Skin Saving Mastectomy/Recon - Looks good?

Skin Saving Mastectomy/Recon - Looks good?

Skin Saving Mastectomy/Recon - Looks good? Hello,
Having been diagnosed on valentines day (the consultant could have at least written it in a card for me!) for recurrent breast cancer, the plastic surgeon has suggested a skin saving mastectomy / recon. However, having seen some of the photos from my macmillan nurse i think the scarring looks worse than having a whole replacement piece of skin on the bottom half of the breast (i hope that makes sense!)
When asking my plastic surgeon which procedure looks best, he seemed quite flippant and said that the skin saving one would give the best recon shape, however, i’m, only 32 and the scarring is quite important to me - not only the shape.

Has anyone had this skin saving procedure? Are you happy with it? Is the scarring not as bad as i’m imagining? (Honesty appreciated!)

Cheers, Mel

Hi Mel
I had a skin saving mastectomy in July and the only scarring I have is a round circular piece where they took the nipple out. I don’t know how they managed to do the surgery through it! I had a DIEP and the shape of the breast is very good if slightly larger than the other breast. I am glad I was able to have this type of op because I would always worry that the scar from the replacement piece at the bottom of the breast! would show in a bikini etc and there is no way anyone can see my scar unless I go naked!

Beverley

Hi Mel,
I have just lost my reply to you- I was logged out and the post vanished when I attempted to post it on the forum (aaargh!!!)- now have to read bedtime stories to my daughters but will try to post again when I have a spare moment, just wanted to let you know I have read your post and will be in touch.
Barbara xxx

good result Dear Mel,
Like Beverley, my scar is circular, around where the original nipple/areola were. I had an LD reconstruction with implant. My reconstructed breast is a very close match to my other breast in both shape and natural ‘droop’. 2 and 1/2 yrs on the scar is barely visible - just a fine, pale line if you look closely. Nipple reconstruction and areola tattooing really make a big difference to the final appearance.

Good luck and best wishes, Timetraveller

Hi Mel,
Hope I don’t get logged out again- as a one fingered typist it was v frustrating!

I had a mastectomy, DIEP flap immediate reconstruction and reduction on my good side for the sake of symmetry last Sept and an op to reshape the reconstruction in Feb. So, I have a lot of scarring- anchor scars on each breast and a wide hip to hip scar across my lower belly. I see them as a compromise: they are as a result of having the particular recon I wanted, I thought that using stomach fat rather than muscle would be better for me.

I have found out a lot about healing through my plastic surgery nurse practictioner, she is fantastic. Scars fade and after 6 months she has given me a silicone gel which has made a noticable difference on the belly scar. Do you have scars from your previous surgery- how they fade will be a guide to the eventual outcome. There is also surgery, part of the feb op was to remove some scar tissue and tidy it up- I’m really pleased with it. The new scars have steristrips on them- again to help minimise scarring.

Sometimes I think of them as battle scars- scar tissue is the strongest, toughest tissue. Or sometimes I just accept them as a means to an end. I don’t think that they look too bad and are fading.

You can see photos of recons on the internet- google ‘diep’ or breast reconstruction- usually US sites.

Good luck with making a decision. I remember it felt very surreal for me- I had probably spent more time deciding on a new dishwasher than concluding which bit of my body to relocate…

Barbara xxx

Mine looks Fab! I am 6 months the otherside of chemo, had a bi-lateral mastectomy in Nov and implants in Feb.

I was given a choice of mastectomy or radiation, I chose mastectomy and for me it was absolutely the right choice. My boobs are utterly fanastic and are quite frankly the only good thing that has come out of this dreadful experience.

My surgeon is completely brilliant and I kept my nipples. Even now the scars are barely visable. (Worth noting that Tram flaps etc leave scaring in other areas of the body too, such as the shoulder, buttock or stomach - they have to take the flesh from somewhere, if you are slim they can’t take it from your stomach.) I also have the smug satifaction of knowing that my boobs will remain firm and perky, whilst those around me dangle further south!

Joking aside, you are facing some tricky decisions and you must do what is right for you.

Most surgeons in this country will tell you that it is not advisable to keep nipples. There is no evidence to back this up at all and in other countries they do not remove them.

My surgeon is a breast surgeon as opposed to a plastic. He is also a proffessor and is about to publish a report in the lancent re: the lack of evidence re:nipple removal. What is kept is purely cosmetic anyway, 2mm of flesh at the most. If you see a good breast surgeon, they can take off your nipples, test for signs of cancer during surgery and then stitch them back on. A plastic surgeon will not have the pathology lab available to do this.

Good luck with your choices. xxx

Thank you all so much for your replies, it really means a lot that other people are out there and still have to the time help others. You are all absolutely brilliant.

I have a scar from my initial lumpectomy two years ago, so they are on about taking out this scar plus the nipple. Thanks to your replies I have come to the conclusion that i have been thinking way too much about this! Since my last surgery i’ve hated the affected breast but thought that i had to just put up with the result, so i suppose i thought this time it will be an even worse result. Thanks to your replies i’ve put this in perspective. I go in next week, i’ll let you know the result!

Thanks again and a big hug from me!! x