Read Online Beneath It All (Beneath #1) by Tori Madison - Free Book Online
Authors: Tori Madison
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“Honestly, I’m not sure.” How was I supposed to remember everything?
Thankfully, Noah spoke up. “He briefly mentioned that it would be started immediately after the mastectomy, but didn’t elaborate much past that. I think he assumed you would explain that portion, since it’s your specialty.”
“Very well, when the mastectomy is completed, I’ll scrub in and start the reconstruction process by placing tissue expanders under your pectoral muscles. This part of the surgery goes fairly quickly. I’ll also place at least one drain on each side to alleviate the fluid build-up from the trauma.”
I looked a bit perplexed, and he picked up on it right away.
“With the removal of all of your breast tissue, we will need to place the implants under your muscle to hold them in place. In order to do this comfortably, we will need to stretch the muscle out gradually to make room for the permanent implant. The mastectomy along with reconstruction causes a lot of trauma to the area, and the body naturally produces fluid to protect itself. This will cause discomfort and can lead to complications or infection, so we place a tube, just under your skin, that is attached to a bulb that will extract the fluid from your body.”
A shivered passed through my body. “That’s just gross.”
That earned me full smile from Dr. Forrester, which made my heart skip a beat. He was too good looking for his own good. The man was charming and smart, and there was something about him that made me feel comfortable, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Yes, the drains are a nuisance, but they are necessary. They’re generally in for one to two weeks and will be removed in the office once the fluid levels have decreased. It’s a very easy procedure,” he assured me.
“Understood,” I replied with a note of acknowledgment and disbelief. “Now, what exactly is an expander? This is all new to me.”
He reached into a drawer a pulled out what appeared to be an industrial water balloon with a metal disk on the bottom. “This is a tissue expander.” He held it flat in the palm of his hand. “It will be placed under your pectoral muscle with two hundred cc’s of saline in it to start the expanding process. Once you have healed, we’ll start filling the expander with saline until we get it to the size we want.”
What? Wait a minute. Fill the expander? How the hell was he going to do that? The look of sheer horror was more than evident on my face.
“By the look on your face, I’m sure you are wondering how it will be filled,” Dr. Forrester said, a hint of humor in his voice.
There was nothing funny about this. It sounded more like some sixteenth-century form of torture.
“Well, yes, please enlighten me, because I have a feeling that long needles are involved, and that just isn’t going to fly with me!”
“You’re correct; it does involve a needle.” He smiled as he held up the expander and pointed to a metal disk at the top of it. “This is a port. We locate it with a magnet so that we know where to insert a needle that will fill the expander with saline and not damage the expander. The actual fill process takes about fifteen to twenty minutes in the office and can be done every week or every other week, depending on your comfort level,” he explained. “You call the shots on when you want it done and how much saline you want injected. Your comfort is what’s most important.”
I sat there for a moment, not knowing what to say. Noah looked at me and could see I was struggling, so he jumped in: “Dr. Forrester, how long does the entire fill process typically take? Are will talking three to six months, or longer?”
“Generally, women can comfortably handle between twenty-five and fifty cc’s at each fill. A few have had up to one hundred cc’s, but that’s rare. The tolerable amount is determined during the procedure by the patient. If they say ‘stop,’ we stop, and each session is different. One week
Thankfully, Noah spoke up. “He briefly mentioned that it would be started immediately after the mastectomy, but didn’t elaborate much past that. I think he assumed you would explain that portion, since it’s your specialty.”
“Very well, when the mastectomy is completed, I’ll scrub in and start the reconstruction process by placing tissue expanders under your pectoral muscles. This part of the surgery goes fairly quickly. I’ll also place at least one drain on each side to alleviate the fluid build-up from the trauma.”
I looked a bit perplexed, and he picked up on it right away.
“With the removal of all of your breast tissue, we will need to place the implants under your muscle to hold them in place. In order to do this comfortably, we will need to stretch the muscle out gradually to make room for the permanent implant. The mastectomy along with reconstruction causes a lot of trauma to the area, and the body naturally produces fluid to protect itself. This will cause discomfort and can lead to complications or infection, so we place a tube, just under your skin, that is attached to a bulb that will extract the fluid from your body.”
A shivered passed through my body. “That’s just gross.”
That earned me full smile from Dr. Forrester, which made my heart skip a beat. He was too good looking for his own good. The man was charming and smart, and there was something about him that made me feel comfortable, but I couldn’t put my finger on it.
“Yes, the drains are a nuisance, but they are necessary. They’re generally in for one to two weeks and will be removed in the office once the fluid levels have decreased. It’s a very easy procedure,” he assured me.
“Understood,” I replied with a note of acknowledgment and disbelief. “Now, what exactly is an expander? This is all new to me.”
He reached into a drawer a pulled out what appeared to be an industrial water balloon with a metal disk on the bottom. “This is a tissue expander.” He held it flat in the palm of his hand. “It will be placed under your pectoral muscle with two hundred cc’s of saline in it to start the expanding process. Once you have healed, we’ll start filling the expander with saline until we get it to the size we want.”
What? Wait a minute. Fill the expander? How the hell was he going to do that? The look of sheer horror was more than evident on my face.
“By the look on your face, I’m sure you are wondering how it will be filled,” Dr. Forrester said, a hint of humor in his voice.
There was nothing funny about this. It sounded more like some sixteenth-century form of torture.
“Well, yes, please enlighten me, because I have a feeling that long needles are involved, and that just isn’t going to fly with me!”
“You’re correct; it does involve a needle.” He smiled as he held up the expander and pointed to a metal disk at the top of it. “This is a port. We locate it with a magnet so that we know where to insert a needle that will fill the expander with saline and not damage the expander. The actual fill process takes about fifteen to twenty minutes in the office and can be done every week or every other week, depending on your comfort level,” he explained. “You call the shots on when you want it done and how much saline you want injected. Your comfort is what’s most important.”
I sat there for a moment, not knowing what to say. Noah looked at me and could see I was struggling, so he jumped in: “Dr. Forrester, how long does the entire fill process typically take? Are will talking three to six months, or longer?”
“Generally, women can comfortably handle between twenty-five and fifty cc’s at each fill. A few have had up to one hundred cc’s, but that’s rare. The tolerable amount is determined during the procedure by the patient. If they say ‘stop,’ we stop, and each session is different. One week
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