Prior to your surgery, you would have had at least two consultations with Mr Yaprak.
If you have any questions at all working up to your procedure, please feel free to contact the rooms, and we would be happy to book you further pre-op consultations to ensure you are well informed and to answer any questions you may have about your upcoming procedure.
You will be given a date for your procedure. Your procedure will take place in Braemar Hospital, in Hamilton. Prior to your procedure you will be asked to fill out two pre-op forms online. One is the Braemar Hospital, and one is for the anaesthetist.
You will meet the anaesthetist on the morning of surgery, but if you would like to talk to him to discuss your anaesthetic prior to your surgery day, he is happy to call you and answer any questions you may have.
Prior to your procedure we ask that you notify us if you are taking any prescription blood thinning medication. In addition to this, we ask that you stop any homeopathic/herbal supplements that affect blood flow, as these can thin your blood also. This includes St Johns wart, Ginkgo biloba, garlic supplements etc. Vitamin C is fine to take pre-op.
It is very important if you are a smoker to stop smoking, and the use of any nicotine based products for at least 6 weeks prior to surgery, and 4 weeks post op. Smoking affects your body’s ability to heal, significantly, so ceasing smoking pre and post op is recommended.
In the weeks working up to your surgery, it is important to look after your health to minimise the risk of illness prior to surgery. If you do become unwell working up to your surgery date, please notify Mr Yapraks rooms as soon as you can.
Please ensure that you have support at home for household chores for post op (there are some benefits). If you live alone, you may want to pre-prepare meals, and ensure you have groceries that will last you at least a week post op if you do not have someone to do this for you post op.
Please expect that you may not feel like driving for about 1 week post-op, so we recommend you do not book further appointments in this period. If you have child pick up/drop off commitments, we also recommend you arrange assistance with this for at least a week post op.
You will be required to wear a non-wire sports bra for 6 weeks post op. You will be fitted with a post-op bra in surgery, but we do recommend that you purchase another 1-2 sports bras, preferably the ones that can be done up in the front. These can be found at specialist bra shops, k-mart, the warehouse etc. It is difficult to anticipate the size bra you will require post op, but please buy the size that you have discussed with Bulent that would be ideal for you, and these should be slightly loose fitting to allow for post op swelling also.
Please ensure that you have tops/shirts that are loose fitting and open down the front, and pack one of these in your hospital bag for when you are discharged home. It is recommended that you have a few tops like this, as they will be more comfortable to get into and wear in the weeks following surgery.
On admission to Braemar, you will see a pre-op nurse. You will also see the anaesthetist that will carry out your anaesthetic.
Following this, Mr Yaprak will carry out the final written consent process, and take pre-op photos if he has not done so in your consultation.
You will be shown to your post-op room and prepared for surgery.
You will not be able to eat for 6 hours before your admission time.
Please let us know if you have diabetes or any other dietary considerations that may be affected by this. You will, however, be able to drink Water only up until 2 hours before your admission time to hospital. These details will be given to you 2-3 days before your operation date.
Mr Yaprak will assess your readiness to be discharged home after 1 night in hospital. You will have drains in post op. Often these are removed the next day, but sometimes these need to remain for 3-5 days post op. This will be decided and discussed with you before being discharged from hospital.
If you need to keep these drains in when discharged, we will see you in clinic 3-5 days post op to remove these in clinic. Over this time, you will have the drain bottles in a bag that you can carry around with you at home.
You will be given a prescription for analgesia and antibiotics. Please ensure that the driver that is picking you up post-op can stop at a pharmacy and get this prescription for you.
You will be discharged from hospital with your suture lines taped with wide white tapes. You may also have a padding over this.
You will need to keep these areas dry for 48 hours. If your padding is in place, this can be removed prior to having a shower 2 days post op. It is ok after 48 hours to get the white taping over your suture lines damp in the shower, but these must be DRIED thoroughly straight afterwards. A hair dryer is the most effective way to do this.
You will have a clinic appointment between 1-2 weeks post op. At this appointment your taping will be removed, and your suture lines will be checked. These areas will be taped again after this.
We recommend that your scars will be taped for about 2 months post op. This continual taping helps with settling and supporting your scar as it heals. At about 4-6 weeks, you may commence gentle massage along the scar to help soften the scar tissue. You will be shown how to do this at your follow up appointment.
When it comes time to remove all taping, we do recommend that gentle massage continues with a moisturiser. Any unperfumed moisturiser is fine, but Vitamin E or vitamin C, or rosehip infused moisturisers are beneficial for scarring.
Gentle mobilisation is important post operatively to prevent blood clots. Please ensure you mobilise around your house and ensure that if you are sitting for long periods, that you actively move your legs and feet.
You will likely be discharged from Braemar with compression stockings. Please continue to wear these for 1 week following the surgery, or until your mobilisation increases. You may resume light exercise 2 weeks post -op.
It is normal for you to feel tired for at least one week post -op. Allow your body time to heal and please don’t rush back into a lot of activities.
Please expect that your breasts may appear swollen and slightly hard in the first 4-6 weeks post op. If this does not settle at all or you think the firmness and swelling is increasing after this period, please notify us of this.
Once the wounds have settled, we will organise 2-3 follow up appointments for you in the year following your surgery to come into clinic for review. We ask that you please call us if you have any questions, or you would like to be reviewed sooner.
You may start wearing an underwire bra at about 3 months post op. Please continue to wear the soft non-underwire support bra over this three month period.
Following your surgery you may notice that you have nipple sensation changes. This can take 3-6 months post op for this to settle.
We recommend you do not carry out strenuous exercise/activity for about 2 weeks post op while your wounds heal. After this, you will be guided by your comfort as to what you can do. Starting with lighter activity and increasing as you can tolerate it.
We acknowledge that this is a lot of information, so please remember that this is just an indicator of typical expectations of what to expect following your surgery, and your recovery may vary slightly from timeframes that have been mentioned.
The most important thing for us is that you keep in touch with us, remembering that we are here to support you through your recovery.
We look forward to carrying out your procedure for you.
Kind regards
Mr Bulent Yaprak and team.
