My LD muscle down my side and back is still painful 10 weeks after reconstruction. the breast is comfortable and looks good, but I have a ‘ridge’ under my arm (where the muscle was fed through to the breast mound) and my scar is ‘stuck’ to my back. I certainly can’t ever think about wearing anything but a full ‘cropped top’ support bra. Is this normal?
Hi Annie
I am 9 weeks post op MX with LD Recon. I know exactly what you mean by the ridge under arm, mine is still very uncomfortable as is my breast.
Mine feels as if the ridge runs from by back under my arm & across top of my breast. BC nurse advised still early days & partly due to muscle coming back to life.
I also asked her about ridge under my arm as I feel it sticks out quite a bit, she confirmed it will go down but will never go completly as this is where LD muscle is brought around. I have had to buy some new bras to use for now due to this & also to cover port & scar on my back in comfort. These are much more comfortable but I am hoping I do not have to wear them for ever!!
I find I am very conscious of the ridge even though everyone tells me it is not that noticiable, perhaps it feels worse than it looks.
Just taking it one day at a time, especially as I still cannot raise my arm straight up maybe muscle still settling down.
Take care
Susan
Hi ladies, I am now 20 weeks post LD so a lot further down the line than you and I do think recovery is a very slow and gradual thing. I still have slight “bulk” at the side where the muscle was brought round, and I don’t like the look of the side, but wouldn’t exactly call it a ridge. Annie22, have you had some physio? I had two different physios and the second one was way better than the first and relieved my pain on the back and side completely. The second one was recommended to me because she had worked with quite a few LD ladies before and knew quite a bit about it. I think I started with her about 6 weeks post op and at that stage I was still very sore and had sharp pains when moving about but after she had spent several sessions massaging and working the muscle it was so much better. She said she was freeing it up. She told me I was being too hard on myself and that with this op you have to be really patient and don’t try to do too much too soon. At your stage post op I was still struggling with quite a few things and really conscious of my back all the time. Now another couple of months have made a huge difference and I am doing everything I did before and although my back is still numb I don’t notice it nearly as much as before. I also struggled a lot with bras for a while (v painful and digging in around the scar area) and got quite down about it, but again time has helped and now I can wear a bra comfortably again. I did waste a bit of money because I tried quite a few bras which seemed OK in the shop and then turned out to kill me after a few hours of wearing! But now that whole area is less tender and I have managed to get myself a bra that is comfortable and gives me good shape. Don’t despair! I felt like you and at the time I couldn’t feel positive at all, but I am sure things will improve for you as they have for me. I have just had my new nipple made. It looks amazing and I can go for a tattoo in 2 months.
Thank you Lola and Susan - all very encouraging. Thank you. I am seeing my surgeon tomorrow about a new nipple and I was thinking it a mad thing to do when I didn’t feel comfortable, but you’ve put is into perspective and I feel more positive.
Hi, I am nearly six weeks post op LD flap recon and the ridge under my right arm is very much there, the “breast” twitches when I use my arm/shoulder muscle and due to the seroma which has been drained 5 times, my back is still sore and I really feel the muscle missing. I can stretch my right arm up but it is uncomfortable and I can’t stretch it completely straight. The reconstruction does not match the other side and I have been told I may need further surgery as it has very much “shrivelled up”! But on the up side I am driving and I have made the right decision by having a mastectomy as the ILC was mulitfocal and there was DCIS in all other areas tested. Nipple and everything else will wait until chemo is done with in end of July. But it seems it takes a lot more time to heal than 6 weeks! xxxhugs. Tina
Tina, 6 weeks really is no time at all - you need to expect a much longer recovery after such major surgery, but it will all come right. Sorry to hear about your recon shrivelling up - that is really unlucky. At least as you say, you know you made the right decision with your mastectomy. As regards the twitching, I have definitely found that happens less now than it did to start with. Changing gear when driving used to be one thing that really made it twitch badly but now I don’t even notice it. Maybe my muscle is learning to be part of my breast rather than my back!xxx
Hi, yes, my BC nurse said that the brain will switch and muscle will lose that connection and stop twitching. The healing has to come a long way and I know 6 weeks is nothing for such a big op. It’s more of a feeling wishing it would look “normal” again even though my head knows that’s not possible!
Thank you.xxxTina
Hi Ladies
Lola thanks for your comments it is nice to know that we will get there.
Tina, I was told it will take at least 3 months to recover from this op!
I have my appointment with physio tomorrow so will hopefully provide some help as I still cannot raise my arm straight up.
Twinges in my breast when moving have reduced but do still sometimes feel them but I suppose I have got used to them over the last few weeks.
All the best
Susan
Hello all
I’m now exactly 4 weeks post mx and LD flap and know where you are coming from. My arm movement is slowly getting better but i can’t reach straight up or lift anything heavy. Everything feels very tight and weird all round my back and side and across the top of my breast - not like a ridge as such, just a tight sensation. My back is still very sore (not helped by the seroma I keep getting) and I find it painful to sit up unsupported for a long time or to bend forwards. I still have the “sunburn” feeling at the top of my arm and round my armpit, and I feel exhausted after the least amount of physical exertion and get breathless at the drop of a hat.
On the plus side, I really can move my arm much further than I could and it’s getting easier all the time. The bruising is nearly all gone and the new breast looks pretty good. The large swelling at the side where the muscle was fed through has decreased to a slight bulge. And the “boob twitches” have decreased as well, and now only happen occasionally, usually when I am cold.
It’s taken a while for me to realise that this really isn’t something i will recover overnight from, and that there is nothing for it but to hang in there and keep doing the exercises for many months to come. Not easy as I am very impatient and want to be better NOW!! However I may feel a bit of a wreck but when I think back to how I was even 2 weeks ago I can see that progress is being made.
Lola - your words of encouragement are very welcome! Hope everything continues to go well for you. Annie22 - I had nipple recon done at the same time and I think it makes my breast look immensely more lifelike despite all the healing still to do, and i don’t think it’s a mad thing to do at all!
xx
Very interested in all your comments as I am off to Somerset on Easter Monday to look after my grandchildren (4 and 8) whilst my daughter has her 2ND mast. and LD flap recon.
She was first diagnosed at 32 with a triple neg BC ; her first symptom was a lump in her neck - the BC tumour was very small but deep & although it had spread to the lymph glands it was so high in her axilla that it was not considered feasible to attempt surgery. She was treated with 2 lots of chemo and rads++. Despite her poor prognosis she has done really well and is now 5 years NAD on that breast.
However… 3 years ago she developed a 2nd primary in her other breast - this one was more straightforward and hormone receptive so she had a mast and LD recon.(plus the chemo of course)
Now her onc thinks she should have the mast. on the ‘1st’ breast because of the high risk of recurrence there - hence the surgery now.
She is now 39 and as well a having had another baby after her first BC she has gone back to work (as a nurse) and just ‘got on with it’ Although all she wants to be is 'normal" and just to merge in with all the other young, working mothers, she is actually an inspiration to her friends and family, she just gets on with it and ‘copes’!
She has also given me much help and advice when I too was diagnosed with a Grade 3, Stage 3 BC, 18 months ago.(yes, it never rains…etc etc ) We had absolutely no family history of cancer so the whole thing has been a bit of a bummer for our family - but I know A. will deal with her big op on Tuesday- just as she did last time. She is a daughter to be proud of.
Hi everyone, I had an LD flap done 21 years ago and it’s still looking good. I had similar problems but bit-by-bit things got better and all feels normal now. For a long time if I scratched my breast or the bit below my breast, I could feel a sensation on my back. Also my breast felt at a different temperature… But now 21 years on I am wearing normal bras again and I am not really aware of any unusual feeling at all. I wish you all well, and all the best to your daughter too topsymo. I was 39 when I had my mastectomy. I had chemo first to reduce the tumour which was 5.5cm. I have recently celebrated my 60th. Amazing eh? Hope you all have just as good an outcome. Love Val
Hi topsymo, I wish you and your daughter all the best and hope her recovery is very straightforward and you are right, your story is very inspirational. You sound immensely close and I am sure this is a great support to you both!
I am having my seroma drained every week still it comes back without fail! This will be the last time as I am starting my chemo next week. I think it’s the seroma pressing on the nerves which causes my sore back, like everyone else, it feels very tight but the movement is coming back every so slowly. I will have to have more surgery, no nipple and it is very small compared to the other side. I am trying to be patient! love to all, xxxTina
Hi all just wondered if any one knew what size breast u can have with a ld flap as I’m a 38d and got to have reduction on gd side just intrested not seen surgeon yet thanks
Hi Laura
I am 6 weeks post op. I was a 38E before surgery. I had a reduction and an uplift on my good side and im now wearing a 38DD. My recon side is slightly smaller but thats prob because 2 weeks ago i had to have the implant taken out due to an infection. I would guess that my recon side is about a D cup right now but when the implant goes back in i will prob be a DD… Have to admit that my uplift looks fab!!
good luck with your surgery.
deed
xx
It has really helped me reading all these comments. I am nearly 4 weeks post op, had LD reconstruction but they couldn’t get enough muscle so there’s a tissue expander in there at the moment and I will eventually have an implant. Was disappointed as wanted to get it all done in one operation! My arm will now go almost straight but it felt as if it never would. I saw my surgeon last week and she stretched me out and pulled my arm which was agony but freed it up a lot. The problem was I was holding my arm funny, because of the discomfort under my arm, so it wasn’t healing in the right place. I get weird sensations in the reconstructed breast when I change position - like there’s a sack of potatoes in there which is changing position. I guess from reading the comments of others that is normal? I also got a strange twitching sensation in my back, a kind of series of involuntary muscle contractions which felt like being tickled. That too is settling down now. Good luck with your recovery everyone. Clare
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.