Final Meeting with Plastic Surgeon

Hi. Yesterday I met with my plastic surgeon (Dr. B.)for the final time until the big day. It was interesting to meet with him again (after not having a good experience with him the first time). I definitely felt better with him this second time around. Although his personality was a little bit harsh, I realized that a good amount of me not liking him the first time was because of where I was at emotionally in this process.

I came to the meeting more aggressive than the first and more prepared for his chuckles toward my questions. I think I also realized that the majority of the women he works with do not have breast cancer. I am going to him to feel whole again and he does not understand that. He looks at the world and sees how he can make it more attractive where I look at the the world and see how I can make fun of it. So, really he is doing his job. I just wish he was a little bit compassionate about it.

He gave me kind of vague answers to my questions. Mostly saying that it all depends on me and my pain level and what I feel up to. Some bullet points below:

*He said that some women come spend only one or two nights in the hospital. He said depending on my pain level that there is a chance that I could be home for Christmas.

*He said I will probably not feel like doing much at all for five to seven days.

*He said no driving for ten days to two weeks.

*He showed me some arm and shoulder exercises to do so that my arm and shoulder does not get stiff and said I should be able to raise my arm all the way above my head in four weeks.

*I will see him every week or two and he will add about 60ccs of saline each visit.

*They will send me home in a binder and that I should wear a light sports bra for a while after the surgery.

He wrote out a prescription for me for vicodin and synthetic penicillin that he suggested that I have ready for when I come home from the hospital and they went over what pain meds. I can and can not have from now until the surgery. They told me not to eat eight hours before surgery and that the night before and the morning of the surgery I will need to shower with hibiclens.

He also reviewed the stages:
1st stage: Putting in the expanders and visiting his office every one to two weeks to slowly fill the implant with saline.
2nd stage: The temporary implant is removed and the real implant put in.
3rd stage: Tattooing the areola and constructing the nipple.

So, my next step is to complete a physical and get a medical clearance from the physician saying that I can have the surgery. There are also some pre-op test I need to have done. My physical is this upcoming Thursday and I am hoping to get my pre-op tests done that same day.

Thanks for reading! Take care.