pop, and I'm definitely tired afterwards. Not unbearable, I usually have work right after so I've been sleeping really well at night. I would all in all say I'm indifferent. My hospital is 15 miles away, so it's a 30 mile round trip and that's what's taking the biggest toll.
December 8, 2016
Yes my ears were a major issue. The nurse would have to stop the dive so I could pop them. It was very painful and then they would fill up with fluid. They were plugged most of the time. I hope you tolerate this better than I did. Watch your eyesight too. Mine got very blurry towards the end. They're better now.
December 9, 2016
I had 12 treatments, to promote healing after compromised blood flow to my tummy tuck revision sight. I'm claustrophobic so found the process of getting into the chamber tough, however there was no other option. The nurses at the center were fantastic, and my Doc was seeing me every 2-3 days, also a great guy. My incision sight was far worse than yours, but no infection. I started to see improvements after the 5th treatment. Thing is it heals from the inside out, other positive side effects, it cranks up your metabolism so I was losing about 1lb per session, and my hair and skin looked great after..... Pushing 100% oxygen into your system will do that. I had my revision surgery Dec 3, 2015, had my last oxygen treatment Dec 31st, my would was completed closed mid Feb. a friend of mine who worked with a plastic surgeon for 30 yrs said "skin is like grass, it's always growing, we may not see it, but it is, and your wound will heal and close".... It did, and my wonderful plastic surgeon is still lasering my scar to improve its appearance. You too will heel, and look back at this experience and how it taught you a lot about yourself and what you can overcome. No regrets, I'm happy with my surgery, you'll be very pleased too, your boobs already look great.
December 9, 2016
Thank you so much for the positive comments and telling your story! It's so helpful to hear other people have healed and I will too! So grateful for that. So glad you healed up!!!
December 12, 2016
I am so glad you are healthy but how do you mentally deal with it? A lot of things don't get to me but this would definitely have me pretty low, I would just cry everyday.
December 12, 2016
I am overall healthy. I have a great support system of family and friends and I am not obsessed with my appearance. If I have some scars, it's fine. If someone doesn't like them or had a problem with them, then you don't get to see or touch my boobs. It's that simple. I'm a confident, beautiful 26 year old with so much more going for me than a good set of boobs.
So I will heal. I have great doctors taking care of me. And when I get upset or have a down day, I try to remind myself that people have cancer. People have lost limbs. Some people don't have access to half of the care I have already received. And in some parts of the world I have traveled, I would be dead already if some thing of this sort happened. Attitude and outlook is everything.
UPDATED FROM amg603
1 month post
Forgot to add
amg603November 29, 2016
They put me on another round of antibiotics because of the fluid that was coming out of the wound. It was ice tea colored but thicker than water. So better safe than sorry. Another 7 days on the doxycycline.
Replies (2)
December 1, 2016
It looks from your latest photos that the battle against necrosis may finally be staring to be successful: the wound though still looking ghastly does look to be decreasing in so area. I so hope this is the start of the waited for recovery in your left breast.
You remain such a fighter and warrior. You may have good support from other people but it's you who are truly strong.
Whatever treatments you may begin to undertake may they be beneficial for you.
I await your next post and photos in the hope of seeing you're starting to make good progress.
Try and remain strong.
I continue to wish you well. That's the least you deserve.
You remain such a fighter and warrior. You may have good support from other people but it's you who are truly strong.
Whatever treatments you may begin to undertake may they be beneficial for you.
I await your next post and photos in the hope of seeing you're starting to make good progress.
Try and remain strong.
I continue to wish you well. That's the least you deserve.
Replies (5)
Thank goodness you saw yet another doctor, could this be number 17, and that this one did the medically complicated technique of feeling your breast for lumps! Oh my word, your remorseless care for your body finally paid off. Your nose may soon be able to take a well earned break, the sniff test should soon become a routine of the past.
You somehow continue to be mentally stronger than carbyne.
I hope you really do start to recover and heal now, and that you will do so rapidly.