Surgery
Lumpectomy and mastectomy compared honestly, how to choose, the kinds of mastectomy, what happens to the lymph nodes, and margins.
Read about surgery →Home › Surgery and recovery
Surgery & recovery
Surgery, and the weeks after it
The two operations and how to choose between them, what happens to the lymph nodes, reconstruction, and then the part that starts when you get home: a page that counts the days with you, the instructions by topic, the exercises, and exactly when to pick up the phone.
Before and during
Reconstruction
Implants and flaps compared, immediate or delayed, reconstruction if you are having radiation, prostheses, and the option of not reconstructing at all.
Read about reconstruction →After you get home
My recovery, day by day
Tell the page what operation you had and when, and it shows what is normal today, what you can do, and what is coming, with a daily check-in. Everything stays on your device.
Open my recovery →After-surgery instructions, by topic
Dr. Perkins’ own instructions for the first day, the incision, the binder, showering, pain medicine, activity, drains, and the follow-up visit, plus lymph node surgery, reconstruction, and ports.
Read the instructions →Arm and shoulder exercises
Gentle movement from day one, stretching once the drain is out, and protecting the arm for the long term after node surgery.
See the exercises →When to call, and when to call 911
Fever, redness, swelling, pain that is getting worse, and the short list that is an emergency tonight rather than a phone call tomorrow.
Know when to call →
Your paperwork comes first
The written instructions you were given when you went home come first. The after-surgery instructions and the drain log app carry Dr. Perkins’ own instructions. When something here does not match your paperwork, follow the paperwork and call the office.
Something does not look right?
Call the office and ask. There is no wrong reason to call, and no question too small. For what needs a call tonight rather than tomorrow, see when to call, and when to call 911.