Hi Louise and Nieve
I wasn't too anxious as I moved closer to my surgery date. I was told in February that I would be having a mastectomy but was sent home with Letrozole due to Covid - I eventually had my operation on 24th July! So, I was strangely looking forward to it and keen to move on with my treatment.
The biggest difficulty for me was being dropped off at the door by my husband and knowing I wouldn't see him until I was discharged, no visitors allowed at all. I was lucky that my local hospital was pushing these ops out to a private hospital so my experience may have been different to the usual!
I had a skin and nipple saving mastectomy and a sentinel lymph node removed. I had one cut along the underside of my boob and they managed to get the lymph node from there as well. I was in surgery for about 4 hours and in recovery for 3, clearly wasn't keen to wake up - by the time I got back to my room, my husband had called around three times!
The nurses were absolutely brilliant and kept me well dosed up with painkillers every 4 hours - paracetamol and codeine - as well as antibiotics. Apparently they put loads of anaesthetic into the wound as well before they close it all up. To be honest, I felt very little pain. The main difficulty was moving - very stiff in my shoulder and arm and very woozy from the general anesthetic. I couldn't make it to the loo on my own and the nurses were really kind, helping me onto the commode. It took a while to get used to the drain being permanently attached to you and I also had an alarm system on a plastic tube, going into my dressing which was like a thick bit of clingfilm which seemed to be vacuum packed to my boob. Apparently the alarm goes off if the vacuum seal starts to come undone, though this didn't happen to me. I was also under orders to wear a compression bra, day and night, for 6 weeks which wasn't too bad although a bit restrictive on what you could wear - I wore loose, front buttoned blouses most of the time.
I was in for two nights. The first week home was a bit of a blur - very tired and a bit unsteady on my feet. I also had constipation and lost my appetite for a few days. They sent me home with paracetamol, codeine and antibiotics and I was very organised about taking the painkillers, making sure I took them every 4 hours to keep on top of any pain. I only took the paracetamol and I had no breakthrough pain at all, I took the occasional ibuprofen when I felt very achey. Within four weeks I wasn't taking anything other than the occasional ibuprofen.
The drain came out after a week which was wonderful and felt like a major step forward. Then the dressing came off, to be replaced by a waterproof tape which I change every week. Amazingly I had no bruising and I have no scar! I think a lot can depend on the quality of the surgeon you get - my breast cancer nurse has said that my surgeon takes a huge pride in his job so I was very lucky.
The implant is interesting. It's a great match for my other boob and looking into the mirror, they look like a perfect pair - obviously helped by keeping my own skin and nipple. However, it feels very different - still feels like a bit of an alien sat on my chest and so much firmer and, of course, no feeling or sensation there at all. I do think it's still a bit swollen - my surgeon says it could take months to settle into its final shape and size - and my bra sometimes feels very uncomfortable. I'm 6 weeks post surgery now and feel relatively normal and back to my old self. I am generally very achey but think that's the Letrozole which I'll be on for the next 7 years. My shoulder and upper arm are still quite painful and I can't put my arm straight up above my head but I can blow dry my hair and shower ok - I'm doing the exercises and my reach is slowly getting better but it's taking a while.
Overall, the surgery wasn't as scary or as painful as I'd expected and my recovery has been surprisingly quick and easy. I have to remind myself sometimes that I've recently had major surgery.
I hope this is useful for you as you prepare for your own surgeries and I wish you best of luck.
Susie x
