Diep last sept...but

Hi everyone, i had 2 lots of bc first was 12 yrs ago last was 3 yrs ago.I found to my amazement i couls try a diep recon.its been 7 months and things are settling ubtill i started getting pain in one area,which then turned red and there is a sort of lump

underneath.Its in the tummy fat part also no way near scar line.Ive been to the hosp today but they now want me at the proper breastcare clinic at the western glasgoe for ultrs sound.Has wnyone had this happen?? Please let me know what you diep ladies think,many thanx in advance.Debs

Hi, this is my first post!

I too have been diagnosed twice, 2002 and 2008 and had a diep recon last April. I too had a red patch develop several months after and lumps came up in same place and really thought it was bad news! they were scanned and needled several times ( more for my satisfaction I think, as all the surgeons were sure it was ok), and all labs showed nothing. They think it was/is fat necrosis together with a small abcess, and sure enough it settled after a few months. I still am aware of a slight thickening there, but they have told me it will take some time to go. Am now waiting for a nipple recon and slight adjustment on the recon side (think ps is a perfectionist! not that I mind), and no more treatment planned as I had rads and chemo in 2002. Would feel happier with some sort of further treatment but as trip neg and nad at moment just have to hope there’s nothing lurking elsewhere ( had ct scan and bone scan last year but somehow it’s always there in the back of your mind!)
Deb

Dear Deb,sorry about my previous spelling i didnt hav my specs on!Thanks so very much for putting my mind at ease ,i felt so guilty about going to the hospital but the redness plus lump made alarm bells ring.Fancy that- both had 2 lots of bc and both a Diep…see my surgeon in june and will talk about lipo to balance breasts out and nipple recon,which im not sure about lol.Would love to hear from you again ,where are you based?,im not used to this new set up on here so not sure how to look up your profile lol.Take care of yourself and many thanks deb.

hi Debzz.
was wondering how you were doing but got lost in the news setup and couldn’t find you! I too have a few lumps around my tummy scar, but they’re nothing to worry about. I found a lump on my reconstructed breast last week,and went to see my surgeon who thought it was just fat necrosis. He scanned it and biopsied it anyway and he was right. so otherwise doing ok. back at work now too and have started training for the Edinburgh Moonwalk in June! My GP thinks I’m mad!
sofadoc

Hi Debzz

I’m so pleased I found this thread. I’ve had a delayed DIEP and have also found a small lump in the breast near to the chest wall and have been ‘fretting’ about it for a couple of days. I have to see the plastic surgeon in April for a routine check so had decided to try to stay calm until then and mention it during the consultation. It’s been reassuring to know that it could possibly be ‘fat necrosis’, which I’d never heard of but have just googled. Thanks for offering another possibility other than the dreaded ‘C’.

It’s been a joy having a cleavage again and I’m starting to wear lower cut clothes for work, which had previously been stuck at the bottom of the wardrobe. I even changed (carefully) in the gym today in the communal changing area, rather than hiding away in the one solitary, dark cobwebbed, cubicle (where the door doesn’t lock and the cleaners never visit!). It’s been good to feel normal again and looking forward to summer.

Good luck with the Moonwalk training Sofadoc. I’ve just put in for the Great South Run and am feeling tired at the thought of it at the moment.

Xx

PS I’m definitely going to have nipple recon and titoo-ing.

Hi Debzz1,

Sorry, I had replied by PM, you have to log in then look in inbox.
( I say that like I know what I’m doing, but really not sure of this forum lark myself yet!)

twinny2-I love the sound of ‘titoo-ing’, think I’m going to refer to it as that now! I am waiting for nipple recon at the mo. How long after that do they do the titoo-ing? Can’t wait to get to the end of all these ops and husband says that when I’m naked it looks like someone has rubbed out my nipple! A back-handed compliment I suppose because the recon looks so natural, or that’s how I’m going to take it anyway. Deb63 x

Thanks for catching up with me you 3,how long is the moonwalk sofa doc??I went for my scan yesterday re:lump in new boob.They could see it very easily and then gave me a local and took a sample by needle,im on antibiotics now and waiting to get all clear.Im aching across my shoulder & arm which they said would be infection going along to lymph glands from the lump.It was brill to hear from you all as we had been in touch before and just after our Dieps,The diep dollies lol,take care ,Debs x

Hi Debs and all

Hope your shoulder & arm are feeling better now?

As I’m going for my 3 month post op appointment soon, could anyone advise me on who decides if the recon boob needs adjustment? Is it the PS, you or a combination? I haven’t really spoken to anyone else that has had this operation so don’t know how the process works. Shape wise, it looks absolutely brilliant in clothes and am really very pleased with the result, but when undressed the recon boob seems bigger than the other one. I don’t know if it’s a combination of that it ‘hangs’ differently or that the tissue used makes if feel heavier to me…or maybe I’m just being hyper-critical. My friends are sick of me sticking my breasts in their faces and asking ‘do they look the same size?’…the answer is always yes. So I guess my question really is, how similar is your recon breast to your other one?

Debs63 – I’m not 100% sure how long after nipple recon titoo-ing takes place. I think I remember the PS saying 3 months but I could be wrong?

xx

Hi twinny2

My recon was never going to be the same size as other as I was 36ff, but quite happy to be smaller. The plan was to do recon, then uplift and reduction on ‘good’ side. But, when I was waiting to go in theatre for uplift, the PS was having a good look/feel and said that when he does nipple he will also do slight adjustment on recon to get better ‘projection’ in a bra- the recon is much ‘flatter’ than the other - this is because they can only get as much depth as the depth of fat taken from tummy. He is going to do this by doing slight uplift, and when he sqidges to show me what he plans it does seem to work! I will be pleased to have them evened up as at the moment I have a very small prosthesis to even up. What is funny is that before the recon, I was very lopsided having had a lumpectomy in 2002 but really wasn’t bothered by it- now seem to be much more aware. I am also aware of a different weight of recon, but guess will get used to that as well.

Deb63

hi Debbz,
hope you had a good Easter and that your arm is not too sore. The Edinburgh moonwalk is 26 miles of walking across Edinburgh, in a bra starting at midnight!! I konw,i think it’s ‘chemo brain’! LOL!
twinny2, i guess in a way i’m lucky in that i had a bilateral reconstruction , but even they are not identical. I’m not sure if it is because ione is a dleayed reconstruction ( mastectomy in 2004) and the other was an immediate reconstrction ( july 2008). The delayed one sits better, hangs a bit more naturally and is less stiff. However, I am really plaesed with both of them and feel no need to have nipple reconstruction on them. Anyway, in nature, no two things are identical, even a woman’s two breasts! If your friends and other half say they look fine and you’re happy with them, do you really want to undergo more surgery and risk mucking them up?

sofadoc