Mastectomy 101: Surgical Drains & Tissue Expanders (10 Weeks Post Op)

Before my double mastectomy I found it super helpful to talk to other women who had undergone the same procedure. These ladies helped prepare me emotionally and physically for my surgery and also helped me adjust my recovery expectations. The advice varied from woman to woman but the one thing I heard consistently from everyone was how terrible the drains and tissue expanders are. And they were spot on.

So today I wanted to cover the drains and tissue expanders for those of you searching the internet for more information in preparation for surgery. Each doctor does their surgery a little bit different so I can only speak from my own experience. 

DRAINS & EXPANDERS EXPLAINED: During my procedure, the surgical oncologist made an incision underneath the fold of my breasts and removed every bit of tissue (down to the dermis) in my chest. During this same time the reconstructive surgeon sewed in pockets of surgical mesh between my skin and chest muscle to hold tissue expanders. A breast tissue expander is an inflatable breast implant designed to stretch the skin and muscle to make room for a future, more permanent implant.

The reconstructive surgeon then sewed in 4 surgical drains. These drains consist of a small plastic reservoir bulb connected to about 4 feet of flexible drainage tubing. So I had 4 drains hanging out of my chest that were about 3 feet long each. Their purpose was to remove fluid from the surgical wound through mild suction. Opinions on how long the drains should stay in vary from doctor to doctor. 

DRAIN CARE: Several times a day the fluid in the drains has to be stripped, measured and recorded until I hit a certain number required for them to be removed. At first it was uncomfortable when Matt stripped my drains but thankfully that only lasted a few days. The hospital will likely give you a drain log to use to record your fluid. If not, you can find one here.

 

WEARING YOUR DRAINS: There are several options for keeping your drains out of the way once you are released from the hospital. Tank tops, aprons, belts, lanyards, surgical bras and more, I tried them all!

surgical bra: I left the hospital with my drains attached to a surgical bra designed specifically for mastectomies. It was nice to have the drains clipped high enough so they weren't in the way, but super awkward wearing them under a shirt in public because it feels like your announcing your double mastectomy to the world! The bra also applied a bit of pressure to my chest and could be itchy at times.

I am wearing an Amoena Post-Surgical Bra with Drain Management. Some hospitals will provide you with a surgical bra and some hospitals ask you to bring your own. Check with your doctor and hospital ahead of time!

waist apron: I got emotional when I received the sweetest set of aprons made by the volunteers at the hospital. The apron was my preferred drain holder when I went out and about although I had to be careful with the drain cords under my shirt, especially when I had my little ones in tow! You can decorate your own canvas waist apron or purchase a black apron if you want to be more incognito. 

 

post-surgery pocketed camisole: The pocketed tank top was my second choice of drain wearing. I loved my camisole because it was super soft and comfortable and I could easily throw a cardigan over it to hide the drains.

I should also mentioned that I lived in leggings for awhile since they were easy to slip on and were comfortable enough to sleep in, run errands, etc. These super fun and colorful leggings were sent to me by Rebecca of Lularoe.

lanyard: As for showering, I clipped all of my drains to a lanyard.

EXPANDER FILLS: During the surgery my doctor filled my expanders with 100 ccs of BLUE saline so I'd have at least a little bump to go home with. And at my 3 week post op appointment I got my very first fill and visited my doctor weekly for fills until I got to my desired size.

This was the most fascinating process EVER. First, the doctor has to locate the expander port by using a crazy magnetic device. Once he finds it he draws a dramatically large (in my opinion) "X" over it to mark the spot. Then he literally pokes my skin with an insanely thick needle (that I couldn't feel at all) which is attached to a ginormous syringe and injects 60 ccs of saline into each side,

The magnet device they use to find the port in my expander. And here is a little diagram to show how exactly they get the syringe of saline into the expander.

The first few fills did not hurt at all. But as my nerves have began to grow back the fills become more uncomfortable and only one random fill put me in excruciating pain later that night. Before my appointments I took a muscle relaxer and Advil and when I get home I took my pain medications for the remainder of the day.

I just recently reached my desired size (yayyyyy!) so the doctor gave me one extra fill and scheduled me for my exchange surgery consultation in a few weeks. I have to wait 2 full months from my last fill to ensure the skin over my breasts and muscle have stretched enough before my second surgery to have the final implants put in which will likely be sometime in early March.

10 Weeks Post Op. I am currently 10 weeks post op and life has completely resumed to normal. I am back in the office, cooking, cleaning, chasing two under two and feeling great 93% of the time. However, I will say, the expanders still suck and my breasts are rock hard so my babies can't get comfortable laying on me which makes me a little sad and I still have sharp chest pains when I sneeze, cough or overexert myself (which I tend to do too often). Sleeping is also pretty terrible but using my pregnancy pillow helps me pretend like I'm sleeping on my side. I am also in weekly physical therapy sessions to help stretch out my chest muscles. The expanders are profoundly uncomfortable BUT I'd still do this surgery again in a heart beat. Best decision of my life.

And that's an overview on surgical drains and tissue expanders! More to come when I have information on my next and final surgery!

  Other Mastectomy Posts:   The Double Mastectomy Decision  The Double Mastectomy Surgery Details  Ta-Ta to the TATAS party 1 Week Post Op 2 Weeks Post Op {Bye Bye Surgical Drains} 1 Month Post Op {Expander Fills} 

New Year's Marriage Resolution

I'm not really a big resolution person, probably because I'm constantly attempting some kind of diet. And as a mama to two under two the reality is that I don't have much energy or extra time for an exercise program these days either. But this year I've felt pretty strong about setting some family goals, specifically for my marriage. In 2016 I want to be more intentional about quality time (my love language) with my husband.

Before we were mommy and daddy we were really good at this! Like really good at this. Then came a little one who hijacked our attention. And then another one 14 months later. I kept waiting for things to settle down so Matt and I would have more time to invest in one another but we continued in survival mode as things continued to get more wild (two surgeries for Thomas, my surgery and recovery, etc.). Then, for one reason or another, something always seems to come up and time away from our kids have became a rare occasion. In fact, our only overnight getaway without our minis has been our hospital stay for my double mastectomy. And that was a blast. Morphine cocktails, delicious hospital meals, long naps...kidding. 

But seriously, Matt is so damn important to me and I couldn't be more proud to be his wife. So I am going to do my best this year not to let our marriage come second to caring for our little people. 

For 2016 we've blocked one night each month (at the minimum) to go on a date. I don't even care what we do as long as we're together. We used to do this before Thomas arrived and that time together was exactly what we needed to break away and connect without the distractions of our devices or sippy cup refills. In addition to more regular dates, we are planning to get away for two weekends this year without the kiddos. We have some fun trips in the works and I am so excited about them.

 Cheers to 2016!

Ten Days of Christmas (2015)

After ten full days of celebrating we've officially moved on from Christmas! This year was different in so many ways but what I am most thankful for is that we got quality time with both sides of our family. Some highlights...

We kicked off our merry celebrations at home first since we were going to be away on Christmas day and because we are the worst at saving presents around here. So after two weeks of Caroline poking, sitting on and scooting her Christmas gift around under the tree we ended the present torture and let her open her Mickey Mouse ride-on train. While she was tearing away the wrapping paper Matt literally said out loud "Oh my gosh, my heart is exploding." Like Ralphie opening a Red-Ryder BB gun, Caroline couldn't contain her excitement the second she spotted Mickey Mouse on the side of the box. And I was unbelievably relieved to see this was the first gift she's received that she actually cared more about the toy than the packaging. Success.

The next day we headed to the mountains to spend Christmas with Matt's family. In typical holiday fashion, Caroline came down with a nasty virus just in time for Santa's visit. However, for battling a fever, shakes and terrible cough which kept her up each night, she rallied as best as she could before we could get her back home to be seen by her doctor.

Thomas hanging out with Ramona, Rhonda and Rodney.

On Christmas Eve we sprinkled magic reindeer food in the yard, a cute and clever gift given to Caroline by one of her classmates, and left candles out to light the way for Santa too.

Afterwards we tucked the kiddos into bed so the bike assembly could begin. Probably one of the most entertaining things to watch, Matt, his dad and his sister put together Caroline's balance bike.

We were up all night long with sick little Caroline so on Christmas morning she slept in while Thomas scoped out all the gifts and the rest of us enjoyed the yummiest fruit berry french toast.

We were all very, very spoiled on Christmas morning, but one of the best parts was watching Grandad bring out the very last gift that was hiding in another room...

She is still getting the hang of her new balance bike but she is off to a good start!

Even though it was unusually hot and rainy on Christmas we kept the fire going all day, along with the air conditioner. As soon as there was a break in the rain we ran outside and attempted some family pictures which lasted all of 2 minutes before Caroline polished off her bribery crackers and was done with smiling. Better luck next year.

The day after Christmas we took Caroline to the doctor to rule out an ear infection before we hopped on a plane for Florida. The doctor ran a blood test too to make sure she wasn't battling a bacterial infection too. Thankfully (or not so thankfully?) it was just a bad virus, spiking her fever at it's highest to 105.3 and giving us a near heart attack. And because Caroline is really great at sharing, she passed off her cold to Grandmom, Aunt Ann and her brother.

Flight behavior from the kids was decent. We chose to leave at lunch time in hopes of feeding Caroline the whole way down. Buuuuut we got our flight times mixed up and arrived to the gate sweaty and starving. So I immediately threw my arsenal of snacks, new iPad apps and a bag full of new toys at Caroline but it was too late. So, that was fun. On the other hand, Thomas was an absolute angel and slept the whole way.

As soon as we landed we dropped the kiddos off at home with Uncle Ryan and Aunt Lindsey so Matt and I could head straight to the hospital. A few days before Christmas dad was hospitalized for a very, very serious lung infection. The new clinical trial that he's been doing melted the tumor in his lungs (YAY!!!) but unfortunately it was absorbed into the wall of his lungs and is now a life threatening infection. Four doctors have attempted to treat his infection but are completely stumped on how to tackle it and said there's nothing left they could do. However, one doctor is still holding on to hope that she can get him fixed up and out of the hospital soon. So we are asking for a  miracle. In fact, at 10 am this morning dad will have a procedure done to attempt to suck the fluid out of his lungs. Please say a prayer that this works!!!

I welled up with tears the second I laid eyes on Lindsey's mini. It was so good to introduce our babies to each other finally!

We spent most of our time at home trading off the babies to one another so each of us could go see dad. But my favorite day was the day we broke dad out of the hospital for lunch. Mom told the doctor she was going to wheel him around the hospital for a change of scenery and wheeled him right out the front door and across the street to Panera. He got to sit in the sunshine, eat a meal with his family and meet Thomas! We kept the babies at a distance because of their germs but I did catch Dad with Caroline on his lap a few times which made me ridiculously paranoid he'd catch her virus.

All the babies!

The whole fam together (minus my bro)!

On our last day Thomas spiked a high enough fever to sound the panic alarm so we called our pediatrician and he told us to immediately take him to Arnold Palmer Children's Hospital. So off we went to squeeze in one last hospital visit in 2015. We were admitted before we could sit down and as we were being whisked back to our room I heard a familiar voice yell "Roni! What are you doing here?!" and turned around to see my sorority sister (and nurse for our stay)! It was such an awesome surprise! Within two hours, Thomas was checked out, diagnosed with an ear infection and upper respiratory infection and we were discharged. I giggled while signing our $900 bill on the way out and was seriously thankful this happened on the last day of 2015 since we crushed our maximum halfway through the year.

After we dropped Thomas off with Grandma we headed to my favorite grocery store ever to pick up a cake for our last visit with dad. The cake decorator was really awesome and helped us create the perfect cake for my dad who has an extremely awesome sense of humor. The closest we could get to our desired message without getting the decorator in trouble was "Puck You Cancer!" However, she gave us utensils and instructions for immediate cake surgery in the parking lot to tweak it a bit and it turned out PERFECT. Dad could not stop laughing (which really is the best medicine, right?) and happily served all of the doctors and nurses slices of his cake.

That night we all finally agreed to open our presents at mom's request. It was super weird not having dad there so we all tried to focus on the major spoiling of the grandbabies as Caroline ripped everyone's presents open for them.

The next morning we flew our sick crew home and were all in bed asleep by 7:30 pm. for New Year's Eve. Although it was a tough Christmas, we are thankful for the memories we made and the family time we were able to squeeze in this year!