Explant surgery - what to expect during and after

[Guest guest]

Hi Everyone,

This is a post about my experiences during my recent explant surgery

and the few days following it. This post has a lot of details, and is

very long, but I wanted to pass on as much info as I could to everyone

considering explanting because I wished I could read more of these

type of posts when I was first contemplating explantation.

I had my explant on Monday. I was expecting a bad painful surgery, a

huge scar (since I requested en-bloc removal), saggy breasts, and lots

of pain (since my post-implant pain was the worst pain I ever had).

Here's what actually happened.

SURGERY DETAILS.

I had saline mentor implants, one was 13 years old, the other was 8

years old. They were the smallest size available, yet still made my

breasts look very large. They were placed under the chest muscle.

My explant surgery was covered by Ontario health plan, since I was

suffering from 2ndary pain caused by implants. My surgeon was Dr Kuusk

in Vancouver. She arranged all the paperwork needed so that Ontario

will cover my surgery cost (I'm an Ontario citizen). I highly

recommend her. My surgery took 1 hour, & it was done in a hospital. I

was left with tubes in both of my breasts for 4 days. They were

draining the excess blood/liquid from my breast area and required

regular emptying. I stayed in the hospital overnight mainly because I

have sleep apnea and the anasthesiologist wanted to keep an eye on me.

Most people can leave a few hours after the surgery. I was released

home the following morning and asked to see a nurse (homecare) once

per day if I need dressing change or if my tubes are ready to come out

(based on the amount of drainage).

PAIN LEVELS

After the surgery, on day 1, I didn't need pain killers at all and was

describing my pain as 2.5/10. I only took 3 painkillers (Tylenol 3) on

the following day mainly due to a headeache. I did not need any more

painkillers after that day. By comparison, when I got implanted 13

years ago, I was in great pain for a week, and finished off all the

prescribed Tylenol 3's within a few days, so quickly that the

(scared?) surgeon wouldn't prescribe any more for me. The most pain I

had this time around was during the removal of the drains on day 4

(earlier today). One of them got stuck, and the other breast was just

more painful from the start so removing a loooong tube from it was

trying. It took the nurse and a doctor about an hour to remove them.

After the drains were removed, I felt immediately better and was able

to walk up straight right away (I was walking curled up up to that point).

The " LOOK "

All the doctors and nurses who saw me were curious to see if I was

very saggy or not following the surgery. They all said that I look

great, and many looked surprised. There is no excessive sagginess. If

it's possible, I like my breasts better now than before the original

implantation. They seem to have acquired a better, more full shape.

I was expecting a very long scar. I was told that the 'en block'

procedure (removing scar tissue along with the implant) leaves a

longer scar. But my scar is short, it's actually shorter than the scar

that the original implantation left. The nurses told me that it's

healing very nicely, and looks like a papercut (I healed very well

after the implantation as well).

I already purchased a silicone sheet from a pharmacy to aid in

healing. I will place the silicone sheet along my scar, and it will

prevent the scar from bulging out. I will also massage vitamin E cream

into the scar starting in a few days. This regimen left me with a

close to invisible scar after the initial implantation.

My surgeon told me that the scar tissue around the implant was very

thin, so she didn't have to scrab the inside of my chest wall a lot

(or she would risk wrecking my muscles)

THE REASON FOR EXPLANT: CHEST PAIN / Fibro symptoms / Joint problems.

I couldn't breathe deeply and had chest pain with breathing for the

few years preceding my explant, and to a smaller degree, since day 1

after implant . The surgeon told me that, strangely, one more of his

patients experienced this kind of pain, and that it should pass within

6 months. It never did.

Right after the surgery, I was shocked how deeply I could breathe, and

that there was no longer this 'pain barrier' limiting the depth of my

breath.

I had a lot of tension and chest pain on day 1 (the day I took pain

killers) but not since. It's probably too early to tell if this pain

will resolve due to the surgery. I did however notice an immediate

resolution of my rotator cuff (problem for 3 months now). The

physiotherapist told me that my implant was probably causing my

shoulders to curve forward and was contributing to my rotator cuff

problem. Ever since the implant, I was having regular muscle cramps in

my left pectoris and couldn't sleep on my left side without getting a

muscle cramp (this was caused by my left implant migrating to the side

when I slept on it, which immediately caused a muscle cramp).

THINGS I DIDN " T EXPECT:

The drains, the pain associated with removing them, inability to

shower for 4 days, and blisters on my skin near the older (13 year

old) implant - right side. This implant has been draining full of

yellow liquid rather than blood, and there are large clear blisters 3

to 5cm underneath it. This could be my body's immune reaction but I'm

not sure if it's to silicon/another chemical or germs growing in my

implant for the last 13 years. it could also be contact dermatitis to

the tube or wound dressing but I would expect it to occur on both

sides in this case.

SUGGESTION

Plan to have a reliable friend pick you up from the hospital (I wish I

picked someone MORE reliable), drop you off for your daily nursing

appointments, and help you wash. Be ready to sleep on your back for a

number of days after the surgery (a higher-up bed is better than bed

right on the floor -it's easier to get up from it). You will have

trouble raising your arms for a few days, I couldn't write for 3 days

and resting my hands in front of a computer was painful too. It's hard

to carry a purse or groceries still.

VERDICT.

Life doesn't end after explant. I wish someone told me that I will

still have beautiful breasts after the explant - I was preparing to be

deformed and depressed. I am happy not to be eyed like a piece of meat

by men on the street anymore (a side effect of having nice large

breasts, I found). Overall, it was worth it - there is no beauty

without health.

Mika.