I had bilateral mastectomies and immediate reconstruction with tissue expanders in September and after 4 operations (and 3 weeks in hospital), I ended up coming home with no reconstruction whatsoever, just an awful lot of ‘spare skin’ that would be used for future recon. I underwent insertion of expander implants again in January (I did not need to have rads) and things have gone wrong again but implants are still insitu for the time being. My PS said I’m not suitable for implant based permanent recon due to unresolved issues with expanders and said I’d be a good candidate for LD or DIEP recon. I’ve had a consultation (at another hospital re DIEP) and considering this but just wondered if anybody has had bilateral LD recon as wouldn’t I experience problems with my back either now or later on?
Hi, I had a bilateral LD reconstruction with expander implants in February 2012. I’m a fairly active person - horse riding, cycling, hill walking etc - and haven’t noticed any real difference in my ability to do any of the activities that I did before the op. Obviously, as with any surgery, it took a while to get back to normal and I was very strict with myself, making sure I did all the Physio exercises. But I haven’t looked back since and am really pleased with the cosmetic result.