Modified radical mastectomy - or was it??

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I had what I thought was an MRM in May but the more time passes the more I wonder how modified it was.
My scar is nowhere near as neat as others I have seen but more importantly as time passes I have no flesh left on my chest area at all, you can see and feel the ribs right up to my collar bone and in places it is sunken in. I thought this only happened if they took some of the chest muscle as well? It is making it harder and hader to wear any clothes that are not up to my neck and as temps are 40C at present…
The only “flesh” anywhere is the increasing amount of oedema under my arm (but on my side not the arm) and a little below the scar…
Anyone else like this or any experiences to share, please?

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Bumping up in hope of a reply…it seems so many have deserted this site.

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Hi Sascha,

Sorry you haven’t had any replies as yet, could I suggest if you don’t get any to try posting in the ‘undergoing treatment - surgery’ forum where more may look?

Take care,

Jo, Facilitator

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Hi Sascha, I had a bi-lateral mastectomy in October 2010 and hated looking at myself afterwards as I felt I looked like a total freak with no hair either! My chest was very flat afterwards with just a little bit of flesh left in the lower part of one side and, like yours, sunken in inplaces. I could feel my ribs and it just felt so weird and I hated being like that. I had a radical mastectomy but none of the muscle was removed so I imagine you will be the same. I also live in Spain and found it very hard to cope with the hot weather and very restricted clothing. I can sew and made myself tops that came higher up on chest as I found them hard to find in the shops. I have now had the first part of my reconstruction done and feel so much better, are you having reconstruction?
wishing you well, xx

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When I had my mastectomy I asked the surgeon if he would do a “radical mastectomy” and he said nowadays we don’t do radical mastectmoies anymore and when I said is it a modified one, he kind of said it’s like calling a new car a modified car. It’s just called a mastectomy.

Hope this helps, although I do realise this trhead is a few months old.

3N3