Has anyone had this op, to re-site a nipple on a droopy breast?
grumpy
Hi. Nope, not yet! I have secondaries, but my Onc and plastic surgeon are happy to do a double reduction and re-shaping and to put it bluntly re-position my nipple to where it should be!!! bloomin sauce - just joking. So, I have no idea how they are going to do it yet, but would love to hear how you get on…xx
I’m waiting for next appt in 2 weeks, when I hope to discuss/decide about this op. I had bilateral cancers, hence r/t on both sides which means the usual reduction op on the droopy slightly larger breast is not advisable due to poor wound healing etc. so the benelli seems to be more appropriate. Or a bit of lipofilling on the smaller perky breast. For me the upsetting aspect is that it wasn’t made clear to me that correction/levelling up wouldn’t be a goer after r/t. I was encouraged to have all my treatment, then ‘we can put everything right afterwards’ - well actually no they can’t/wont. I did get to see a PS who was so casual about doing the reduction op that I didn’t feel comfortable with him. It is hard to have had unrealistic expectations, so I’m trying to train myself to think of Droopy and Parky as badges of survival like my scars (creases really!!!) and my tattoo dots… ho hum.
I’ll post again after my June appt to update you.
You can get info on Benelli and reduction on Google, but do make sure you only look at reliable sites i.e. cancer charities or proper PS clinics.
all the best
grumpy
Hi Grumpy, I do think that you should have a toddler’s tantrum when you see your PS, stamp your feet and be strong and say that you want it all done in one go, I had RT as well, slow healing is the norn, just explain that you are happy with that-you’ll do everything in your power to help the healing process and appreciate radiated skin takes longer to heal. Tears may also help…try to think of all those abandoned puppies in the RSPCA shelters,does it for me every time… Unless your PS is a woman, then you are just going to have to play the “you understand how I feel don’t you?” technique.
I am going to google the Benelli reduction, I have to wait though as there is a 12 month(!!!) wait list for my PS services, still-he is good, knows his stuff and happy to make droopy and perky small, pert and pointing in the right direction!!!
Please let me know how your appt goes… xxx
Hi Grumpy,
I had my recon 3 months ago. I had an LD with implant, and a risk-reducing mx on the other side, so completely different to you. It was a year since my radiotherapy, but the healing on that side, was no different from the non-rads side. I healed very quickly, with no infections. I did take high quantities of arnica, which helped, and previously had kept it well moisturised. The only issue my surgeon mentioned with healing, was if there was any oedema when he did the op - he would have not been keen under those circumstances.
I hope you get what you want x
Thank you for your comments ladies - I’ll have think, then post again later on. Must walk the dogs before it starts to rain again!!
grumpy
Dogs walked so now I can have a little think.
Horsie - I did see a PS who was so casual, he didn’t even sit down to talk to me, and he told me I was ‘emotional’ - yes of course, I had been led to believe I could have the corrective surgery and then told a big NO - and had ‘body image issues’ - yes, someone had cut lumps out of my breasts to keep me alive!!! Apparently I need psychological assessment.So he’s not coming anywhere near MY boobs with a scalpel…
My onc is a brilliant surgeon and tells me I am a strong woman and will be able to cope with the disappointment, and anyhow he never promised anything. Not in so many words he didn’t, although at every appt with him and the b nurse I asked /discussed it,and I was encouraged to believe it would be possible after treatment was finished. The one thing he never did say was that he won’t do corrective surgery on irradiated breast tissue unless HE considers the assymetry warrants it…
So I’m in a cleft stick - if I get upset I’m inappropriately emotional, if I don’t get upset I’m coping with it.
If I understood his position I would have delayed r/t until after corrective surgery and relied on the anastrozole to protect me, rather like ladies who have to wait 6 months to have chemo before they have their radio. So I made a bad decision in the absence of full information.
I do wonder if my age - 64 - and not having a partner is influencing things, but anyhow this is not for anyone else, it’s for ME to look at when I get undressed.
Thanks again, I’ll post after the appt in 2/3 weeks.
grumpy
TSR thanks for tip about arnica. My r/t was March 2011 and I’ve looked after my skin really well so maybe there is a chance…
grumpy
Hi Grumpy
I haven’t had the Benelli procedure, although I have had my nipple re-located as part of a therapeutic mammoplasty. But I wanted to sympathise with you because I also went through some of this “if you get upset about it you have body image issues” type of response. I got this after I was left lobsided after the initial lumpectomy combined with mammoplasty, then again when I wasn’t happy with the overall result once they were evened up. Each time I was offered counselling - to which my response was “how will that enable me to get clothes to fit since I’m such a peculiar shape?” No answer to that one, and I did get the reconstruction I wanted - eventually.
You’re absolutely right, they’re inclined to say “oh, we’ll sort it all out afterwards” but only afterwards do you get told about the limitations due to radiotherapy. Why don’t they tell us in advance? And as my plastic surgeon told me, it’s not your chronological age that matters, it’s how you feel.
CC x
CC thanks for that - the benelli op is basically just the nipple re-siting part of the the usual anchor cut done for reduction ie mamoplasty/mastoplexy. So I can’t really understand why surgery to shift the nipple is OK but not the full monty to reduce a bit as well.
I think they keep everything a bit vague during treatment to keep us on an even keel, and of course it’s backfired for me and left me in a bit of a state. I had neo-adjuvant letrozole for 8 months before surgery so I had lots of thinking time, and that’s when I could have made use of the ‘correct’ information to decide what route to take.At the consent appt I did ask if he could take equal chunks from both sides so that another op wouldn’t be necessary - I was told no, it is better to wait until all treatment is over. If I had known it wasn’t likely/possible afterwards I would have insisted on the op before r/t. And now it seems like it’s too late.
I always make notes after appts sitting in the carpark, so I photocopied my my book and sent the copies and a 2 page letter to the clinic stating what I had been allowed and encouraged to believe, and what the current position is. I asked my GP to read it first and he said it was excellent, and it’s been scanned in onto my record at the health centre.
I do feel that my age is only a minor consideration if I’m honest. I know I always said I wanted to be comfortable sunbathing topless as I have done for years, and currently I really feel I couldn’t do that. Not that’s there’s a lot of sun, but I want to have that choice…
thanks again
grumpy
Quick update before Friday appt at clinic -
I’ve had a letter from the onc to say he does do surgery on irradiated breast tissue where HE thinks it warrants the risks - man-speak code for HE decides if the assymetry is serious enough, and there’s me thinking it’s for the patient to decide!!!
grumpy
Grumpy,
Sounds like someone has a teeny bit of a God Complex…? Have you asked for a second opinion?
Tracey
Hi ladies
seen onc this am, and it’s good news - he WILL do a nip and tuck if that’s what I really want - HURRAY!!!
full post on Benchland, too wobbly to type it all again
thanks for your support, it is great
grumpy