The swelling improved for me once the surgical drain tubes came out (7-10 days post-op). The tenderness lasted a little longer, Morse in the drain tube site than anywhere else. That was the worst part of the reconstruction process so far.

On a positive note…..I recently had my first expander fill and it was no where near as painful as what I expected 😊 I’m terrified of needles but the needle used to insert saline into the exapander was no worse than having my mediport accessed (they used lidocaine cream to numb the site before the fill).

The filling process itself is different for everyone, however for me it felt like the sensation of receiving IV fluids, just in the chest area instead of thru a vein. There was a feeling of fullness in the expander site initially, followed by some muscle tenderness/soreness in my pec muscle the first 2-3 days (my expander had to be placed under the pec muscle). Just be sure to take it easy the first couple of days and take any mild muscle relaxers/pain medicine as directed (OTC pain relievers were enough for me). You might also ask about using warm compresses instead of muscle relaxers also, as the muscle pain is minimal compared to post-op.

@A MyBCTeam Member have you tried ice? My drain ports hurt like hell till Dr took them out.

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