Hi everyone, have finally decided to go for recon (2 and a half years post mastectomy), and am getting quite excited about it!! BC nurse says there is about a 3 month waiting for LD recon here in Derby, am just waiting for consultation appointment now.
Am currently dieting with Slimming Wolrd, after having put on 2 stones in the last 2 years (Blaming it on the tamoxifen, and latterly Arimadex). Have already lost a stone, so intend to lose the last stone before op. Reason am posting here is I really want to do all the right things for my body and health before the op, to make sure am as healthy as I can be. Am intending to take Arnica just before surgery as heard it’s amazing for helping bruising and swelling, but wondered if anyone had any other tips?
Rosebud454
Hi daisies,
I too am hoping for ld recon next year. Had mast 2006 followed by chemo. Am starting swimming to build myself up and make my arms and shoulders stronger as they say there is a possibility of slight weakness of shoulder strength with the ld op. I am also on arimidex and have noticed my middle expanding. My son had an op about 5 years ago and he took arnica for around a couple weeks, cant remeber exactly how long and he had v little bruising.
Hope this helps
Rosie x
I talked to my surgeon about exercise and weight loss prior to surgery. I wasn’t ‘overweight’ but was certainly bigger than I’d ever been in my life - BMI 26 ( that’s 5’5 and 10st 7 to you and me). My surgeon took time to examine me then forbade me to loose weight as she wouldn’t have had enough back fat and flesh to build the recon if I had. My BC nurse also made frequent reference when showing me photos to ‘the fat-back’ ladies, who definitaley had a better result than the skinnier counterparts. it does of course also depend on what they are trying to match - Smaller breasts are easier to do justice to.
The other option is of course to have an implant as well as the LD flap. I will need this, but couldn’t have it at the time due to need for rads. So I have had the ‘ground work’ done and await the finishing touches at some point.
i 've had no big problems with my recon - it looks a bit odd at the present but as I say, it is a work in progress.
Of course, being fit is a whole different ball game. i was highly recommended to swim (also increases the LD muscle size) to get all my muscles into tip top condition. This I did 3 times a week for 40 lengths for a month prior to surgery. I’m sure any exercise is beneficial. I haven’t been near a calorie burning move since though!!
Obviously didn’t PM that to you Dahlia - sorry not sure how to do it!!!
Thanks waitingangel and rosie for your comments. I’m also swimming three to four times a week - mainly to help the weight loss and also to get fit though. I don’t mind having an implant in there as well, would rather lose the weight.
You may find it useful to have a look at the BCC booklet on reconstruction as there is a lot of information on the the different options available. This can be found at