Reconstruction

NO advice since I had
NO advice since I had lumpectomy..but I am sure others will have great advice..

Thinking of you...

Denise

jessiesmom1 said:

My Reconstruction Experience
I had my right breast removed in 2/2010. A tissue expander was put in at that time. As there was no medical reason in my case for my left/non-cancerous breast to be removed it was left intact. 5 months ago (6/2011) I had my tissue expander replaced with an implant and my left breast was reduced and lifted. I am very happy with the left side but not as pleased with the right/reconstructed side. The shape is not right and there is a very hard area of tissue. As a matter of fact, I am having revision reconstruction surgery on that side in December after Thanksgiving.

There are a number of websites where you can look at Before and After photos of women who have had breast reconstruction surgery. Any plastic surgeon you consult will also have a photo album of work they have done. This way you can see for yourself if they "look real." I would not characterize my reconstruction process as "arduous." The recovery wasn't that bad at all. It was certainly easier than going through chemo. It is probably easier for a plastic surgeon to work with a blank slate so to speak if a patient does not have a breast on either side. I personally would not remove my breast for their convenience if it is not considered medically necessary. A skilled surgeon should not have a problem working on a person with a unilateral mastectomy. Only you can make that kind of decision. You have a lot of reconstruction options.

Keep us posted on how things are going and what you decide to do.

IRENE

Hi DeRiley,
I had my tumor in my left breast, but opted to remove both followed right away with immediate reconstruction (tissue expanders). I had what was referred to as a skin sparing mastectomy, meaning some of my skin was spared for the reconstruction phase. The advantage of this is if radiation is needed trying to stretch radiated skin is always difficult and not always reliable. As it turned out I needed radiation after my tissue expanders were inflated so it was a wise choice.

Now my situation may differ from you, but I was very large breasted (36DD). My mastectomy left me with extra skin folds around my armpit areas that the implants won't fill out and cover. Two weeks ago I had my expanders removed and saline implants put in place. The implants feel nice and it sorta looks and feels real but with no nipples it's kinda missing something...

If you are in pretty decent shape and not large breasted I think you are going to be more pleased with your results then I was. I will probably have the excess skin removed and maybe some fat grafting from my abdomen will come later to fill in flat spots. I should mention I've lost about 60 pounds before diagnosis,so all that skin was bound to happen. I personally know and my Plastic surgeon also agreed that had I chose to have kept my healthy right breast I would have been less enthusiastic about my appearance after a reduction. Bras hide my flaws right now, so right now I have to heal up before tackling the next phase.

Hope I didn't confuse you, and good luck..
Hugs,
Lorrie

Im in the process of having
Im in the process of having reconstruction. I opt to just have my right breast removed. My plastic surgon said after it was complete that it would look the same with clothes on but for me to look in the mirror it would not. Before you make a decision ask lots of question so that you can make the right choices. Your plastic surgon should be willing and able to answer all question and answer some that you may not have thought about. The Plastic surgon I have works with alot of women who has had cancer. By selecting him he has answered questions for me that I did not think about.
As for the process it depends on the person. Just like our cancer are different so will the process of reconstruction.
Hope this helps.
Good Luck
Happy 1415