Hi all, I was diagnosed with ductal cancer 3 wks ago, I am due to have surgery at the end of october, ld flap. I am quite concerned about the recovery and the after effects. I am 43yrs old have 3 children, 3 horses, dog and cat and live ruraly, we are an extremely active family. I am having second thoughts about this procedure and and am wondering whether having an implant would be a better choice. Can anyone help me.
Hi
I had an LD flap 4 weeks ago and I felt exactly like you but coming on here definately helped me to feel better about the op beforehand and to cope with the different stages post op.
I was in hospital for 5 days and came home with 2 drains, which were removed after 2 days. I have had the fluid drained a further 3 times (this is painless) and I am hopeful that it wont need drained again.
I have had full movement of my arm since day 1 and have not experienced any real pain. It is still swollen around the breast and I can still feel the muscle under my arm and although this is fairly annoying, I have been told I should see big improvements at between 8 and 12 weeks post op, so I am looking forward to that.
The wounds have all healed very well but my back feels a bit strange - not sore exactly, just strange. I started to drive last week and am back to my usual fairly quick pace walking the dog.
So, although everyone heals and copes differently, hopefully you will recover well and be back to your old self and life quickly.
You do deserve some pampering and rest though, so hopefully you won’t be doing too much too soon.
I hope all goes well for you and keep positive
Madge
Had, had mx, ld flap and anc in mid Feb, I am 45 with three kids (two at primary school), two dogs and needing to drive for the school run! I was in hospital for 7 days, three drains which were taken out before I went home, I drove again after 3 weeks. Moved house 10 days after I came home! My movement is normal, there are still feelings of tightness around the back and side but the cosmetic result is good as it feels and looks very normal, I will have some lipofilling done as it has gone a bit “flat” but overall, I didn’t feel out of action for long at all. I had a seroma which was drained 9 times but it settles down in time. Probably a good ideal to wear easy things first after the op like button or zip up as overhead actions can take a little longer to feel comfortable.
Hope this helps! Good Luck. Tinaxx
I had a delayed LD flap in February (mx three years earlier). I was extremely tired for the first four weeks - I have been told it takes one week for each hour of anaesthetic - and went back to work after six weeks. I was driving after three weeks.
I started running again after five weeks. I would say I struggled with my running for a while, it all felt very hard-going, but suddenly four months after the operation I felt my old self again.
I am very pleased with the result of my LD flap, so glad that I did it.