Skin Sparing Masectomy

I had one
Dear mema1963,

I had a skin-sparing masectomy on both sides. They did this kind on me b/c I opted for immediate reconstruction with tissue expanders. If I hadn't wanted reconstruction, they wouldn't have done the skin-sparing MX. My BS assured me that the rate of recurrence was the same with the skin-sparing vs. non-skin sparing.

Are you having reconstruction done?

Hope this helps,
dh

mema1963 said:

Yes i am having
Yes i am having reconstruction done! Was it very painful and was the reconstruction easier?

I had this done on both
I had this done on both sides with immediate implants. I did not do expanders due to my size. I am 14 days post op. I am having a complication. It seems there is a very fine line between scrapping too much (loss is blood flow to retained skin) and not taking enough (leaving cancer cells). They may have removed too much in my case. The skin is not dying but it is not living. We are just at a wait and see what happens. My adviice is to talk to your doctors and follow your heart. Good luck.

mema1963 said:

Yes i am having
Yes i am having reconstruction done! Was it very painful and was the reconstruction easier?

I only know my experience.
I only know my experience. Yes, it was painful. They have to cut the pectoral muscle to place the tissue expanders.

The reconstruction wasn't easy but it really wasn't hard either, just unpleasant. They will fill your tissue expander's at the time they place them. How much depends on your skin. For me, they only filled it to 50'ccs. I had man boobs! After surgery, you will go back approx. every two weeks to have your TE's filled with saline. Again, the amount depends on your skin, your frame and just how much you can handle. My largest fill was 60cc's, the smallest was 20cc's. But I'm on the low end. Most women can handle much bigger fills and are filled much bigger at the time of their surgery.

It's a long haul, even longer if you're going to have chemo and rads. For the chemo and rads girls it can take up to a year before they can have their TE's exchanged for implants.

It was a longer experience and more painful experience than I had anticipated, but one in which I absolutely have no regrets.

mema1963 said:

Yes i am having
Yes i am having reconstruction done! Was it very painful and was the reconstruction easier?

YES IN 2006
Hi I went through all this in 2006. I had a nipple sparing bilateral mastectomy. They removed the breast tissue and put in the temp expanders. The expanders weren't too bad, I was originally a B cup but I decided to go up one size. There was a little discomfort but not as bad as I feared. So I think keeping my own skin helped.