tram flap and pregnancy

blkhwkwife
blkhwkwife Member Posts: 12
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I am 32 yrs. old and recently underwent a bilateral mastectomy with tram flap reconstruction...has anyone gotten pregnant after this procedure? Please let me know how things fared...if it was difficult or not advised at all via your docs.

Comments

  • KarenKL
    KarenKL Member Posts: 42
    #2
    Hi. I was going to have the Tram Flap procedure also, but I decided on implants. Anyway, yes the Plastic Surgeon did tell me it would be impossible to get pregnant after that. The net that is put in there will cause problems plus your stomach won't be able to stretch again. Your Dr. should have told you all this before.
  • blkhwkwife
    blkhwkwife Member Posts: 12
    #3
    KarenKL said:

    Hi. I was going to have the Tram Flap procedure also, but I decided on implants. Anyway, yes the Plastic Surgeon did tell me it would be impossible to get pregnant after that. The net that is put in there will cause problems plus your stomach won't be able to stretch again. Your Dr. should have told you all this before.

    Karen, thanks for sharing. I was told no such thing! As a matter of fact I was told I should have a fairly normal pregnancy...I would like to know more of what your docs advised regarding the tram flap and pregnancy. I have already encountered several issues that I was not fully informed of by my docs though I thought I had been conscientious in my questioning of them prior to the surgery. I appreciate your response.
  • KarenKL
    KarenKL Member Posts: 42
    #4
    blkhwkwife said:

    Karen, thanks for sharing. I was told no such thing! As a matter of fact I was told I should have a fairly normal pregnancy...I would like to know more of what your docs advised regarding the tram flap and pregnancy. I have already encountered several issues that I was not fully informed of by my docs though I thought I had been conscientious in my questioning of them prior to the surgery. I appreciate your response.

    Hi again.
    Yeah when I had my delayed tram flap done, the surgeon came back in the recovery room and asked "do you plan on having anymore kids"? I replied "no" he asked "Are you sure?" I said "yes, I have my 2 I am done" He then said well after this procedure you can not have anymore, it will be impossible". Well I was fine with that. Then he went on to say that my husband wasn't in total agreement for me to continue with the tram flap so after cutting my vessels I was done. Believe me I know your probably saying "what?" I had to tell both my husband and plastic surgeon this wasn't there choice, blah blah, and after having a few more discussions with others I chose the implants. And I have for myself felt I went the right way. So yes, I would ask your Dr. straight out about that. Cause like I said I was told it would be impoosible for me to get pregnant again. I myself am only 32.I hope this all works out for you. Good luck.
    Karen
  • SusanAnne
    SusanAnne Member Posts: 245
    #5
    Hi there. I know there is at least one girl here that has gone thru a pregnancy after having a TRAM flap. She might not log on anytime soon though since she was due about this time. After hearing she was pregnant I did ask my plastic surgeon if any of his patients had gone thru it. He said no but a few of his tummy tuck patients did with no problem. He in no way implied that it would be inadvisable. I know it's not the same but encouraging none the less. I have learned that nothing is impossible. Good luck to you.
    Susan
  • wildangel
    wildangel Member Posts: 81
    #6
    Hi,
    I know a girl who had a pregnancy after tramflap and everything was fine. The thing that the doctors were more worried about was her getting pregnant so soon after BC.

    They all say it is ok- but from what I have seen most want you to wait the "Five Years" to make sure YOU are ok.

    Unfortunately for her, a year after the baby was born she had a recurrance. She is just now reaching her five year mark.

    Make sure you ask your doc about that too. They often "forget" to mention that.

    Good luck to you.

    Angela
  • martyzl
    martyzl Member Posts: 196
    #7
    Hello!
    I am now 39, currently waiting on our surprise post-chemo-induced menopause baby, any time now...
    I had a UNILATERAL Tram in July of 2002 followed by heavy chemo. We had to give up our first pregnancy together due to the cancer's aggressiveness, etc. (See my web page in here if you like.)

    This pregnancy was not planned (told it wouldn't happen) and I scrambled to learn all I could about post-Tram pregnancies, consulted with my Onc, my Plastic Man and surfed the internet.
    What I learned: You "cannot" safely hold a pregnancy after a bilateral (both sides) TramFlap but you can carry to term with a unilateral.
    Apparently, there is not enough strength to hold the belly if you have moved both sides of the surface abdominals. Everything I have heard and read advises strongly against it.
    The first half of my pregnancy, it was very obvious that I was missing muscle on my left side, that side bulged out. Now I am sooo tightly packed that you cannot tell, unless I am trying to sit up, everything shifts to the left.
    The inches of skin and muscle removed for the Tram (the "tummy tuck effect") have made this pregnancy very "internal" compared to my previous 2. More difficulty breathing but better balance throughout.

    Wish I could give you a more optimistic approach... I normally don't listen to reason but after doing this with a unilateral, I have to say, I'd be very cautious. Read all you can, learn all that you can so that you are at peace with what this life brings you...

    Please feel free to contact me if you have any further questions! zenhound at cac.net

    Be well. All my best to you!
    Marty in Michigan
  • ProudMommy77
    ProudMommy77 Member Posts: 2
    #8
    Had unilateral TRAM flap
    I was diagnosed at age 29, wanted more children, AND wanted to try to breast feed. I went with a TRAM flap. Now that I am a few years out, my oncologist is nearly ready to clear me for pregnancy.....just waiting on PET/CT (full body) scan results. OBGYN told me there is no problem in becoming pregnant. I would likely have another hernia, but I'm not too concerned about that.

    I know nothing about pregnancy after BILATERAL TRAM though.
  • brandylien
    brandylien Member Posts: 2
    #9
    Bilateral tram-flap and pregnancy
    Yes, I have had a bilateral TRAM flap reconstruction and carried a pregnancy almost to term (8 months) and had a healthy baby girl! My plastic surgeon who did the TRAM flap said she had never heard of this being done before, but she was excited for my pregnancy. I was very closely monitored, especially in the last trimester, when the pain was so strong that I was prescribed morphine (it was determined that the pain that I was experiencing was more dangerous to the baby than the morphine would be). I could barely breathe and walk during the last two months, and everything was very tightly compressed. There was no comfort to be had. I stopped taking morphine because I was worried about the baby, and I decided to just bear the pain. But it was pretty excruciating. The baby was delivered at 36 weeks via c-section (the docs thought I wouldn't be able to push because of the absence of abdominal muscles). There was a question about what to do with the mesh--to cut through it or not--but they ended up doing the incision below the mesh, about 2 inches further than in a normal c-section. Baby weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces at birth, and today she is a fat, healthy 4 month old. I give more details about this journey on my blog, cancerfuckingsucks.blogspot.com, and there are some interesting belly cast pictures on there, where I compare this pregnancy with a previous one. You can see how different the size of my belly was because of the mesh.
  • brandylien
    brandylien Member Posts: 2
    #10
    brandylien said:

    Bilateral tram-flap and pregnancy
    Yes, I have had a bilateral TRAM flap reconstruction and carried a pregnancy almost to term (8 months) and had a healthy baby girl! My plastic surgeon who did the TRAM flap said she had never heard of this being done before, but she was excited for my pregnancy. I was very closely monitored, especially in the last trimester, when the pain was so strong that I was prescribed morphine (it was determined that the pain that I was experiencing was more dangerous to the baby than the morphine would be). I could barely breathe and walk during the last two months, and everything was very tightly compressed. There was no comfort to be had. I stopped taking morphine because I was worried about the baby, and I decided to just bear the pain. But it was pretty excruciating. The baby was delivered at 36 weeks via c-section (the docs thought I wouldn't be able to push because of the absence of abdominal muscles). There was a question about what to do with the mesh--to cut through it or not--but they ended up doing the incision below the mesh, about 2 inches further than in a normal c-section. Baby weighed 6 pounds, 6 ounces at birth, and today she is a fat, healthy 4 month old. I give more details about this journey on my blog, cancerfuckingsucks.blogspot.com, and there are some interesting belly cast pictures on there, where I compare this pregnancy with a previous one. You can see how different the size of my belly was because of the mesh.

    ha, I see my blog URL has
    ha, I see my blog URL has been censored. but in case you didn't realize, the asterisks are for the eff word. :)
  • jkirksey
    jkirksey Member Posts: 1
    #11
    tram flap and pregnant

    I had a tram flap a couple of years ago to rebuild a breast. I am now pregnant (surprise!) and freaked out. Will I be able to carry this baby to term? My plastic surgeon and I never even discussed this.

  • crlacey
    crlacey Member Posts: 1
    #12
    I was able to carry a

    I was able to carry a pregnancy to term directly following this surgery. I was actually 3 weeks pregnant at the time of the surgery. I would not recommend planning a pregnancy soon after if at all. My baby girl is now 4 and healthy. But she definately did some damage. The last few weeks were the worst, she was 38 weeks, but I was outwardly measuring 30 weeks. Like a previous poster said, it was quite painful. But for anyone who stumbles across this old post through searches, it can be done.

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