The surgery

On 22nd May I headed into the hospital to have my pre-operation prep. I needed an isotope injection into by left breast to track into the sentinel lymph nodes (2 lymph nodes under the arm that drain from the breast). This was a relatively painless injection undertaken by a nurse. This allows the breast surgeon to identify and remove these 2 lymph nodes for biopsy during the mastectomy part of the operation to check if the cancer has spread into the lymphatic system. It is standard practice to undertake Sentinel Lymph-Node Biopsy (SLNB) when a total mastectomy is performed.

Following this injection I saw the plastic surgery team and my plastic surgeon so that they could mark up my skin identifying the blood vessels, lymph node area, incision areas and correct breast for the surgery. This left me covered in purple marker pen and writing however, I could still shower.  

I had to be nil by mouth from midnight and could have sips of water until 6am. 

I was admitted to the day surgery unit at 7 am on 23rd May from where I would go to theatre and then on to the ward in which I would be staying. The pre-operation schedule included going through my details, medication, last food and drink and confirming the operation to several people. I also met the anaesthetist (a consultant) who would be performing my general anaesthetic and monitoring me throughout the operation.
I was taken to theatre by around 8.30 am where they checked me in and re-confirmed all my details.
I was incredibly anxious but the anaesthetist was great at calming me down and I was out before I knew what was happening.


I woke up 9 hours later (around 6 pm) being wheeled into recovery.  I felt groggy and disorientated but not in any significant pain. Everything had gone as planned. 

Unfortunately, one of my blood levels (lactate) wouldn’t settle and I needed to stay in recovery until it did. I used my patient controlled morphine pump as I was worried I would be in pain but this just made me vomit and exacerbated my high lactate further. 

I had 5 drains in (two on the side of my breast, one in the centre and one in each side of my abdomen) a catheter, two IV lines and an arterial line which they use to take blood samples from and measure my blood pressure. I also had air boots on my legs pumping up and down to help prevent blood clots. 

I also had a large piece of cotton wool cloth (known as a gamgee) which I had to hold over my breast and then they put a heating blanket on (known as a Bair Hugger). All in all the combination made me feel dreadful, hot and thirsty. I tried to drink but it made me sick. 

Eventually however, after a lot of IV fluid my lactate level came down and I could be taken to the ward. This was about 7 hours after I had left theatre (around 1am) and I felt pretty awful. 

I will cover the first night and day on the ward in my next post. If you have any questions please comment and I will be happy to answer them.