As the title suggests I am having a delayed reconstruction in 4 weeks after having left side Mx, chemo & rads last year. I have a tissue expander but it was never expanded beyond the initial fill at surgery.
I won’t be hav an implant just the LD muscle & then lipofill in time. Im 46, slim & active and just wondered if anyone had any advice or experience of how they got through the initial few weeks and also how an implant free recon looks.
I am expecting to be off work for a few weeks oh I’m also having a lift for symmetry on the other side. I can’t wait to lose the expander and port, so solid & uncomfortable. Will I notice a difference immediately in the feel of the new boob?.
I really appreciate any advice or words of wisdom, very excited to have the surgery but there are some nerves too. :-).
Many thanks
I had mx to left breast with immediate ld flap. couldent have implant as i had recieved radiotherapy 11 yrs previous to same breast and my surgeon wouldent do implant she said the result of implants in radiated tissue wouldent be very good cosmeticaly. i am also having lipofilling which i had my first one in june.unfortunatly my body as absorbed nearly all of it already so back to square one .i will have to have further filings .i am also going to have the other breast lifted for symetry and a nipple made on reconstructed breast . hopefully get there in the end .anyway to answer your question the breast does feel very natural with the LD tissue and ive had no problems recovering apart from seroma which i had drained twice .but dont worry if you have to have that done its not painfull at all . Hope all goes well for you.
Thank you for your reply loona, there aren’t many who have not had an implant with LD so its been hard to get any personal experience information.
Glad to hear that you are happy with the results, is the breast a ok size?. I just wondered if its pancake flat because the back muscle isn’t like belly fat so how does the breast mound happen? . Or is it “moulded and folded” under the skin…
Any other words or advice will be much appreciated thank you again. Good luck with the rest of your journey to matching boobss
Ps did you have a cleavage as soon as you woke up?.
Xx
Ioona, thanks for the advice. It’s good to hear your experience. I have had my pre op discussion & everything is set for 2 weeks time. Ive been told to expect to be off work for at least 2 months and to basically do nothing apart from gentle walks for 4 weeks, lifting nothing heavier than a kettle lol… Not sure my teenage son will enjoy doing all the shopping, housework, cooking etc…!!
Im happy an uplift on my good side at the same time, so although it will mean a longer op and extra discomfort/drain, I will be more even & avoid another op.
Quite excited about it, have to get some front opening support bras as well as making sure everything buttons up rather than goes over my head. Think the worst thing is going to be not having a bath/ shower til the drains come out. Although it probably going to be swollen, bruised and sore, I really hope I see an improvement to what’s there now, mostly in the form of a cleavage, even if it is covered in a dressing. I hope I avoid seromas too.
I hope your mammogram goes well, any appointment plays on our mind, but hopefully you’ll get the uplift done soon.
Ok well thank you again & I will keep in touch.
Take care
xx
Oh I’m in Wiltshire so quite south of you. I hear Nottingham is nice & has a brilliant nightlife. X
So, are you now having the op with the flap and the impant as well. I would imagine that implant only would be a very small boob? I had both LD flap with small implant on top. I am a 36C or sometimes a 34D. I lost all the skin from my breast too as my 2nd cancer was Lymphatic. I stayed off work for 6 weeks only and was driving by 4 weeks (my op was Right hand side though). You will slouch around the house wearing disreputable clothing at first - big button front shirts etc., and I wore pull on bras from Asda. They are much comfier than the front fastening ones the hospital give you, as they have a sort of ridge underneath. Also get yourself a V shaped pillow as it is hard to lie down once you get home. I slept propped up on this (with several normal pillows behind it) for some time. If you need to know anything, please feel free to PM me with any questions. Good luck, it is scary, but probably not quite as bad as you think it will be. Mind you the first few days are quite hard going!
K M x
Hello all,
So I’m a week on from my surgery, got home Sat , drains out & proud owner of a cleavage…!!.
Op really took it out of me & for 3 days I was quite poorly, had a couple of funny turns, restricted to bed, catheter, iv drip & needed a tranfusion. But from Thursday onwards I really picked up & am so pleased with the result.
The uplift on the good side is lovely, PS is a perfectionist & only used dissolvable stitches & glue so scarring is minimal even at this early stage.
New LD boob is pretty substantial considering there’s no implant, apparently its an extended flap so shes taken a larger amount of muscle etc than usual. Which explains the massive back scar…!. Have to say I was shocked when I saw it, from my spine right round to just under my arm, it is covered by my bra though & hopefully will fade well. There is also a 2inch scar in my arm pit & a skin circle of about 2 inches ready for nipple work etc.
Really pleased with the result, no seromas, dog ears or unwanted fluid as yet, drains weren’t too full after 3 days & although it feels tight & sore, it’s not agony and im able to potter about. Im wearing a shock absorber bra 24/7 and doing a few physio suggested shoulder exercises as well as using E45 cream around scars yo keep skin supple.
I know it really helped me pre op to hear other’s experiences so feel free to ask or pm any questions etc.
So amazing to look down or a proper pair of boobs, cancer seems a lifetime ago…
X
Hi Artemis,
I am reading your progress at 2.30 am as I could not sleep. You and the other ladies are giving me some hope. Thank you for agreeing to share information. I had two mastectomies two years ago and expanders fitted. Plan was to use new technique using fat injections from tummy to build a breast. There was a delay in full expansion due to healing but one side went fine. Sadly other side leaked and I had a replacement six weeks ago. However this was my radiotherapy side and I have had problems with healing. Surgeon thinks I have internal infection and expander should be removed. Because my skin has been stretched too thin, he cannot put a third one in.
So I can have fat injections on other side but I am not sure what they can do on rad side.
I looked at side flap reconstruction 15 years ago when first had cancer. I was put off by stories from women of problems after surgery. I am hoping like mad that things have moved on since then. You sound like a fit active woman so I would be interested to hear what impact if any this has. I live on my own and am a keen gardener. I am used to doing heavy work on my own. Would this all change? What advice/ warnings did your surgeon give you about the after effects when healing complete.
You sound incredibly brave and positive so I wish you well in all your healing and recovery. This is a long jouney we are on. I dream of getting back to some ‘normality’ one day.
Hello Mariacpbd
It sounds as if you have had quite a rough time of it trying to get your reconstruction done.
I had a delayed reconstruction after mx & axilla clearance. My tissue expander kept the breast skin & although I had 5 weeks of rads, my skin healed perfectly so I haven’t needed to use back skin just fat and muscle.
I have to say it’s a lot more restrictive than I expected although that maybe because a lot of muscle has been used as I didn’t want an implant. I am really pleased with the results even after 2 weeks. My new boob is 36c approx, my good side was uplifted at the same time so they match well. I will still have a few tweaks ie fat grafting and nipple creation but this won’t be for a few months.
I am usually fit, active & busy and so its frustrating to have to take things slowly. I have a haematoma which causes me more discomfort than the actual surgery. Ive had it drained 5 times & its slowly dispersing.
My PS saud that realistically it will take a while to get back to full fitness, that said I did actually drive today, (through necessity rather than choice) it was a little uncomfortable but doable.
I don’t have any regrets and from the minute I came round after the op I had a cleavage…a bit bruised but definitely there…!! :-).
Hope that helps but feel free to ask any other questions.
Take care
X
Hi Barbarella,
I’m sure you’ll have had your op by now, so hope it went well and you’re feeling ok.
I’m back at work, back exercising and generally really well. The flap has soften considerably, the tightness is lots better mostly due to constantly stretching my side and doing the physio.
I don’t really have a cleavage yet, lipo filling to follow but having seen how swollen it was in the first few days following surgery, I know I have all the parts needed for a great looking matching C cup.
My back scar has healed and is very flat, its amazing how quickly recovery is. The donor skin is also looking great, a perfect circle ready to become the nipple. Im just impatient to get the next stage underway.
Anyway happy healing and make sure you get plenty of rest, don’t over stretch for the first couple of weeks.