Pretty soon after that my favorite doctor in the whole world arrives!!!!! Dr. Buchanan from Spokane Plastic Surgeons takes a look at my incision. And we get our first look at it as well.
I am admiring the new placement of my belly button! And DAMN that incision is LONG!
In order to avoid the "dog ear" flaps of skin that can sometimes flop over your scar, Dr. B cut the incision as far as he could down to the operating room table and then liposuction the fat away to contour it above my scar. No "dog ears" for me! He chased the dog ears to the table and extended the liposuction past where he originally planned so that my incision would look natural. Well as natural as an incision can look. The incision is 28 inches long.
The red tube is my drain.
The red tube is my drain.
Drain on left hip
Look how flat my stomach already looks!!!!
Close up of the drain.
Then we talked about how great of a job Dr. B did. He addressed all of my problem areas. When he sewed me back together he pulled the abdominal skin down but also the upper thigh and pubis mound skin up as well. That resulted in a nice lift of my pubic mound, vagina and upper thighs. I am NOT gonna post any before and afters of that.... but trust me, the change is significant and very awesome!
Here is Dr. B, putting my incision pads and binder back on me. He has the most awesome, caring gentle bedside manner I have ever experienced in a Dr. Even when he was emptying my drains he was kind and compassionate because he knew it hurt. He is just a really awesome person!
That binder is very uncomfortable to wear so he told me what my other options are (i.e. girdles/spanx) because I have to wear the binder for at least 6 weeks. Longer if I can stand it! My belly button got cut down to just a tiny nub! But because of that trimming it will most likely take the longest to heal because of decreased blood supply. I will have swelling in my upper legs and vagina as the lymph channels reconnect and start to work to move the fluid out.
Dr. Buchanan changed my meal in the computer to full diet so I could eat and told me he would check on me again around 11am before he would discharge me. In order to be discharged I had to be off the IV meds, hold down food, able to urinate, and take all my medicines orally.
Finally I could order some food! Eggs with cheese, sausage and toast.
The air in the hospital is dry plus I had to have a oxygen cannula for most of the day before. So I ended up slathering on Burts Bees chapstick on my lips and finally asked for some saline drops for my nose. I wish I would have had some hand lotion too.
After I ate some breakfast I wanted to try to pee again. No dice. But I did take that opportunity to get dressed. Dr. B thought it might help to walk the halls a bit to see if we could wake up my bladder muscles. And I was NOT doing that in a hospital gown! Tim arrives and helps me dress in my yoga pants and finally some underwear!
Sara, Tim and I walking laps. Don't ya love the "blood grenades" hanging of my hips?!?!?
Walking made the urge to pee be there but still no dice on the release. I took a nap in bed, woke up hungry. Sara's notes say I ate 1/4 of a chicken quesadilla. I don't really remember that at all. Sarah left sometime around here to relieve the other babysitter at home. Around 11:30 they decide to scan my bladder to make sure I am making urine.
Bladder scan shows that my bladder is mostly empty. Constant urge might be from swelling. Dr. B orders more fluids through my IV to see if we can get bladder to fill so we can test if it will empty. They tell me to relax and not think about bladder! LOL I take another nap as pain meds kick in. Somewhere in there the nurse trains Tim how to empty my drains. He goes a little white when she shows him. He seems overwhelmed but manages to put a brave face forward. (he never had a problem once we were home.)
At some point Dr. Buchanan comes back in to check on me again and I get a quick picture with him!
And here he is just cool as a cucumber talking with me. He is just a calm chill Dr. that puts you at ease!
Around 1pm the fluids are all in and they order another bladder scan. This time it shows my bladder is starting to fill. Good News!!!! I keep asking for my pain meds and we are keeping track on when I can have my next dose. And then I would get hungry again! This time Tim went down the road to my favorite Italian restaurant and brought me back my favorite soup! The waiter gave him a chocolate dessert that I shared with him!
Finally I could PEE!!!! Now things are rolling. They give me last dose of IV antibiotics, a shot of heprin and more valium. Then I took a nap! When I woke up they took out my IV and went over our discharge instructions. I signed the papers at 3pm and Sara got ready to leave. I gave her a hug goodbye.
We both were ready to walk out of there! Sara got to leave but Tim and I hit a snag. We realized that if we left then I would need my pain meds in less than an hour. There was no way we could get me home and get to the pharmacy to get my medicine before my next dose was due. And I was not leaving the hospital until we had a good plan for controlling my pain. So we decided to wait until I got my next dose of pain meds from the hospital so we would have 3 hours until my next dose was due at home. Worked out perfectly!
Here I am snuggled upon my nest at home with my guard cat Bella to keep me safe.
Me, completely passed out after my 1st dose of at home percocet! They are stronger that the ones at the hospital! Thank You Dr. Buchanan!
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