Just the facts: Yesterday was a follow up appointment with my plastic surgeon following the Exchange Surgery ten days ago.  Bandages were removed.  The doctor is pleased with the way his work turned out and I think I am too.

Details: There were stitches and lots of dermabond across me when they removed the bandages Thursday.  I guess they do the glue thing to minimize scarring. The scars are huge, reddish/purple and “angry” looking right now.  Not much different from right after the mastectomy surgery, but that is to be expected.  The scars really should fade to a white line eventually.

The implants do look pretty nice, I must say.  What an improvement over the expanders!!  I look human now! :-)   There is still some swelling and the implants will “settle” over time.  My plastic surgeon gave me some special massage techniques to do to make sure that the settling process happens properly.  It will make me look more natural, he says.  It also will prevent capsular contracture, a condition which happens sometimes and could require early implant replacement.  (The lifespan of the implants is typically about 10-15 years, after which time I will have them replaced.)

There are some imperfections. My doc worked hard for improvement, and even used techniques which included perforating my left pectoral muscle and the existing Alloderm in order to reposition the tissue for a more pleasing look.  (Side note: the athlete in me GASPED at the thought of a perforated pec, but although I can’t test it at the moment, I sense there is no real loss of strength or function.) The doctor’s work seems to have turned out well.  Although I see imperfections, in all honesty, no one else will probably ever be able to tell that anything is less than ideal there.  It truly is amazing what my fine doctor was able to do.

I return to see the plastic surgeon in a few months for another follow up.  Then we’ll talk about whether or not I might want the additional finishing touches which are available as part of complete breast reconstruction.  No, I will not be going into details about those here.  If you are interested in what in the world I might be referring to, you can read this.

I’m doing better after speaking with the doctor and getting through the big unveiling.  I still don’t feel like ME, but I can tell I’m moving in the right direction.

Retail therapy continues to be high on my list.  Tomorrow I’m heading to a store called the Unique Boutique, a store that supplies mastectomy patients with garments and items for their needs.  Fact:  Most insurance companies will pay for mastectomy patients to have four new custom-fitted bras.  I believe this may be an annual provision also, but I know for sure that it works for me right now.   I visited the Unique Boutique before my mastectomy to pick up some other things and I know the quality and caliber of the items they carry.  These will be among my options as part of the insurance provision.    I’m pretty psyched!  :-)

What’s Coming Up? Not a whole lot.  I’m still on restricted activity for a while.  My next appointment with the plastic surgeon is in late October. I see the oncologist again a month after that.  There are no other appointments on the books at this point! WOW!

Prayer Requests: Praise and thanks.  It is good to be here, and I would not be here except by the grace of God.

Note: Thank you for all the encouragement, kind words and comments this week.  It is/was not easy to talk about being down, but I felt it was important to be REAL.  Your kind words helped me so much.