Jan 11, 2022 08:35PM 2019whatayear wrote:

that is what I had for my BMX in 2019

:-)

Jan 11, 2022 08:40PM dancemom wrote:

I was "outpatient " for my masectomy last week. Dr office said that is normal for billing purposes, even pre- omicron. Generally you go home in 23 hours if there are no complications. (Kind of like child birth) I went in for nuclear injection at 9am mon, surgery at 1 and was cleared for discharge at 8 am tue, but the paperwork takes time. I actually left about 11. It was fine. I had put in a call the social worker at my cancer center a few weeks prior and asked what services are available to me and basically requested them all. So I had a visiting nurse come the following day to do vitals, check the dressing, set up a PT request for when drains come out, and answer any questions. If you have access to a care coordinator or program like that, use it! It is very helpful.

I was allowed to have a fully vaccinated pickup person. Also, masks are strictly required.(I was allowed to take mine off to sleep once my nurse left the room. She very gently put it back on me to do vitals and IV every couple of hours). My daughter learned the drain stuff ( it sounds much worse than it is) then helped me dress and pack up. You Do really need help with the drains because especially the first few days it is just too hard to reach around to the site to strip the drain, the hand on that side was too weak to squeeze hard enough to strip or to squeeze the bulb, and it was a 3 hand job until I hang of it, the mobility and strength around day 5. Also, she wrote down all the measurements on a chart and kept track of and set up all my meds. (Antibiotics 4x/day until all drains come out, pain management depending on your needs, stool softener, plus continued on letrozole) . I could not have kept track of it all or been able to open the bottles especially the first 3 days when I was exhausted. They do have good videos about the drains so it wouldn't be too hard to learn in case someone is not allowed in to pick you up. It's just squeamish.

My surgical onc sent me for genetic testing right away. Also, millions of scans. Those changed ny course of treatment which is why I just had the mastectomy last week.

I keep writing too many details about all this because I was SO anxious going in. It really was no where near as terrible as I feared. You got this!

Jan 12, 2022 12:40AM sarah_78 wrote:

Thank you for starting the thread. I am facing something similar to this. I had surgeon's appointments this week (2 more to go) and seems like they will take lymph nodes and left breast. They said probably I will be in hospital for 4 days. I am located in Germany and the city I am thinking to have the surgery has very strict Covid regulations. No visitors at all (as opposed to some other close by city who allows 1 visitor for 1 hour daily).

First surgeon drew how the wound will look like and since my tumour is very high up in the inner quarter of my breast, it looks terrible. I already dread I am not ready for the procedure psychologically and seeing that and learning not even my husband can be with me while dealing with the aftermath is leaving me sleepless. I had never been so down since I started treatment, when I went through the diagnosis and chemo.

I can't seem to get to a point and pull myself together. When it rains, it pours. BC wasn't enough so covid on top and the worst timing for surgery. I am so stressed I can't find words when I talk or think straight, I don't think i can manage the stuff written above alone.

Any experience of how I'll manage to go through this is appreciated.

Jan 12, 2022 05:13AM typhoon wrote:

Olympic - My BMX was outpatient in Dec 2020 during the height of COVID, before the availability of vaccines; I'm single and live alone, so the brother who came to stay with me and help out was only allowed to drop me off and pick me up. Surgery started at half past noon, was finished by 5 pm, and I was cleared to go home by 8 pm. The decision to allow me to go home was based on a quick recovery from anesthesia, the ability to eat & drink (I was starving!) without throwing up, the ability to walk around steadily and dress myself, and on a lack of any brain "fogginess" from the anesthesia. If I hadn't been able to do all of those things, they would have kept me in outpatient observation until the next morning. Drain management training took just a couple of minutes (it's actually pretty easy), although training to manage the wound vac system my PS used took a little bit more time. They pack your chest full of painkillers, so pain at home was never an issue; I did go home with a day's worth of codeine (which I didn't need at all), and three days of gabapentin (also not needed beyond the first day). Extra-strength Tylenol for the first few days, then the Tylenol plus Advil after that, was more than sufficient to manage discomfort. I was very, very happy to go home, and it was a joy to wake up the next morning on my comfortable recliner, next to the fire in my family room, with the smell of fresh coffee brewing and a full breakfast being cooked by my brother.

Sarah_78 - My PS showed me some post-surgery pictures to give me an idea of what I might look like immediately after surgery, and I was kind of freaked out. That said, and one year on, I'm very happy with how it all turned out, and the scars are barely noticeable to me.

I hope you are both able to find the best arrangement for your needs and to ease your concerns, and I wish you both an easy surgery and quick recovery!

Jan 12, 2022 07:40AM threetree wrote:

OlympicMtGirl - I had my surgery in 2019 (pre-Covid) at a neighborhood/community branch of the university that I believe you say you are likely to go to for treatment. I was initially admitted as an outpatient and was told that it was for insurance billing purposes. I got the distinct impression that they did not expect to send me home that day, even before the surgery. Like DanceMom above, I went in in the morning for the dye or whatever they did (they did it under general anesthesia at my request thank goodness, as I'd heard horror stories), and the surgery was around noon or so. Long story short, I wound up spending several days in the hospital, but had no complications. The surgeon simply knew that I lived alone and would have to go home alone to my apartment afterward. At one point (3rd day?) he asked me how I felt about going home that afternoon and that if I wanted to stay another day, he thought he could arrange it. We went with the final extra day. I think I spent 3 or 4 nights there. I can't remember anymore! I had a friend who took me there and stayed until I went into surgery, then she went back to her office to work. Since it wasn't Covid times, I was able to have visitors, so both my friend and some extended family came to see me a couple of times in the evenings. I was supposed to be discharged around 1 pm on that final day and the surgeon came and asked me if I had a ride home. I told him my friend was at work waiting for the call and that she was going to come get me, take me home, and then go back to work. He moved my discharge time up to 4:30 pm, so she could stay at work longer, and not have to go back. I was pleased with the whole thing. She walked me up to my apt, but then I felt totally fine being alone at that point.

The nurses had showed me how to do the drains and it was easy - an easy 5 minute lesson/demonstration. I think you'll do fine, and I seriously doubt that you will be sent home same day if you have a mastectomy, and certainly not if you have any grogginess from the anesthesia or will be alone, etc.