"It's Hot Out—Will the Compression Garment Be Okay?"

"It's Hot Out—Will the Compression Garment Be Okay?"

Two vague worries

This patient wrote his pre-surgery state of mind this way: "Vaguely—will the surgery go well? It's hot out, will the compression garment be okay?"

The word "vaguely" is precise. Most pre-surgery worry arises not from concrete grounds but from not yet knowing. Vague worry is fastest reduced with information. The period and method of wearing a compression garment, and the knack for managing it in a hot season—these are things you can prepare for if you know them in advance.

Here is how I explain the compression garment. For the first 12 to 48 hours after surgery there is a risk of bleeding, so you wear additional compression over the garment, and because the chest and abdomen are pressed twice over, this period is the most uncomfortable. When you come in the next day and we check for bleeding and then remove the extra compression, it becomes much more comfortable. The garment itself is admittedly confining, but it's a necessary process to press the skin, stretched after surgery, closely against the chest so it adheres. When patients understand this reason, most bear it well even in a hot season.

From consultation to decision

About the consultation, this patient wrote: "I felt reassured after the consultation and decided on surgery right away."

Sometimes a worry hesitated over for years turns into a decision after a single consultation. Not because the consultation is anything special, but because what had been vague begins to appear concretely. Once you know the identity of your worry, the decision is closer than you'd think.

Having no memory of the surgery

When I asked about his memory during surgery, he said he had no memory.

That time he had vaguely feared passed without even leaving a memory. There may be no answer that shows better the distance between pre-surgery worry and actual experience.

The surgery is performed under local anesthesia with an injection around the areola, and it begins with the words, "This will sting, please bear with just this part." The actual operating time is about thirty minutes. Over years I've shortened the time considerably through accumulated surgical know-how, and because a shorter operation is safer for the patient, I regard this as important.

Exercise and golf

When I asked what he most wanted to do after surgery, he named exercise and golf.

With every swing, every time clothing clung to his body, there must have been a spot that bothered him. From now on, I hope he can focus only on the ball, not on his body.

Regarding exercise, I explain that during the recovery period upper-body exercise is prohibited, but light walking or lower-body squats are fine. For sports like golf that use the upper body heavily, I tend to set the timing while watching the recovery. Understand it not as a stretch of being unable to do anything, but as our telling you which things you can do and which to postpone.

To those hesitating before summer

This patient left a very strong recommendation, to the effect that others should hurry. I'm grateful for that sentiment, but I'd like to put it a little differently. Surgery is not something to decide on a recommendation, but something to judge after confirming your own condition through an examination.

That said, for those who, because of vague worry, are putting off even looking into it, there's no harm in hurrying to confirm the identity of that worry. From the very moment you come in and talk with me, the resolution of the worry can begin. I may not be able to solve everything, but most people leave with their questions sorted out. I hope you won't hold it in alone but will come in for a consultation with ease.