Happy New Year to me!!

I had an appointment with my plastic surgeon this morning. She assessed me and confirmed that I did have fluid collecting on my left back. She said it wasn't bad, but since I'm thin, you can easily see and feel it. She also said there is some fluid collecting in the left breast area, which is probably due to me having had radiation. She said she would drain the fluid, remove my drain, expand my tissue expanders, and then bind me with an ace bandage. She left the room, so the nurse could come set up everything.

The physician's assistant then came in and she pulled my last JP drain!!! I am sooooo happy about that. Starting tomorrow I can now shower and drive short distances. My doctor doesn't want me to drive very much or very far though. We have to get the fluid issue resolved and the more I do, the more fluid will accumulate.

The doctor then came back in and aspirated the fluid from my left back. She decided to leave the breast fluid alone for now. Then she used this little magnet thing to find where to access the expander. Once she found the spot, she put an X there, and then set up a sterile field. 60 ml of saline was then added to each side. Lastly, she had the physician's assistant wrap me in an ace bandage from below my chest to my belly button. Hopefully this will stop the fluid from accumulating.

So far I am sore only on the left side. This side is tighter and looks fuller, even though it has the same amount of saline as the right. She said that for now it will look bigger, but not to worry about it.

I will go back for a recheck next week. I hope everyone has a happy, healthy new year!! Let's hope 2010 is better than 2008 and 2009.