I had my post-skin-graft-surgery visit with the plastic surgeon today. All is well! The graft looks very good, and should be healed up within a couple of weeks. "Healed" in this context means no more raw looking skin, and (this is VERY EXCITING) no more daily dressings! For the last NINE WEEKS I have had some kind of dressing on my head wound that has to be changed daily. This typically has consisted of: a thick coating of antibiotic ointment; covered by thin strips of a petrolatum cream imbued gauze known as Xeroform; and that covered up with a white gauze wrap. Daily dressings are tedious and awful. For six weeks, a visiting nurse did it - he was West African, in his 50s, and wore the most godawful cloud of cologne. He was a perfectly fine nurse, but I was glad when it was at the point that Seth could easily do it, and I didn't have to have a stranger be in my house every day.
For the past week, post surgery, I have had a veritable beehive of gauze and padding on my head that just stayed on there. Part of it was stitched on to my scalp; that was a pressure dressing, designed to keep the grafted skin in place; the rest was more padding, wrapping and tape to keep the whole thing protected and in place. It stood literally four inches high from the top of my head, and I was wrapped like a mummy, with gauze going over my ears and under my chin, like a cartoon toothache sufferer. You can imagine that this was A LITTLE ANNOYING. Also: ITCHY. I am so happy that it's off, and that I just have the daily dressing now, which is easily hidden under scarves and hats, so I can go out in public again. Yes, I am vain, and I do prefer not looking like I should be in a hospital or mental institution. No, I took no pictures of it, because I hope to make it fade away like a bad dream.
I've also had the skin graft donor site to deal with - a 2 x 6 inch rectangle on my upper outer left thigh. It was covered with a huge adhesive dressing that covered my outer thigh from hip almost to my knee. It was just gross, because the site oozes and drains as it heals, and I had to tape surgical pads to the bottom edge to absorb the grossness, and ugh, just grooooossss. Did I mention I wasn't allowed to shower or get in a bath for a week? Thank goodness it's not summer. Now I'm allowed to bathe fully, though I still can't wash my hair for a few more days - the surgeon wants to keep the skin graft site dry for a little longer.
Now, I just have a little patch of Xeroform on the donor site; it will heal up in another week, and the rectangle will ultimately look mostly like my other skin; maybe a shade lighter.
So. Where am I then? In a couple of weeks, no more dressings! I have delved into my stash of long, filmy scarves to tie around my head like wide headbands, a la 1960's "Mad Men"; they cover the dressing well, and should do the same for the poor bald spots on the top of my head. I have invested in some wide cloth headbands for the same purpose.
Seth says I look great in scarves and hats, and even though he's obviously biased, I'm going to believe him.
The next surgical step, the insertion of a tissue expander, is at least three months away. My plastic surgeon recommends that amount of time at a minimum; we want the skin to completely heal on my head, and want me to be fully healthy and strong. The wounds/scars/skin may still contract a little, which means the bald spots will be smaller. Hair may grow back in places. We want to let all of this happen before starting the next long process in repairing my head.
It's still a long road: a surgery for the tissue expander; 8-10 weeks of slowly injecting saline to expand my scalp tissue; then another surgery to take out the expander and move the scalp tissue to cover the bald spots. The good thing is that we can plan it. The bad thing is that I have to do it, and that it's going to be uncomfortable and inconvenient and scary and painful.
But today, I'm a step closer to the end of this odyssey. Right now, I'm frankly effing giddy, because I can walk! I'm starting physical therapy soon! My left leg is stronger every day! I can go out in public! I can do things again! I can take care of myself and my kids and my family! I can damn near feel normal! One step closer to coming back to myself.
I'm ridiculously happy for you! Congratulations!
Posted by: Wendryn | Saturday, February 07, 2015 at 08:13 PM