Year 1, Month 6, Day 21: Cautiously Optimistic

Typing post-op and while on pain meds… so please forgive any glaring typos or grammatical mistakes.  Talked with my surgeon just before surgery about the adhesion again. She same up with a plan to insert a piece of Alloderm in that area to pad it and also create space between the skin and muscle.  Alloderm is a regenerative tissue matrix made from cadaver skin. It is also used in the nipple reconstruction.  I did not get the lasers I requested, but still ended up with an element of FrankenBoobs.

As they prepped me in OR, they asked me one last time what procedure I was having done.  I told them bilateral nipple reconstruction, however if they wanted to slap a penis on me while we were in there so I could pee standing up – go for it!  So, cool thing was I feel asleep to a room full of laughter and one of the nurses saying she bought something for peeing standing up… I fell asleep before I could ask her how well it worked.  Not so cool thing, woke up without the penis…

It was nice NOT to wake up in the hospital this morning.  In fact it was really nice to leave the hospital yesterday afternoon and grab a few slices of pizza before catching the ferry home.  This was by far the easiest surgery to date.  Wait…  It was the easiest surgery and the LAST surgery.  (We think.)  Very exciting!!

Pain has been minimal although sleeping is difficult.  I am having to sleep in a chair so that I don’t roll over onto the healing nipples.  Also no bathing for 2 weeks… can’t get them wet… so I guess I am going to have to get creative on the hair washing thing.

GREAT NEWS is that I can already see a difference in the area of the adhesion and this is a huge relief to me.  Although, I am cautiously optimistic.  We will see how things look once swelling is down and healing complete.  Of course I have not seen the nipples yet… and I won’t until dressing change.  I am a little nervous about what that will look like.  We will find out next Friday at 8:30 am!