lisa

and lisa wrote to leanne with some good information:

... So sorry to hear of Moya's up coming surgery. It is horrifying
and depressing no matter what your odds are going in. I actually had 2
surgerys. The first in April 1999, then had the same open surgery on
the other breast in April 2001. The first time there was just one "fibro
adenoma" ( benign fibrous tumor) removed the second they removed 5. Of
course they did not know that they were fibro adenomoas until the
pathology came back. I had a great  breast surgeon as well, one of the
top in the field. The surgeries went great. They used conscious
sedation instead of general anesthetic, which means a quicker recovery as you
are not as deeply sedated. The pain was very minimal for me, only took a
couple of vicodin with the second surgery. With the first I tried to
take ibuprofen, which is my pain reliever of choice. But oops, also a blood
thinner, so needless to say I panicked when I began gushing blood from
my dressing. I also had a really hard time healing. Throughout both
procedures we found out the hard way that I am allergic to every type
of suture material. So my breasts kept filling up with blood and fluid,
then it would force the stitches out of my breast. I had to go in every
couple of days for 2 weeks after both surgeries to have fluid drained off with
a needle. Dr. Johnson and her collegues were very impressed with the way
my body was just spitting out the sutures. They were supposed to
dissolve, but no way. My scars are not noticable, she made the incision just
along the aereola, so scarring was not an issue, I just used vitamin e oil
for a month or so after I finally healed. The hospital will give her an
ice bag. Just remember that ice to any area of the body for over 30
minutes at a time can cause rebound swelling = pain. So break from the ice
every 30 minutes or so.



I am sure that Moya will get through this fine, but probably not without
preceeded anxiety and fear. I am certain that you will pamper her
throughout her recovery. The waiting for the results of mammograms,
ultrasounds and pathology was much harder on me than the surgery
itself. I will be thinking of her in the next couple of weeks and will be
sending thoughts of benign results her way...

note for leanne:

"I am certain that you will pamper her
throughout her recovery."