On the Operating Table - A Patient’s Diary: Part Two

In my last blog I described the run-up to my four-procedure surgery (rhinoplasty, blepharoplasty, lipo and fat grafting) at Ocean Clinic Marbella. Now find out what happened when I woke up post-op…

Immediately Post-Op

The first thing I’m aware of is being woken by a nurse and finding myself in a bed in the recovery room. I can’t actually remember who it was (it’s all too hazy), but she helped me into a dressing gown and then into a wheelchair. She pushed me back to my room and helped me into bed before hooking me up to a drip.

The anesthetist had warned me that I might feel a bit nauseous and cold when I work up, but I didn’t. I just felt tired and like I had sinus pressure on my face – my nose was in a splint and my nostrils were packed.

The morning after surgery

My husband arrived shortly afterwards and became a bit emotional when he saw me all bandaged up, but I reassured him I was okay. He took a picture to share with my close friends who were also concerned about me.

Nurse Marina brought me a nice cup of sweet tea and a cup of creamy soup – both served with a straw! My lips, which I’d had fat injected into, felt very blown up and a bit numb so I had some difficulty trying to grasp the straw and only managed about half the soup before I felt too exhausted to continue.

“Sorry darling, but I need to sleep now,” I told my husband, who promised to come back again later.

Marina attached a special cooling eye mask to my face, which has iced water continuously pumped through it and helps to minimise bruising and swelling. I wore it while I slept, propped up on pillows to prevent blood rushing to my head.

Later, I felt well enough to get up and have a little potter around my room (wheeling my drip with me). Of course, I wanted to have a look in the mirror! I didn’t look as bad as I expected. I could see tiny little stiches under my bottom eyelids but the bruising and swelling was minimal. 

My room

 I was starting to feel hungry so I tucked into the chocolate bar that I’d bought with me. I had to pause every few mouthfuls to take a breath through my mouth because my nose was blocked, but I managed to finish it and felt much better once the sugar hit my bloodstream.

Then Marina came by with a menu for dinner and I chose a starter of ratatouille and egg, and main of pork fillet and fries. My friend had told me the post-op food at Ocean Clinic was great and I was worried I wouldn’t be able to really enjoy it, but when it came I ate a surprising amount (it was delicious).

Soon, I felt so good that I was sitting up watching a film and when my husband came I stood and chatted animatedly until we got a call from our babysitter saying our son had woken and was crying for Mummy.  He’s only three and a half but I’d told him Mummy was going to hospital for an operation to prepare him for seeing me beaten and bruised. What made it slightly easier was that our puppy had been to the vets a few days earlier to be neutered so he understood the concept of going to hospital. He did want to know if I’d also “had an operation on my willy”!

I spoke to him to let him know I was okay, but my husband left early to go and be with him. My next visitors were Dr. Kaye and Dr. Kästner. They were very pleased with how my surgery had gone and Dr Kaye told me he had given me a “nice, cute nose”. He also informed me that he had removed 250 mls of fat from my tummy and found a good home for 50 mls of it in my face.

Marina popped in to see how I was doing and attend to my IV.  I was just letting her get on with it and I didn’t realise she was taking some blood. When I saw it in the tube I screamed and we both jumped back with shock! I started to feel faint so she told me to lie down on the sofa and raise my legs and I had soon gotten over it.

Marina encouraged me to put my ice mask back on. I’d removed it because I couldn’t see through it, but I knew what a difference it could make to the healing process so I laid down on the sofa and she reaffixed it. She put on my audio book for me, topped up the meds in my drip and fetched me a tablet to help me sleep.

I found sleeping on the sofa more comfortable as I could prop my pillows up in the corner and I soon drifted off. I woke sometime later (about 4.30 am) and could feel something dripping down my hand. It took me a while to realise it was blood from my IV and I was all tangled up with the tube from the ice mask and the tube from the drip so I reached for the telephone that had been left by my side to call for help.  

Marina rushed to help me, got me a fresh duvet and mopped up where I’d made a mess. Thankfully, I didn’t panic at the sight of the blood this time, which may have something to do with the relaxing tablet I’d taken.

I got back to sleep again and in the morning I had a delicious breakfast of toast and jam with tea – I knew all the sugar wouldn’t be good for my newly slim-line figure, but it was just what I needed at the time.

I spent another couple of hours lying with my ice mask on, listening to my audio book – it did stop me going crazy with boredom! Dr. Kaye came by to check me over and discharged me, and by 10.30 am I was dressed, packed and ready to go home.

I thanked everybody for taking such good care of me and was escorted out – there is a back way so you don’t need to go through and scare people waiting in reception! I did still have to face a few people on the street as I waited for my husband to pull up in the car and I wished I’d bought some dark glasses, but soon I was on my way home, where my recovery would begin in earnest…

Find out how I got on recovering at home in Part Three – and what I thought when the bandages came off! In the meantime, if you’re considering having treatment yourself, contact Ocean Clinic to book a free consultation.