Reconstruction Advice/Recent mastectomy
I am now attempting to take in all of the info re: reconstructive surgery-and am overwhelmed any friendly advice to share?
Would appreciate all responses-
Much Love to All-
Pretty in Pink:)
Comments
-
Pretty in Pink
In my case it took a little while for everything to sink in I guess it is a coping mechanism that some of us feel rather disconnected from our bodies and what is really happening. Keep coming here for a comfort zone, our sisters will be right here to hold your hand every step of the way. The underlying fears are very common and I myself still have many. I think though that to just do one day at a time is really helpful..and that it will take time for the fear to lesson bit by bit. I don't know if it will ever go away..but it will get better.
As for reconstructive surgery..my Dr. said i would probably have to wait a couple of years, I think because i need to do radiation first and heal. I am stage 111a, with 6 lymph nodes involved. What stage are you? this could also make a difference, with reconstruction. I know there are many sisters here who have or are having it done and they will be able to tell you of the different procedures.
I welcome you to this group although i wish we could have met elsewhere. You will find much support and comfort here.
love and hugs
Jackie0 -
Hi PIP,
Welcome - although I am new too - and I agree and cannot express how great it is to see that there are others with similar experiences, thoughts and 'issues'.
I had my mastectomy in November 2007. I was very upset from the start about the thought of losing my nipple. (Yes, I know that is very weird, but I knew that they could give me another breast but I wanted MY nipple.) It took me 46 years to become comfortable with my body and then it had to change. Because I was so upset with looking different, I chose to start my reconstruction at the same time as the mastectomy. Obviously it goes differently for everyone but this how things went for me.
Tissue expander was placed at time of mastectomy - this is needed to stretch out the pectoral prior to another implant is placed. I chose to do it at the time of the mastectomy because I wanted to keep the skin that I had but I believe that when it is done post-mastectomy it is just inflated at a slower rate so that the skin stretches and grows along with the increases.
Although I loved the tissue expander because it was able to give me somewhat of a breast right from the start (I am quite large breasted) but I pretty much hated it because it was quite hard. I called it my tupperware bowl. That is an exageration of how it was but it was hard. The saline additions were somewhat painful but I only needed Tylenol for the pain.
Because I needed to have radiation, and the TE has a metal circle on it where they add the saline, I had the TE replaced with a saline implant prior to radiation. At this point you would chose the next step - an implant or a 'flap' surgery.
My saline implant survived the radiation quite well but they can get hard from the radiation. I recently had my good breast lifted and reduced as well. It was rather difficult to live with one perky boob (the implant) and one hanging at my waist.) My next step will be to have a DIEP Flap surgery in August. After that I will have another surgery to form a nipple and then have it tattooed.
Yes, this is a lot of surgery but I am only 48 and I plan to live a long time so to me it is worth it. You have to figure you what is right for you. I have become quite happy with what I see when I look in the mirror. My plastic surgeon's goal is to have me look in the mirror and not thing/see 'cancer'. I'm getting there.
Good luck with the decision and feel free ask if you have any more questions that I can assist with.
God Bless, Rita (Sorry this is so long!)0 -
Reconstruction surgery:
I haven't done it yet, but I have read a lot. Here's what I know:
1. It is recommended that you wait till after chemo and radiation effects have healed up to reduce the chances for infection and to allow the skin to settle into its "new normal" after radiation (usually 10-12 months after the last radiation treatment).
2. Using implants: This is the quickest and easiest surgery with the quickest recovery but it has to be redone at some point ( I have read anywhere from 3-10 years). It also means having foreign material in your body, though modern technology is quite safe and most people do not have bad reactions.
3. Using your own tissue: a) Tram flap = a flap is surgically created using muscle and fat. The flap is kept attached on one side, then slid under the skin and the breast is created with it. This is good for unilateral reconstruction if you do not want implants. It has longer surgery time than implants, longer recovery, results in lifetime muscle weakness in donor site. Does not have to be redone. Type of flap is determined by donor site (tummy, shoulder blade). b) Free flaps: flap the flap does not include muscle tissue, is completely disconnected from donor site. The surgical procedure is more difficult because it involves reattaching blood supply surgically. Recovery is easier than tram but more difficult than implants. This does not have to be redone and does not result in muscle weakness from donor site. DIEP is an example of free flap where the flap comes from the tummy. This can be done bilaterally. Free flap surgery has not been done in the US for only about 10 years, so it is hard to find surgical teams with the training and experience to do this.
I am planning to have reconstruction done bilaterally with the DIEP procedure. The primary plusses for me are: Do not have to redo it, uses no muscle, using my own tissue means very little chance of rejection and more natural look and feel, and the tissue will age like the rest of my body and will lose and gain weight with the rest of me.
By the way, the fear is normal. It gets better, then you get an odd mosquito bite or cough and you are convinced the cancer is spreading again. I think one day at a time is the best way to live.
Live as well as you can for as long as you can. seof0 -
Many Thanks to All~seof said:Reconstruction surgery:
I haven't done it yet, but I have read a lot. Here's what I know:
1. It is recommended that you wait till after chemo and radiation effects have healed up to reduce the chances for infection and to allow the skin to settle into its "new normal" after radiation (usually 10-12 months after the last radiation treatment).
2. Using implants: This is the quickest and easiest surgery with the quickest recovery but it has to be redone at some point ( I have read anywhere from 3-10 years). It also means having foreign material in your body, though modern technology is quite safe and most people do not have bad reactions.
3. Using your own tissue: a) Tram flap = a flap is surgically created using muscle and fat. The flap is kept attached on one side, then slid under the skin and the breast is created with it. This is good for unilateral reconstruction if you do not want implants. It has longer surgery time than implants, longer recovery, results in lifetime muscle weakness in donor site. Does not have to be redone. Type of flap is determined by donor site (tummy, shoulder blade). b) Free flaps: flap the flap does not include muscle tissue, is completely disconnected from donor site. The surgical procedure is more difficult because it involves reattaching blood supply surgically. Recovery is easier than tram but more difficult than implants. This does not have to be redone and does not result in muscle weakness from donor site. DIEP is an example of free flap where the flap comes from the tummy. This can be done bilaterally. Free flap surgery has not been done in the US for only about 10 years, so it is hard to find surgical teams with the training and experience to do this.
I am planning to have reconstruction done bilaterally with the DIEP procedure. The primary plusses for me are: Do not have to redo it, uses no muscle, using my own tissue means very little chance of rejection and more natural look and feel, and the tissue will age like the rest of my body and will lose and gain weight with the rest of me.
By the way, the fear is normal. It gets better, then you get an odd mosquito bite or cough and you are convinced the cancer is spreading again. I think one day at a time is the best way to live.
Live as well as you can for as long as you can. seof
Just wanted to Thank you all for your responses to my "first time post"which wasn't easy for me~as I noted I am a loner and reaching out is a HUGE step for me, but I find with all of the outpouring of support and inspiration from such incredible people is getting me through~Now that the dust has settled since my mastectomy it is getting quietier~Typically I don't sit still so being quiet with myself can be both good and bad for me~not too comfortable at times~I am more the type to listen(read in this case) than talk~so you all are a life line to me!A Million Times Thanks!
As I plan to move forward with my reconstruction in the next 2 weeks, I am thinking of(once I get to that point) getting a hippo in a tu-tu tattoed on my new breast as opposed to a nipple~
Huge Hugs to all!0 -
tattoopretty in pink said:Many Thanks to All~
Just wanted to Thank you all for your responses to my "first time post"which wasn't easy for me~as I noted I am a loner and reaching out is a HUGE step for me, but I find with all of the outpouring of support and inspiration from such incredible people is getting me through~Now that the dust has settled since my mastectomy it is getting quietier~Typically I don't sit still so being quiet with myself can be both good and bad for me~not too comfortable at times~I am more the type to listen(read in this case) than talk~so you all are a life line to me!A Million Times Thanks!
As I plan to move forward with my reconstruction in the next 2 weeks, I am thinking of(once I get to that point) getting a hippo in a tu-tu tattoed on my new breast as opposed to a nipple~
Huge Hugs to all!
I love the idea of a hippo in a tu-tu tattoo. I think one of the best gifts we can give ourselves is laughter and you obviously have a great sense of humor ... which will get you a long way.
Ten years ago ... when I was 55 ... I had to file for bankruptcy. I could never have imagined having to do that. I'd done a couple of other things I NEVER imagined I could do ... get divorced after 21 years of marriage ... and going to college (I was older than most of my professors and even went straight through until I had my masters degree!) But ... I did it all. I promised myself that after the bankruptcy was final I would do ONE more thing I could NEVER imagine myself doing. I knew I wasn't going sky diving or swimming with the sharks so the next most bizzare thing I could NEVER imagine myself doing was ... get a tattoo. Remember ... I was 55 years old ... and the biggest weenie on the planet. Hated and feared all needles!! Anyway ... I talked a friend into going with me to the local "tattoo parlor" ... and there we were with a room full of bikers ... and then they called my name and we went in the back. The "artist" asked what I wanted and I handed him a piece of paper with the tattoo I wanted. It was a little circle ... literally the size of the eraser on a pencil ... with a smiley face on it. He asked where I wanted it and I told him between the belly button and the stretch marks! He about cracked up ... and it hurt like crazy ... but every time I look at my little smiley fact ... I realize that I CAN do things I could never have imagined I could do. I am much stronger than I ever gave myself credit for... and ... of course it always makes me smile.
hugs.
teena0 -
Hello
Pretty in Pink, I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis, but I welcome you here. I had a mastectomy in November and will not be undergoing reconstruction until all treatment is done and I am healed, like Jackie. I can't give you advice or information on reconstruction, but you will find many threads on this subject. Re, for example, very recently underwent reconstruction. You will, I am sure, be hearing from her and other sisters on that subject.0 -
doing itMoopy23 said:Hello
Pretty in Pink, I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis, but I welcome you here. I had a mastectomy in November and will not be undergoing reconstruction until all treatment is done and I am healed, like Jackie. I can't give you advice or information on reconstruction, but you will find many threads on this subject. Re, for example, very recently underwent reconstruction. You will, I am sure, be hearing from her and other sisters on that subject.
I'm fresh off the reconstruction highway. I had a double mas in June 08 with expanders put it at that time. Didn't think I need radiation but turns out I did. I didn't have any problems completing the radiation with the expanders in place. I finished that in October and finally got the go ahead to shed those expanders for the implants. I had that done last Thursday. After dealing with the hard uncomfortable expanders,I can't believe how soft and good I feel!! I chose the silicone implants. My surgeon had to do quite a bit to create a smaller space between the breasts which explaines why my sternum hurts so much but this is nothing compared to the first surgery. Before last Thursday I didn't think I was interested in getting nipples or tatoos. My thoughts on this are changing. I now see and feel what looks natural so having the finishing touches may really help. I'm also being realistic about the results. If even God didn't make me perfect I certainly am not expecting my surgeon to make me perfect! Reconstruction really is a personal decision but for me it has been very healing. ask away0 -
Pretty in Pink, you made mepretty in pink said:Many Thanks to All~
Just wanted to Thank you all for your responses to my "first time post"which wasn't easy for me~as I noted I am a loner and reaching out is a HUGE step for me, but I find with all of the outpouring of support and inspiration from such incredible people is getting me through~Now that the dust has settled since my mastectomy it is getting quietier~Typically I don't sit still so being quiet with myself can be both good and bad for me~not too comfortable at times~I am more the type to listen(read in this case) than talk~so you all are a life line to me!A Million Times Thanks!
As I plan to move forward with my reconstruction in the next 2 weeks, I am thinking of(once I get to that point) getting a hippo in a tu-tu tattoed on my new breast as opposed to a nipple~
Huge Hugs to all!
Pretty in Pink, you made me smile tonight! :-)
I live in Hutto, TX, Home of the Hippos. That is our school mascot and a lot of businesses and residences have concrete Hippos on display (personally, I would like to blow some of them up-I'm not a yard art fan!). Anyway, I should have thought of the hippo in tutu when I had my nipples tatooed!
Thanks for the humor and good luck with your procedures.
If you have any questions, been there, done that!
Love to all of you ladies still movin' thru the maze :-)0 -
Hi,
I can't help you with
Hi,
I can't help you with any information about reconstruction because I chose not to do it. I can be here for support and will be for whatever type of support you need. It is a great deal of information to take in all at once. It is like you have 1 month to become a surgeon, onc. and plastic surgeon. You just take the time you need to make your decision. That's why the drs. work for You. Hang in there and don't forget to breathe.
Gentle Hugs,
Donna0 -
Thanks to you all!djteach said:Hi,
I can't help you with
Hi,
I can't help you with any information about reconstruction because I chose not to do it. I can be here for support and will be for whatever type of support you need. It is a great deal of information to take in all at once. It is like you have 1 month to become a surgeon, onc. and plastic surgeon. You just take the time you need to make your decision. That's why the drs. work for You. Hang in there and don't forget to breathe.
Gentle Hugs,
Donna
Sorry I haven't written sooner~but wanted to Thank you all sooo very much for your kind words and support,had some off and blue dayz(prefer to think of it as introspective) but the clouds are clearing! tomorrow is my initial surgery to begin the expansion process~So onwards and upwards!!!!
My PS projects possibly 1-2 days in the hospital, we'll see about that one!
My projection/plan home ASAP!
Much Love to all,You All are the Best!!!! thinking about RE today!
PIP0 -
You will do just finepretty in pink said:Thanks to you all!
Sorry I haven't written sooner~but wanted to Thank you all sooo very much for your kind words and support,had some off and blue dayz(prefer to think of it as introspective) but the clouds are clearing! tomorrow is my initial surgery to begin the expansion process~So onwards and upwards!!!!
My PS projects possibly 1-2 days in the hospital, we'll see about that one!
My projection/plan home ASAP!
Much Love to all,You All are the Best!!!! thinking about RE today!
PIP
PIP,
You will do just fine with your surgery. Positive attitude and energy.
I will be thinking of you tomorrow.
Margo0
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