Hi Ladies
I had mx in March 08 with recon expander implant,had it removed in Oct 09 as it had moved and was very painfull replaced with new implant but after a few months was back to square one.suffered with the pain until last Thurday when i had it removed,They could not put another implant in as damage had been caused,they have said that i can have other types of reconstruction,but not sure what to do.I have not been able to look at myself so far,
Has anyone gone through this what recon did you go for or did you just stay breast free,
my mind is in such a mess again i feel i have stepped back 3 years over night.
Angela
Hi Angela
I had mastectomy in Sept.2009 Tissue expanser recon has not worked for me, as implant ha rippled, and skin has thinned far too much for nipple recon.
So, my only options now, are ld or tram flap, if i want a half decent result.
It is a hard decision to make, and if i did not want a 'breast ’ so much,i would say, forget it, i am going breast free…
Please feel free to pm me, as i am in the same boat as you…
xxx#
Hi Angela,(and Naz)
Sorry you are having problems.
I’ll try to keep my (long!) story as brief as possible but I too had many problems following bilateral LD reconstruction with implants in 2004.
I had several surgeries to remove infected / rejected implants over the following 5 years and endured lots of pain as a result.
For me, going breast free was not an option and my PS finally referred me to another hospital, as he said further implants would result in the same scenario and I underwent bilateral TRAM / DIEP in July 2009, using only my own tissue and no implants.
It was a long hard surgery and recovery but the result for me has been totally worth it.
I so know how you’re feeling right now.
Pleae feel free to ask me anything at all, either on here or by pm if you prefer - I’m more than happy to help if I can x
So sorry to hear you are having these problems. I had tissue expander implant in 1999, when I was first diagnosed. I had no real problems with it, but it never felt really right. I was offered surgery to make my remaining breast more balanced, but declined - had enough of surgery. But at least I was able to wear normal underwear and swimwear, so from that point of view, I was happy. Then sadly developed a recurrence in the same breast in 2005 and the implant had to be removed and I had a total mastectomy. I had too much scar tissue and the chest muscle was affected as well, so another recon was not possible. So I have been breast free for 5 years now. I must say that I feel very lucky to have a very supportive partner who does not mind the ‘changed’ look at all, and I am sure that gives me body confidence. I hate all the mastectomy wear and prothesis hassle, particularly when buying swimwear - I swim a lot -, but from the body imgae point I am quite happy now. And when I am dressed, nobody can tell that I had a matectomy and am wearing a prothesis.
Ultimately, the decision has to be yours and perhaps you can discuss the pros and cons with your breast care nurse? And how much more surgery are you prepared to undergo? It might seem the end of the world for you at the moment to lose your breast, but after adjusting to it, it just becomes part of your life.
Good luck with your decision.
Thank you all for your replies at the moment i am going every few days to have fluid removed.Hope this dont last to long.