#andrewives

[allthatglittas]

10 months post-op

[allthatglittas]

Day Two Post-Op

It feels very surreal to even say, but I am officially two days post-op, currently recovering in an apartment not too far from Andy Ives office and surgery. My op was on Wednesday 1st July at around 1:30pm and it took roughly two hours. 

I arrived at the surgery around 12:30pm to be admitted. I hadn’t eaten anything since the night before and stopped drinking water around 10:30am. I met with a nurse who checked off my details, ran over if I had any medical conditions or allergies [which fortunately I don’t] and asked me to get changed into a medical gown and put DVT stockings on. I was then told that Amar, the anaesthetist, would visit me soon. The nurse actually went on to tell me then that “Amar is an Indian woman, but she is very competent” like I would have any doubt in Amar’s abilities anyway? Perhaps they are used to dealing with entitled, racist arseholes accessing plastic surgery most days? I don’t know, but I was really taken back by this and couldn't believe she even said it. ***

After that interaction I was feeling more than a little apprehensive about the nurses and my nerves were in full swing. That nurse left and Amar came in shortly after this and was so so reassuring. She was actually the perfect person to chat to at that point, we had a good laugh about her dosing me up on the good stuff and she assured me that she would do everything she could to make me feel relaxed. 

Andy came in a bit after this to draw the lines on me where he would incisions. I find Andy friendly, but also direct and to the point. I trust his abilities and felt like he knew exactly what he was doing. We didn’t talk a great deal, I just let him focus on getting the lines right. Directly after this I said goodbye to my partner [who was able to stay with me while being admitted] and I walked into the surgery room.

Amar was in the room and was totally amazing. She gave me some anti-nausea drugs in my drip and was very very reassuring, talking me through everything and even distracted me with conversations about dogs while putting me under [well played Amar]. She also gave me a relaxant before knocking me out, which made me pretty unaware of everything and just super chilled. 

When I woke up I was very groggy and out of it, but surprisingly not nauseous. I ate some fruit and had some lemonade. A few hours later I made the mistake of having minestrone soup, which didn’t go down so well and I ended up have a little spew. Aside from that though, I was totally fine, just way doped up still and keen for sleep.

After I woke up the nursing staff were pretty good, personal favourites were Sophie and Jang. Some down sides though, I did find it a bit difficult that no one asked my pronoun and the nurses would continually swap between he or she, even though I identify with ‘they’. *** I also felt a bit rushed in the morning, as they obviously wanted to clear the room out for another patient. I found that surprising seeing as I had paid $3000 to stay there and was so freshly operated on!

I slept a lot better than I thought I would, though I did have an endone and have been taking one before bed every night just to knock me out a bit since. I’m also taking panadol x2 and antibiotics 4 times a day. Plus my supplements, which are:

Arnica pills without food/between meals x4 a day

Quercertain and bromelain pills x3 a day with food

Vitamin C and Zinc x3 a day Probiotic x1 a day

Vitamin A and B x1 a day

I’m also having lots of miso soup with shitake mushrooms and seaweed, and turmeric and chamomile tea - all super foods for healing and inflammation. 

Overall the pain has been pretty manageable. I did have half an endone yesterday every 4 or 5 hours just to manage the discomfort more so. Today I haven’t had any.

So far I’m really happy with how everything is travelling. Keen to get my drains out on Monday, as they are pretty annoying and in the way, but manageable much like all aspects of this process so far. 

I am super grateful to not have had any complications and from the brief previews I’ve had of my chest so far, everything looks so good and flat!

HOT POST-OP TIP: The meds [painkillers and also the anaesthetic still coming out of your system] will probably give you intense stank, but at the same time I found I didn’t want to put deodorant on to avoid any chemicals going anywhere near my incisions. My advice is to rub bicarb soda into your pits. It absorbs smells and I found it totally reduced my stink almost completely. Especially helpful in the first week when showering isn’t really a thing. 

*** I am going to give feedback re the comment the nurse made about Amar and also suggest they invest time into asking about pronouns. I think this should be on the intake paperwork, so that this can be clear from the start.

[transitional-summit]

Top Surgery in Australia

Top Surgery

For me, the focus of my dysphoria was mainly directedtowards my chest. Therefore the beginning of my transition consisted of gettingthe surgery ball rolling.

I felt pretty overwhelmed about where to start and what to expect, so below are the steps I went through to get my top surgery booked in Australia. 

Surgeons require a letter from a psychologist or psychiatrist before you’re considered for surgery.

So I first went to my local GP for a referral to see a psychiatrist. She     fortunately knew of Dr Helen Hoey in Brisbane that specialises in transgender patients.

I saw Dr Hoey once a month for 3 months before being given my surgery referral letter in August. ($190 each session + Medicare rebate)

After extensive surgeon research, I decided on Dr Andrew Ives in Melbourne.

I booked an initial consult with him in September which involved flying to Melbourne, as he needs to see you in person to give accurate surgical options. ($200 + Medicare rebate)

Dr Ives was professional, approachable and overall lovely guy.

At that consult, I was given potential dates and all the information relating to surgery.

Surgery was then locked in for 5th December!

I then had a phone consult a couple of weeks later with Andy for any follow-up questions or concerns.

Your psychiatrist referral will only be valid for 3 month, so you’ll need to     get that renewed if your surgery date is outside that time.  

 Even though I had private health insurance, my level of cover did not include plastic/reconstructive surgery (I had basic hospital and required standard hospital). I could change my coverage but would have to wait another 12 months, which just wasn’t a plausible option!

I highly recommend organising health insurance as soon as you feel that surgery is on the cards. By quoting the Medicare item number (my procedure number was 45520 x2) to your insurer, they will inform you if you’re covered.

 Below is a rough breakdown of the costs to expect if you are an uninsured patient. I paid all of these expenses upfront preoperatively and then claimed some with Medicare post surgery. 

Surgeon     fees $3300 – rebate $1000

Assistant     surgeon fees $200 – rebate $200

Hospital     fees $3200 – would have been covered by private health insurance

Anaesthetic     fees $2500 – rebate $550 and more would have been covered by private     health insurance

Pathology     fees $150 – rebate $100  

I only required one night in hospital with no complications. If you are required to go back to theatre or any additional treatment, these costs will change. 

I had two post operative appointments with Andy (drains and dressings), which are free. 

Coming from interstate, I also had the cost of accommodation. It’s recommended that you plan for 2 weeks away from home, as you have appointments day 5 and day 12 post operatively.

 This is my surgical experience and may differ from you. But hopefully you found it informative and a rough idea of what to expect. Happy to answer any questions you may have.