I had a fibroadenoma removed from my left breast on December 19th. I discovered it five years ago and in 2004 had two different ultrasounds taken six months apart to look at the growth pattern. I consulted with Dr. Leach of the Breast Cancer Center at UT Southwestern Medical Center in October 2004 after my second ultrasound and she advised me to either get it taken out right then so that I wouldn't have to worry about it anymore, or to just monitor it, as it wasn't growing enough to really worry about. I was only 19 at the time, and was pretty reluctant to have any kind of surgery (I never have before) so I opted to just monitor the mass on my own. Over the following three years I never noticed anything unusual with it. While I was pregnant, I noticed that it became significantly larger, and told my doctor, who said that was normal during pregnancy and breastfeeding and to follow up and have it checked again six months after I finished breastfeeding, since it would most likely return to its normal size by then. Well.... it never got smaller. In November I actually started having pain, so I went to my new doctor, Dr. Van Dell (he's awesome) and he ordered an ultrasound to check the size. The mass had more than doubled in size since 2004. He referred me to Dr. Scott McDearmont, a surgeon in Lewisville. Dr. McDearmont was very cool and to the point. He told me that he needed to test the mass, and that could be achieved by a needle biopsy or surgical removal of the entire thing. If the needle biopsy test results showed anything abnormal, I would have to have it removed anyway, and there was almost no difference in cost between the two, so I opted for the surgery.
It was scheduled for 7am on Friday, December 19th at Baylor Surgicare of Lewisville (coincidentally located about two hundred yards from my work). We had to be there at 6am (ugh). We got there, filled out a couple of forms, then I was taken back to be prepped. I changed into the ugly gown and hopped up on the bed (gurney?), at which point I got three huge, soft, really warm blankets piled on me because I was freezing. That was the best part of the whole thing. =) I met my nurse and then my anesthesiologist, who were both very nice and calming. I thought I'd be freaking out by that point but I was surprisingly okay. The only real worry I had was about a drug called Versed that they commonly give surgery patients anout a half-hour before their procedure to "calm them down". It is an amnesia drug, and you are able to follow directions and be alert and have conversations yet you never remember any of it later. I did not like the sound of that. I am one of those few people who may not like something, but I want to know every single thing about it. I wanted to be awake all the way to the operating room, look around, meet everyone in there, and still remember it all the next day. So I discussed this with my anesthesiologist, who very nicely allowed me to let me explain how I felt and then compromised with me. He was going to give it to me anyway, because apparently it helps the effectiveness of the anesthesia during the actual procedure, but he would wait until the moment they were ready to roll me into the OR to add it to my IV. It takes about five minutes to take effect, which would give me time to see everything in the OR that I wanted. I agreed, and then Dr. McDearmont came in to explain the details of the procedure (I made him tell me everything). I got to visit with David for a bit (and got another awesome hot blanket) and then it was time! The Versed was added to my IV right as the nurse unlocked the brakes on my bed and started rolling me away. I was pushed through a couple of doors and then into the OR, where I saw my doctor, and saw everything around me, and then I remember looking at huge lights above me and commenting that they were exactly like what you see on TV. My nurse laughed, and then my anesthesiologist told me to breathe deeply from this mask... one breath... another.... and then I woke up in recovery. It was great. Dr. McDearmont went to talk to David after my surgery and said that it took less than thirty minutes and the mass was completely removed. While it ended up being bigger than he expected, it had the appearance and characteristics of a harmless fibroadenoma, but he would know for sure when the results were in from the lab in a week. I was kept in Recovery for another five minutes after I woke up (I was only in there about 20 minutes total) and then brought to the Discharge room, where I got dressed and met up with David. I was alert but still a little fuzzy around the edges so the discharge nurse talked to David for me about everything. He signed something, got my pain prescription and other instructions, and then went to get the car. The nurse wheeled me to the door and I got right into the car. The car's clock said 8:24am. Talk about in and out!
I had a rough recovery at home. I was feeling fine when we got home Friday morning, and slept a lot of that day and night, only needing to take two of my Darvocet the whole day. Saturday I woke up and felt GREAT! I took one Darvocet mid-day, and that was it. I was up and moving around a little, played with Gracie some, and had a really good day! Then that night I started getting a little nauseated, but figured it was the Darvocet (I was told to eat with it). The next day I felt awful. I was sick and very weak all day. I thought it was the Darvocet, so I stopped taking it and just took Tylenol for the mild incision pain. I ended up being sick all through Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. I called Dr. McDearmont and he and his nurse were pretty convinced I must have picked up a small stomach bug, because neither Darvocet nor any of the drugs or anesthesia I had during my surgery would cause such long-lasting stomach discomfort. So I just kept up my fluids as best as I could, but I was unable to eat more than one piece of bread each day. Christmas Eve (Wednesday) was the first day I woke up feeling better, which was good because we had a big family day planned. I got really tired really fast, though, probably because of not eating well. Christmas morning I woke up feeling good again, and actually hungry for once. We had breakfast with my mom and I ate a lot... and kept it down! I still got very tired that evening, but the next day (Friday) I woke up feeling great. So it took me an entire week to recover from whatever was wrong with me. I still think I had a reaction of some sort to one or more of the drugs I was given, but I guess we'll never know.
Dr. McDearmont called me the Tuesday after my surgery and let me know that the lab test results came back great. It was a benign fibroadenoma. No cancer or anything serious. And now that it's out I don't have anything to worry about! yay! =)
So that was my first experience with surgery. Okay, I had tubes put in my ears when I was an infant, but I don't remember it at all so I wouldn't count it as an "experience". I'm happy that I was able to stay calm and trust the doctors and nurses to do a good job, very pleased that the anesthesiologist worked with me on my concerns about the Versed, and surprised at how quickly I was in and out. A good experience. Thank you to everyone who kept me in their prayers, whether you knew the whole story or not. I appreciate it, and am very grateful!
Enjoying her new play tunnel
