Surgery and Recovery

As I opted to have my radial scar removed via incision, this is my surgery and recovery story.

Tuesday Feb 13 I went to have a tiny radioactive pin inserted into the tissue that would be removed. This was a lot like the core needle biopsy I had a few weeks ago. Last time I felt the entire process, this time the surgeon explained that some people don’t respond to the lidocaine and she gave me something different. The nurse assistant put me into the mammogram machine, as they took some pictures to find just the right spot to insert the marker. This time the marker was inserted, I felt nothing as I looked down to see a rather large needle sticking sideways out of my chest. As we chatted, the nurse shared that she was just getting into running. Her first half marathon was coming up in a few months. She shared that running outside at night still scared her, so for Christmas her partner had bought her a treadmill, so much of her running has been on a treadmill at night after work. I told her it’s quite normal to feel that way and if running on a TM made her feel safe, that was what she should do.

It’s right on my chart that I run, along with my very low blood pressure and the fact (knock on wood) that I am in my mid 40s and not on any medications. The nurse who took my vitals for surgery the next morning laughed and called me a unicorn, which made me wonder….just how many of my peers are on regular medications to control chronic medical issues. It also made me thankful for the ability to run and the good health it has brought me.

On Valentine’s Day we checked into the Duke surgery center and I was immediately taken to the OR prep room. I would be given a similar sedative to what people get when they have colonoscopies, a medication intravenously. The wait both seemed way too long and much too short. The last thing I remember was entering the OR and hearing music, the all female team saying hello, confirming I was having surgery on my left breast….and then I woke up in recovery with a man asking me about minimalist running shoes. A funny way to come-to, he was looking at my records and started asking my thoughts on minimalist shoes and getting back to running after a long hiatus (at that moment I wished I had a coaching business card or something) A good sign that much of the staff at Duke stays healthy by running. I did meet more triathletes and runners at all of my pre-op appointments than I usually do just around town. Recently a study came out about the differences of health benefits between female and male runners. It was interesting as women need to run less than men for the same, if not more health benefits.

The first night post-op was pretty sore, I fell asleep almost immediately, but woke up with swelling pushing on the incision from midnight until about 4 am.

A friend recommended SHEFIT bras for the compression, and because they come on and off like a jacket, rather than over my head like usual sports bras. Thank goodness for the recommendation because I never would have been able to get on and off my sports bras that I am used to putting on over my head. If you are reading this with any type of shoulder or breast surgery coming up…I can’t say enough good things about those bras. The back and straps both adjust, they are made of a soft, yet firm material. My chest felt supported and compressed and whenever I needed to take it off and on for bathing it was really easy.

The first several days I was pretty tired, I napped often around 2 pm. My post-op plan was to rotate Tylenol and advil. I found that the advil really helped with the swelling, the Tylenol mostly just helped me get to the next dose of Advil.

Today is day 7 in my recovery. I walked 2 miles with friends on Sunday, 2 miles on Monday with a little strength work, and 1 mile with the dogs on Tuesday. Today I decided to try an easy jog on the treadmill. Much like my nurse, running outside makes me a bit nervous, so I hopped on the treadmill in the garage, knowing I could easily hop off at any moment. I opted to run uphill, as impact is a bit less when you run up a hill, so I ran-walked 3.75 miles with 2000 ft of vertical elevation. Mostly I just felt out of shape, and a little itchy from the scar pulling.

Speaking of the scar, for a 1 inch piece of tissue removal, I was surprised at the size of the incision. It’s also very clearly in the shape of a lower case “b.” B as in Bell? Or maybe as in Brave, though really none of this is brave, just something many of us do because the alternative is not great either.