is there anyone who has has the same experience as myself. I was advised to have mx with LD muscle reconstruction from my back. I was told the LD muscle would not be sufficient on its own but stated that I would be quite happy with a smaller breast than my good side, I would rather this than have a foreign body, ie an implant. My surgeon insisted I sign the consent form with the implant included on it, I said this must be a last resort option and she agreed, but of course this detail isn’t included on the consent. I woke to find that I had an implant. My breast was huge and tight and I said from the outset that it just felt ‘wrong’ I couldn’t have stressed it more. Long story short, the implant started to burst out, I had an open wound and could see the implant being squeezed out, it was infected and oozing matter for weeks, No one seemed concerned. I finally was so ill I was admitted to go on a drip for a wk to try and clear the infection. It was decided to remove the implant and I was told that my breast would be smaller, which I accepted to get rid of the implant and pain. I woke with a drain, was discharged but not seen by a consultant for 2 weeks. When I did see them, the dressings were taken off and I was truly shocked by what I saw. I was concave, with the muscle displaced, totally ugly outcome. I was told there was nothing they could do and have needed lots of counselling to get over this. Truly appalling experience. I am in pain every day even now and it gets me down. Is there anyone who has had a similar experience as I feel so alone in this?
I’m so sorry to read that you have had such an awful experience. I completely understand how assaulted you must feel, especially given your absolute conviction right from the start that an implant would be wrong for you. It must hve been such a shock to wake up to find they had done that. Do you feel that they weren’t listening to you?
My experience was not nearly so traumatic but I too am terribly disappointed with the result of my surgery. The worst thing is that I feel dismissed and patronised by the medics. It’s as if my feelings are trivial and I should just be grateful that the rumour is gone. Of course I am, but I also wasn’t expecting to feel so violated. I have decided that I will seek revision surgery sometime in the future after all active treatment has finished.
Maybe you could get a second opinion when you are feeling stronger. We are very much in the thick of it at the moment dealing with diagnosis, surgery and treatments, it’s a maelstrom of feelings and emotions that are so hard to deal with. iI really hope the counselling is helping you to find some peace of mind.
What you have been through sounds utterly awful and I’m so sorry that you’ve had to go through this experience. I can’t really offer you much advice because although I have had mx and LD reconstruction, I didn’t need to have an implant as my boobs are very small. I can’t believe that there is nothing that can be done to alter the appearance of your reconstructed boob. I think I would also be inclined to ask for a second opinion.