My husband and I went as scheduled to the surgery center at 6:20 a.m. This time was far easier; no compression stockings, no IV, not much of anything really. Dr. Askren gave us two nipple tabs to place where we thought they should be. He'd already told us most people are off the mark. But oh, no, not my hubby. He placed them (from memory, he said!). Askren got out his tape measure, marked me up and was amazed. Andy had placed the tabs exactly right! (And I thought he had early Alzheimer's!) That's some memory. A nurse told us one patient pulled out red nipple tassles and put them on. When the doctor came in, he got quite a laugh. I wish I'd thought of that, but then I would have had to find those tassles!
You're awake during this surgery, but Dr. Askren said they would cover my face, so I wouldn't be able to steal his secrets! I don't want to know how he does it, but the end result is amazing!
The surgery took about 40 minutes. He numbed me first, but I could feel tugging and pulling as he worked to create the nipples. A lot of snipping as the nurse cut the thread as he stitched and stitched.
Then, it was up and out of there. Dr. Askren warned that the nipples would look huge, and they do, but they'd shrink down to normal size. He cuts a small piece of the top of a syringe and places it over the nipple to protect from bumping. Now, who would have thought of that?
It's all so amazing; you have to wonder who came up with this methodology. There's some pain after, but nothing worth complaining about. And I can't walk too fast or I feel it.
I'm bandaged up to protect it all, but when I first took the bandages off and looked in the mirror, my only thought was: How the heck did he get my skin to stretch and work itself into that? It actually might have been interesting to watch, because it's far too hard to believe. It's a miracle of sorts. I guess Dr. Askren is right: It's an art.
Now, we wait again for the swelling and nipples to heal. Next stop: My first tattoo!
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