Hold tight! I am copying all of my ear pictures from my netbook (which I only use when I'm traveling) to my home computer. I need them all on one device to be able to make the comparison collages and such, and this computer (my home one) has a much larger screen and is easier to work on. I will try to catch up on posts later tonight, but for sure by tomorrow evening.
I did, however, want to take the time to post about how my recovery has been going. I am still very sleepy. I sleep about 12 hours a night, and am exhausted by half way through the day, but force myself to stay up and get things done (there is a TON to do after being gone a month and being in the process of finding a part-time job). Some days are worse than others. It doesn't help that I was just starting to not feel completely exhausted when I flew home, and I really haven't had a day to recoup since then.
The revision skin graft has been a challenge. It swelled so much that the edges of it really pulled away from the attached skin on the ear. When I look at the photos I take, I can see the stitches and that the edges of the skin don't meet. Luckily, the graft itself (the middle) is pink with blood circulation and attached. Now, it's just a healing waiting game. I am texting Dr. Griffiths photos of the graft every day so that we can keep a close eye on it. He also extended my script for the antibiotic he put me on after the second surgery. For now, I slather it with bacitracin and cover that with non-stick gauze (which sticks to the ointment so no tape of anything...it's not usually very noticeable from the front). I noticed that it was looking pretty bad about 4 days ago, and at this point it seems to be looking better and better everyday! But we're still keeping a close eye on it to be safe.
The other annoying thing is my rib area started hurting again yesterday. I noticed it when I would stretch upwards so my stomach would lengthen. The area below the incision felt tight and a little heavy. It got a little worse as the day went on. However, as far as swelling in that area goes, it's not totally gone, but still improving (I sit down and reach for my toes - first to the right foot, then the left. At first I couldn't even reach my toes on my right side, now I can, but it's just a little stiffer in my stomach). Today it still feels stiff when I move certain ways, and tonight it's starting to be a little achy. If I push in on my stomach in certain areas on that side it is sore (the other side is not...I checked). I did let Dr. Griffiths know, but again, it's just something to monitor at this point. I hope it goes away soon and doesn't get worse!! It doesn't hurt enough to 'hurt', just enough to be a nuisance. I want to try to get out and walk more though, to see if that helps. I know in the hospital, getting up and walking helped the pain, and I have not had as many opportunities to get out and walk at home because the weather has been either rainy, or cold and snowy. I'm thinking I might have to resort to going for a walk around the mall tomorrow...but I can't spend any money, so that's going to be hard!
The incision on my abdomen has been without any scabs for about 2 weeks now. I have been using a silicone scar sheet to help make the scar as small as possible. It's still discolored, and there were some raised areas on either side of the incision, and 3 days with the scar sheets has already helped the raised areas flatten out.
The original skin graft on my right thigh/groin crease area is FINALLY scabbed over completely!!! Day 28 (Christmas Eve-the day I flew home) it finally closed in the one area that hadn't yet. It went from a gaping 3/4 inch wide to about 1/2 cm wide overnight with the scab!! A few days ago, half of the scab was able to come off...the other area (about an inch long), which was where it was widest and deepest, is no where near ready to shed yet.
The second skin graft on the other thigh/groin crease that was used in the revision skin graft surgery is healing much better. It also gaped some in the middle (Dr. Griffiths said that's pretty common, and some are much worse than mine) but only about 1/4 cm at the widest, and about 2 cm long. It's healing well too.
The back of my left ear (that skin was used to cover the new ear) is pretty much completely healed, although it's a weird texture and color compared to the other skin in that area. It's amazing how different skin on different areas of the body can be!! Luckily, unless I pull the rim of that ear forward, there's no way anyone will ever see it.
My head has become much less numb. About the time I flew back, I started getting feeling farthest away from the new ear, near the top of my head (the area I had complained about a few weeks ago...it was itchy but I couldn't scratch the itch because the outer skin was numb). The only place on my scalp I still can't feel is the area above the ear, which is where Dr. Griffiths removed the TP fascia flap from (the vascularized middle layer of skin with all the nerve endings - hence it's numb - which was the under layer of skin he used to cover the skin. This means I should have some feeling back in the new ear in about another couple months. It is also why he is able to make the out skin graft adhere to cartilage - full thickness skin grafts can't survive without blood supply, and harvested cartilage doesn't have any blood supply, there has to be a layer in between to supply that). The area above the ear will fill in a bit from the outer edges with some nerve endings, but will always have not much feeling. However, it's more important that my ear has feeling since it sticks out farther from my head, and therefore has a higher risk of trauma than the skin above my ear.
So, there's how things are healing...33 days post-op.
No comments:
Post a Comment