Complications- Tootaloo Tissue Expander

It’s 5:47 a.m. on Tuesday, July 7th. Why am I up at this hour? I’ve already had my blood drawn and gotten pain meds from my nurse.  I came into the hospital last Wednesday, July 1st and have been in here since. 

The culprit? An infection in my right tissue expander.  I ended up having surgery on Monday 7/6 to remove the tissue expander when strong doses of IV antibiotics wouldn't clear it.  It also helped that I still had a drain in my right side from which the doctors were able to take some fluid and run a culture.  It came back positive for a bacteria called pseudomonas.  Pseudomonas is a nasty bacteria that is generally water borne and once it gets into the tissue expander/breast area, it colonizes the tissue expander and you can't fully get rid of it without actually removing the expander.  This means that I'll have two additional surgeries on my right breast that weren't planned. 

I'm frustrated and tired.  This wasn't a setback or complication I anticipated.  For the first time in this whole journey, I really felt defeated.  I cried into my hospital sheets the second night of my hospitalization and it's the first time I felt sorry for myself and this whole situation. I think a good ugly cry was necessary because I felt better in the days following. 

What were the signs of infection? It started with some redness around the incision site about 6 days after surgery.  My doctor switched my antibiotics and it seemed to help.  But then the redness spread and became centered on the underside of my right breast.  That skin was tender, pink and shiny.  Wearing any sort of bra was painful.  The drainage from my bulb started to change around that time as well.  Because there is always some residual fluid left in the bulb, I noticed that the fluid was a greenish color. In retrospect that was already evidence of pseudomonas because that's the color it grows out. As time went on, the drainage from my right breast became thicker and more mucus like.  It looked like there boogers in the cup.  My right breast felt throbby, heavy and full. I never developed a fever or had chills. I had to push the nurse to send pictures of my breast to my surgeon.  Once she did, my surgeon immediately wanted me to go to the hospital. Part of me is frustrated that it took so long to diagnose the infection. I had been showing the nurse my drainage and the bulb and how weird it looked.  

All I can say is that it's so important to advocate for yourself.  You know your body the best, and if you don't, get familiar with it.  Know what's normal for you and what isn't. 

I'm home now and healing well.  But I'm anxious.  I'm afraid of any type of infection and further complications. I have a follow-up with my doctor on Monday, where the new drain from my right side will come out and I anticipate that I'll get a fill in my left expander. I'll have to decide on my breast size based only on the left boob. Lefty better do its part! 

On the plus, I had some amazing nurses in the hospital that made my stay pleasant.  It's the most in-person contact I've had since lockdown.  I had amazing conversations with them, we laughed and talked  and connected.  Also, the hospital food was really good.