Hi
I had a very similar experience over 3 years ago. Had bilateral mastectomies followed by immediate recon, but then 3 days after being discharged froms hospital (I was in hospital for five days) developed an infection in the left side, was dizzy, sickly, felt as if I had flu, at one point felt as if I couldn’t breathe properly when I was lying down, plus was bleeding very heavily from the site of the nipple. Horrendous. Anyway, admitted to our local A & E department, then whisked up to the specialist ward in another hospital, where I had to have the implants out after 3 days. They tried intravenous antibiotics at first, but still didn’t make a difference, then they scanned it, and there was a massive infection as well as a haematoma. So my newly prized boobs had to go. I had nicknamed them pinky and perky, so was devastated at the time. I also lost a patch of skin about the size of a 50p piece at the time when the implant came out, they thought a skin graft might be necessary, but luckily it wasn’t. Skin healed in time. I then had to wait for everything to heal over a few months. Then I had expanders put in the gradually built up over another few months. I would go every 4 weeks and have the fluid injected, and see them gradually increase, it felt a bit like Christmas every time they increased a bit. Had my final op in December 05, had the expanders exchanged for silicone implants. They look great in a bra, you’d never know, but because I’ve put a few pounds on since it was initially done, I was just under 8 st, when it happened and now about 8 st 12, I have got some slight creasing at the top, but you can’t see it in a lower cut top. The plastic surgeon is talking of injecting some fat into the creased areas if I want to try and fill it out, but I’ll see how I feel. At the minute in two minds.
When my initial infection happened I had to go back and forward to the dressings clinic for weeks and weeks until everything healed. It was a long haul, and it was so sore at times, but you’ll get there, just hold in there. I just bought the stiff sort of bra’s that more or less stand up on their own, had some pretty ones from Next, put my softies in, just wore plain round necked t-shirts, and no one was any the wiser… The bras I wore were underwired, so they used to tell me off whenever I went to the plastics clinic, but I always made sure they were comfortable and plenty of room, so they weren’t rubbing. I was given a prosthesis for one of the sides, where I had the infection, because that obviously took longer to be reconstructed again, but I couldn’t stand it. It was heavy, I didn’t like the way it looked, and it made me sweat. Plus they have a slight nipple shape on, and the nipple was always at a different angle to my nipple on the other side ha, ha. I found the softies put in a decent more solid bra were much better.
It wasn’t in any of my nodes, didn’t have chemo or rads, and am on Tamoxifen for 5 years.
It’s a long haul sometimes with reconstruction. They don’t always warn you of the things that can go wrong, and it can be very depressing, but you’ll get there eventually I’m sure. When I was in hospital having the implants removed, I was in a bed opposite a lovely lady, who was in having a mastectomy, but no reconstruction. She was in her 60s and didn’t want to put herself through it. She had seen me come in vomiting, and so ill, with the curtain around the bed for 3 days, and she was amazed when I said I was going to have them redone and put myself through it all again, but you have to be determined that you will get there eventually. And I did, and you will, so hang on in there.
P.S. You whinge all the like. I think you’re b****y well entitled.
Julie x