72 Hours After a Mastopexy

by Shelby Barone

I was initially going to write this 24 hours following my mastopexy (breast lift), but I was still coming down from anesthesia, hyped up on Norco, and my words just didn’t seem to make much sense. So, here I am sharing about what the past 72 hours have been like following my procedure at CosmetiCare.

(excuse any typos..I’m still not 100% myself)   I was initially going to write this 24 hours following my mastopexy (breast lift), but I was still coming down from anesthesia, hyped up on Norco, and my words just didn’t seem to make much sense. So, here I am sharing about what the past 72 hours have been like following my procedure at CosmetiCare.     Over the past 72 hours, I have felt a whirlwind of emotions. I always have trouble with anesthesia and was grateful to only have a couple of cases of vomiting before leaving the surgery center following my procedure. In my pre-op appointment, the nurse had advised me that I might have drains following the surgery, and I was super upset when I first saw the bloody tubes coming out of my breasts. The first night, my husband would wake me up every couple of hours to drain the blood out of the reservoir, give me some pain medication, and then put me back to sleep. That was how my first 24-hours went.   The morning following my surgery, I went to see Dr. Niccole who undressed the bandages to reveal beautiful breasts. Although they are bruised, and there are bloody tubes coming out of both sides, they are perfectly shaped – I was immediately happy with the results.   I begged him to remove the drains, but he insisted that they stay in until Monday since there was still so much drainage coming out. The next morning, I woke up to see brownish fluid in my tubes, I called CosmetiCare, and they immediately had me come in for some antibiotic injections. The nurse looked at my tubes and didn’t feel there was an infection, but still wanted to be precautionary with an antibiotic injection.   I returned home where I would sleep, sleep and get more sleep. I am not the type of person who can ever stay in one place for more that 24 hours, so my time resting has taught me how to “chill.” I wasn’t prepared with the proper clothing and didn’t realize that I could only wear loose button down/zipper shirts, so I am rockin’ the only thing I could find in my closet – an old farmer’s shirt that I once wore to my Sadie Hawkins dance in high school.     Although I worked so hard to lose 15 pounds before my surgery, I feel like I’ve gained it all back by eating snickers, Chinese food, and pasta – you would think I was pregnant with the cravings I am having. I can’t beat myself up about it because I know that I will drop the pounds once I can get up out of bed and start moving around. The only other odd feeling I’ve been experiencing is that I’ve been so HOT! We’ve had the house at a chilling 61 degrees, and yet I am still hot. I’m thankful for my family who has been walking around the house in winter jackets to make sure that I am comfortable.   After 48 hours, I took my last Norco, and I have been able to manage the discomfort all day with just Tylenol. The only discomfort that I have is where I can feel the drains on the sides of my, and I can’t wait until 9 am on Monday morning to have them removed.

The only thing to do now is to try and shower? I am not quite sure how this is going to happen with all my drains, but I am sure grateful to have a loving husband to help me through it. Plus, my wild frizzy dirty hair has got to go!!   Stay tuned for more updates on recovering from my mastopexy. Please Call CosmetiCare for Full mastopexy in Orange County for an appointment.