Deja Vu All Over Again

Here I sit again at LFH waiting for Lynn to return. This time I got to follow Lynn into the recovery room, but after that...Ok, we know that drill. Right now Lynn is in surgery to swap out the spacer for an implant. The hope is that the surgery will clean out the area and, via the implant, cause less future irritation to the site. She should be out in an hour or so. Dr L says it's a simple procedure. The cultures all came back negative, but Dr L and Dr Se thought that this is the best next step. Oral antibiotics once we're done and potentially leaving today (again).

For those of you who have been playing along from home, let me recap the week:

Monday - Surgery at 7:30am

• Dr L was in for someone else's surgery and stopped in to see Lynn. Wasn't happy with the swelling, redness and heat around the right breast.
• Lynn is in surgery with Drs H and W which takes a little longer than expected but completes with no complications
• Dr L confers with Dr I about the "infection" and he agrees that this is not a normal result of post-radiation.
• Dr L confers with ID about issues and is getting blood tests. Schedules Lynn for an Ultrasound and Ultrasound-guided aspiration.
• Lynn is released to a shared room with strong antibiotics for the infection in addition to the surgery. The swelling and redness of the infection are much less now (marked improvement which is noted as promising by all doctors.
• After speaking with the head of nursing, Lynn is moved into her own room. Dr H visits and reassures us that everything went really well and from a surgery perspective she should be able to leave by tomorrow. She assumes that the infection will keep us here longer.
• Lynn and I both spend the night int he hospital. The nausea is not great, but the pain is minimal. We both get at least 5 hours of sleep which is great for Lynn.

Tuesday - Ultrasound, Aspiration at 12:00 PM

• Blood draws most of the day to monitor status of infection and surgery. BP low but slowly rising.
• Drs H and L stop in to confirm another night of stay but that all in all everything is looking good from surgery and infection aspects. ID doctor to visit later.
• Dr I stopped by to confirm that everything looked much better.
• Lynn is brought in to Radiology and they aspirate a good deal of fluid which is sent to ID for analysis.
• Lynn is eating better, but nothing interesting yet.
• Dr Se visits to review Lynn's case. He needs more conclusive evidence from the culture on how to proceed. He wants to get the best antibiotic for the infection he can and will base it on the culture. He is concerned that the spacer will need to be removed.
• Lynn sleeps on and off during the day. The nausea is nearly gone, but eating remains uninteresting
• Dr B stopped by to visit. She also agrees that the surgery was great news and is waiting for the path for final confirmation
• I sleep at home and Lynn spends the night in the hospital.

Wednesday - Awaiting culture results and next steps

• Lynn has a rough night which results in a much higher level of care and attention
• Dr L stopped in and is happy with the improvement around the infection
• Dr H stopped by to review and says that if it was just surgery, Lynn would be going home. The path report on the washings is negative which is great news.
• Dr L has Radiology install a PICC line (a more permanent IV) at 9:15 AM so that Lynn can take home IV antibiotics. Side benefit of no more sticks with a needle.
• Dr Se stops in and confirms nothing from culture
• I sleep at home and Lynn spends the night at the hospital. We both sleep much better.

Thursday

• I go to work after stopping in at the hospital. Gab takes the morning shift (thanks Gab!)
• Dr L stopped by to let Lynn know that he wants her out as soon as possible.
• ID confirms culture negative, but suggests removal of implant
• Dr L and Dr Se confer and agree to a morning surgery to clean the area and swap the spacer for an implant. The hope is that doing so will remove any remaining bacteria fluid and reduce irritation from the spacer. Implants have no edges to rub against the skin.
• I sleep at home and Lynn spends the night at the hospital. Lynn sleeps great, but I don't sleep well at all. I arrive at the hospital at 5:30 am for the day.