Pre-Op Appointment (2 Weeks Prior to Surgery)

Four days after I had my consultation, I was back in the officer for my pre-op appointment.

The staff had me fill out some more paperwork and copied two forms of  ID and took the rest of my payment.

Soon, the patient coordination took me back into the consultation room.  She sat down with my fiance and I and gave me what she called the "Patient's Bible".  She said that we will cover everything that is in there, but it's a take home guide for me to refer to later.

This nice, professional, and easy to read soft cover bound booklet was very helpful and informative.

And... This booklet was seriously necessary!!

The topics it covered were:

- Preparing for surgery
- Medications to avoid
- Going to the surgery center and directions
- General surgical risks
- Specific surgical risks
- Anesthesia and other information
- Other risks
- Consent for surgery
- Post operative care - outpatient surgery
- Specific post operative instructions
- Longer tern post operative instructions
- As you heal
- Specifics as you heal
- Financial and cancellation polices

The patient coordinator then had me remove my top and put on the ugly looking bra.  She brought in several different sizes of implants.  She, again, had me put too different sizes in the bra without telling me what CC they were and asked me which one I liked best.

I picked my favorite and it was the same one I had picked at the consultation.  It made me feel more confident that I was sure I knew what size I wanted to be post surgery. She noted it down on my chart and had me remove the bra and put on a robe.

We walked into the room where I had the 3d image taken at the consultation.  The doctor met me in there and took a few pre-op photos of my chest. He then took some measurements of my breasts and told me that it would take 339cc implants to make my breasts int the masterpiece he wants them to be.

I was again very firm and said that I want a C cup, not a baby D.  He was very patient and told me not to worry, they will not end up being too big.

Since I had done my research on him and his work, I believed him and had 100% confidence in him.

We again verified that I was going to have silicone implants placed under my pectoral muscles through the transaxillary (armpit) incision with the use of an endoscope, that I would have a pain pump.

The doctor went over all of the medications he was going to prescribe me and how to use them.  I told him that anesthesia makes me throw up and narcotic pain killers also make me nauseous.  He said he would prescribe me things to help with that as well and he'd let the anesthesiologist know about my sensitivity to anesthesia.

I was prescribed:

- Hibiclens​ (an over the counter antiseptic/antimicrobial surgical soap used to wash the skin/body the morning of the surgery)
- Emend (Aprepitant) 40mg capsule (to take 3 hours prior to surgery to help me not be nauseous when I wake up from anesthesia)
- Zofran (Ondansetron) 4mg tabs (to take after surgery to stop nausea if it were to get bad)
- Keflex (Cephalexin) 500mg capsules (antibiotic to take following surgery)
- Vicodin (Hydrocodone/Acetaminophen) 5-325mg tabs (Vicodin with acetaminophen for pain and swelling after surgery)
- Robaxin (Methocarbam) 500mg tabs (muscle relaxer for after surgery)
- Halcion (Triazolam) 0.25mg tabs (sleep aid for the night after surgery and as needed)
- Peri-Colace (a stool softener AND laxative to help with the constipation) 

A hidden cost of getting a BA is the cost of prescription medication.  If you do not have good prescription coverage, this could be expensive.  And ALL of the medications your plastic surgeon prescribes ARE NECESSARY.  

We went back to the consultation room for follow up questions and information.

Post-Op Blues:

The doctor reminded me that the day after surgery when he removes the bandages I need to understand it is not the final product.

He said the worst thing I can do it be expecting the final product and not less than 24 hour post-op swollen breasts.  He also warned of the "post-op blues" where the patient becomes sad, depressed, upset, etc with having undergone surgery, the current result and how they feel.

He said some women feel this in varying degrees and some don't at all.
With all of that being said, all follow up questions answered, and feeling confident, I left the office with my surgery scheduled for June 26 at 3:30pm with an arrival time to the surgery center at 1:30pm.

I was excited and nervous!