Surgery Tomorrow With Dr. Lettieri

UNFORTUNELTY THIS DID NOT GET POSTED UNTIL AFTER THE SURGERY.

When I came home from the hospital last week I was told to clean the open wound area everyday with a solution Dr.Lettieri gave me and to keep it covered. That night I came home and cleaned out the area and noticed there was a bandage or clear mesh substance covering the area. I began to clean and took that very important piece of integra out of my ear.  I can tell you it was one of the worst pains I have ever felt and bled like crazy.

Looking at this now, I can clearly see the integra

I had a post operative appointment the next day with Dr. Lettieri, he was quite amused that I had pulled out the integra.  It is a glue designed to keep the area covered and only done under  general anesthesia. Imagine how dumb I felt, good thing Dr. Lettieri had an alternative and I was ok with his funny candor as he explained the importance and expense of the integra.

This is what it looked like when I went to see
Dr. Lettieri--Integra Gone

I've spent the past week cleaning the area everyday and keeping it covered. Yesterday I visited with Dr. Lettieri after spending some time with him it was determined I will enter into surgery tomorrow.  Dr. Lettieri is going to debris the wound and fill it with integra again.  I was under the impression the wound would be stitched back up, however he explained to me the risk of another infection.  He will eventually do a skin graft over the area, then we wait and see how it heals. I will be undergoing a few more surgeries.

Day after surgery--Dr. Lettieri Blonde Proofed
the integra...it won't be coming out this time.

This surgery has really been difficult to recover from. Maybe it's from the anesthesia but I have been nauseated and dizzy for 3 days.  Today I am grateful I was able to write a couple thank you notes and lift my head off the pillow for a few minutes without sickness lingering in my head.  I have not taken any pain medicine, I will start a regimen of Advil tonight to help relieve some of the pain.