When I had exchange surgery in February, I had hoped it would be the only surgery I would need for reconstruction. For those who need a refresher in the surgical progression of things, first comes mastectomy. I had a bilateral mastectomy in February 2017. As part of mastectomy, I had expanders placed. Expanders are placed to create a pocket, over time, in order to place a permanent implant. Over the course of a year, the expanders were slowly filled up with fluid injected through a needle at a monthly visit to the plastic surgeon's office.
In February of this year (2018), I had exchange surgery. That surgery removes the expanders and replaces them with permanent implants. It was at that surgery that I contracted MRSA internally, in my reconstructed breasts.
My left breast has been painful for a long time... as long as I can remember since this process started. That's also the cancer side, so it was the side most manipulated, "cleaned out" more closely to make sure the cancer was removed, and also the side where I lost 16 lymph nodes after one was positive. When I had exchange surgery and that side hurt more, I chalked it up to the cancer.
On September 4, 2018, I went to Norton Hospital for a revision surgery. The left breast had gotten larger and was just painful all the time. It had been painful for over 6 months. I had told multiple doctors how much it hurt... no one believed me.
My plastic surgeon opened that left breast on Sept 4th to revise it and infection came pouring out... for lack of better words which would induce a nasty visual, we will just leave it at that.
I was hospitalized for 5 days. Both implants were removed and replaced with tubes flushing antibiotics directly into the pockets where breasts used to be.
The photos next may be hard for some people to see, but this is what CANCER looks like, even after the cancer has been "removed" and a patient is considered in remission, it doesn't end... it never ends......
In February of this year (2018), I had exchange surgery. That surgery removes the expanders and replaces them with permanent implants. It was at that surgery that I contracted MRSA internally, in my reconstructed breasts.
My left breast has been painful for a long time... as long as I can remember since this process started. That's also the cancer side, so it was the side most manipulated, "cleaned out" more closely to make sure the cancer was removed, and also the side where I lost 16 lymph nodes after one was positive. When I had exchange surgery and that side hurt more, I chalked it up to the cancer.
On September 4, 2018, I went to Norton Hospital for a revision surgery. The left breast had gotten larger and was just painful all the time. It had been painful for over 6 months. I had told multiple doctors how much it hurt... no one believed me.
My plastic surgeon opened that left breast on Sept 4th to revise it and infection came pouring out... for lack of better words which would induce a nasty visual, we will just leave it at that.
I was hospitalized for 5 days. Both implants were removed and replaced with tubes flushing antibiotics directly into the pockets where breasts used to be.
The photos next may be hard for some people to see, but this is what CANCER looks like, even after the cancer has been "removed" and a patient is considered in remission, it doesn't end... it never ends......
The tubes coming out of my sides and front are flushing antibiotics into the breast pockets and back out again.
You may see empty breast pockets here... what I see is the blue bracelet in the upper right side of the picture. It is Chalcedony, a form of quartz. This particular gem is supposed to bring clarity, healing and protection. I wear it a lot.
On September 7, I went back into surgery again. My surgeon replaced the implants. It wasn't until he was IN surgery with me that the cultures came back from the lab with a definitive result of MRSA. Surgery was already in progress, so my surgeon opted to continue with the surgery instead of aborting.
He replaced implants, repaired the pockets, and put little beads of antibiotics inside the pockets with the implants, meant to absorb in that area and help fight the infection.
This was after surgery #2 in a week's time, still hospitalized. Ouch.
At home, after a few days of healing, this was the result. The one showing redness is the infected one.
I spent 21 days on antibiotics, weeks of trying to flush the sickness out of my system. The infected breast swole up huge (again) as the infection swelled and the antibiotics fought against it.
Now I'm flagged forever as someone who contracted MRSA.
I still have a lot of pain from all this madness.
But it gets worse...