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I am just a couple days past my 1 month...
There is no doubt that I will wear a bikini this summer. Dr. C's work was done so meticulously that the incision line is already fading a bit, and the raised "pie-crust" cut is starting to smooth into my skin. Everything is well hidden under my panties.
I will take pics for you guys this afternoon... But at this point, I am more than happy (even with the complications of my blood clots and initial infection), I am thrilled with the results... And apparently it only gets better when the swelling goes down completely!!!
It's like I am 21 again :-)
Two Weeks Later... So, I will start my update...
So, I will start my update by saying that my experience is NOT the norm, and even with all the difficulties, I still am happy that I did the surgery, and I am still pleased with my surgeon. Let me tell what has transpired...
10 days after the surgery, I woke up in the morning, feeling a pain in the calf of my left leg. I figured that I had maybe had a Charlie horse in the middle of the night, and I tried working it out that day. it was sore and tough, but I was able to put pressure on it. It just hurt. I had already had 2 of my drains removed, and I was doing well otherwise. Around this same time, I also began to notice that one of my drains was putting out more of a pus-like fluid than blood. Well, I knew this wasn't normal, so I called Dr. Capella and he scheduled me to come in on Monday (1/14) to have the drains removed (which would be 3 days earlier than normal). During my phone call, I should have mentioned my leg pain to Dr. C, but I didn't think to, since it was just a Charlie horse. I continued to walk on my leg, despite the pain, and after another day or so, I couldn't take it. Monday morning came and 6:30am I called Dr. Capella and said, "I probably should have mentioned this to you, but my leg is killing me." He told me to get to the hospital, as I might have developed a blood clot.
In the ER, they did testing and determined that I had developed a blood clot in my leg (Deep Vein Thrombosis or DVT) which had also spread to my lungs causing multiple pulmonary emboli (bilateral - in both lungs). I remained in the hospital from 1/14 until today 1/18 (just discharged this evening actually), and I am on blood thinners and antibiotics.
I will say though, Dr. Capella visited me in the hospital twice (and this is not his jurisdiction). He made an obscene number of phone calls to my treating physicians to ensure that they were including him in my treatment planning. When one of the doctors wasn't listening to me about pressing to hard on my belly, I told Dr. Capella, who spoke to this Dr., and magically, this Dr became the nicest of my treating physicians in the hospital.
Now that I am out, I am rehabbing myself. walking slowly, taking it easy, and starting from scratch. I still believe the surgery was worth it for me, and everytime I hear someone tell me how amazing I look (despite how swollen I am), I feel so good. I think the blood clot was an eye opener for me to slow down, and I intend to do so. :-) I wont be posting any pictures until I can get myself standing straight again, because I don't think it would benefit anyone to see where I'm at right now. So, maybe I will post some pics 1-month post-op.
This morning, I am one week out from surgery. I...
First, I had 2 of the pesky drains removed yesterday (was going to be today, but they needed to change my appt to accommodate a surgical client who added to her procedure... No prob for me!!!). Second, I spiked a fever. Obviously, #s 1 and 2 were related since I felt like a champ before having the drains removed.
Drains:
Went into the office and saw Scott/Dr. C, who told me that I was doing great, walking around, and they were really impressed with my progress (not really hunched over at all... Which I attribute to my activity lever! Walk around people!!)
Scott gave me two shots of numbing medications on either side of my crotch area, so it would be "humane" as he called it, when he removed the two innermost drains. I don't know why they chose the inner ones, they just did. One deep breath, not a drop of pain later, and my two drains were out. The gentleman explained that I would have some oozing from the drain site, because they don't want to close up the wound with a stitch and risk an infection. Go buy some surgical pads from your local pharmacy, it will suck up all the oozy goodness (which I have changed about 4x so far).
Fever:
3 hours after the appt, I started feeling icky. I had the chills, and I started to get warm. I also had discomfort around the drain site (which they said would be normal for a few days). I chalked it up to having had the 2 drains removed and watched a movie. Over the next 5-6 hours, I became lethargic, feverish, and even a little off in my thinking. I had hard time processing my thoughts. My temp was 102.4. We called Dr. C. He was calm and told me that if is not uncommon for people to have a feverish reaction to the removal of the drains. More research explained that the drains had become a part of the body, and in removing them, my body was responding as though there was a predator or enemy attacking it. Antibiotics, according to Dr. Joe were likely not needed, but he wanted me to call the office the following day, to make sure the fever was gone. In the meantime, take 2 extra strength Tylenol (separate from the pain pills). He was really nice about my late 10pm call...
I will, at this point be providing you guys with a 2 week update (when the other drains are out), a 4-week update, 2-month update, when the swelling has started to subside, and then a 6-month. This was you can see the progression. I will try to find some before pics for you too!
Provider Review
Dr. Joe When I decided to go with Dr. Capella, I had already researched other surgeons in the NYC/NJ metro area. Having been on other consultations, Dr. Capella was far more patient-oriented than some other doctors (particularly the New York City ones that I went to, and I went to a couple of them). He spent a good deal of time with me, answering my questions, and reviewing the surgery in detail. He showed me pictures of the lower body lift that were similar to my profile, so that I would get a visual of how I could conceptualize the outcome (since I am a highly visual person). I also had lapband surgery, and Dr. Capella was very thorough in explaining how he would lower the port and make sure that my port was secure (there was an interesting finding re: the port that I will mention later). One thing I really liked about Dr. Capella (when comparing him to the other surgeons) was that he didnt push for extraneous procedures unless he thought it would benefit the outcome of the lower body lift. Dr. Capella's Staff The staff working with Dr. Joe are exceptional. From the office staff like Kimberly, who seemed to recognize me when I called (even though I didnt call often), and was able to give me information about my surgery statistics on the day after the surgery; to Terri, who managed every single aspect of my surgery from the moment I walked in that door to the day of my surgery (she was a God-sent!!). Scott, his surgical assistant, was professional, kind, and fun to look at :-) It was nice to deal with such a great set of people during what would normally be an anxiety-provoking situation.