I had my pre-op appointment with my plastic surgeon yesterday. It went very well. I so appreciate Dr. Ghorbani, he is very steady, peaceful and confident. Good traits for a surgeon.
He assured me that he is confident that I need to go through with this surgery. That was helpful to hear again. It will be nice to have soft and movable skin and muscle on my chest area again. It feels like scrunched up, very tight cement at the moment.
Thank you for your prayers and encouraging words regarding my fight with fear. I am beginning to feel a bit better about it all. There is a part of me that is beginning to feel excited about what the Lord has for me in my relationship with Him during these upcoming days of quietness and rest. He is so kind to walk with us and even carry us through difficult times and suffering. A friend reminded me that Jesus knows exactly how I feel. He too had his chest torn open and He carries the scars with Him still. He has identified with me even in this. Amazing.
So this next section may be too much information for some, so you may want to close this now. For those who are going through reconstruction too, this may be helpful. For those who want to pray specifically, this is for you.
The doctor is going to cut out the capsule of scar tissue that has formed around the expander. He says that will loosen up my chest wall muscles and the skin over my "breast" area. (I say "breast" area because I had a bi-lateral mastectomy and because what I have there now has very little in common with a breast.) He will also take out the radiation damaged muscle tissue and skin on the left side. (We will do the right side sometime in May or June.)
The doctor will then bring a donor portion of muscle and skin around from my back using the Latismis Dorsi muscle. I will have a drain back there for about two weeks. It will leave about a 5 inch scar. The doc is hoping that if my skin relaxes enough, he may be able to use extra skin from my back to create a nipple and colorless areola. He will have to wait and see, and so will I. If he can't, that will be another surgery that will have to be done at some time in the future. I must say, reconstruction is a much more lengthy process than I had expected. He will attach the vessels and nerves in the patch so that it gets proper blood supply. This is a very important part of the procedure as I have had trouble with poor blood supply to the breast area in my previous surgery and with radiation. I will have a drain in the front for a week or so. Dr. Kerlin will also be assisting during the surgery. They are two of the finest surgeons in the Northern California. She will be taking my VAP (port) out, which will be a huge milestone for me.
I have heard that the first 12 hours or so are the most painful. I also have had trouble with nausea and vomiting after coming out of surgery so prayer for that would be GREATLY appreciated. Throwing up with large incisions is a horrific experience.
Please pray against any infection as well. I am only able to take three antibiotics, I am allergic to the rest so I really need divine protection while in the hospital and during recovery. Thank you so much.
Please continue to pray for peace for our whole family. Both of my girls are in school during my surgery. I know that will be hard on them. Karyn is in So Cal and won't be able to come up as school starts up again next week. It is hard to be away from home when this type of thing is happening. Also, I have a cough that is hanging on from bronchitis that I had earlier this month. Please pray it leaves completely. Coughing and surgery are not a good match!
Thank you so much for your faithful prayers! I am extremely grateful!
By the way, my hospital pre-op is tomorrow.
I will be in the hospital
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