Hello, It’s been 2 years since my mastectomy. I’ve gone without reconstruction as I don’t want a foreign body under my skin and I don’t want big surgery. I even go swimming with no prosthesis because when I do backstroke the prosthetic remains high whilst my own breast falls naturally to the side, which I think looks even more odd than not having a breast there. But I was fairly big busted. 34 DD or E and when I’m in the gym with a sleeveless T-Shirt on and lean forward, my breast falls forward but the other side is of course flat. I just spoke to my breast surgeon about lipofilling. I’m not bothered about having exactly the same amount of fat transferred so as to make them even, I’ll be happy with SOME more. I don’t know anything about lipofilling. How successful, How long to heal, does it act naturally or is it stiff? Does it stay in place and if not where does it go? I wonder if you can answer any of these questions for me? Thank you Anna
Hi Anna
Thanks for posting your question.
We hope to be able to respond to you on Monday.
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Lisa
Ask Our Nurses Service Co-ordinator
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Hello LadyParticular
Thank you for posting.
Lipofilling, or lipomodelling, is often used alongside breast reconstruction as an additional procedure to improve the shape or size of the breast. It can be used alone, in some cases, but this is not common and is usually most suitable for people with a small breast size. This is because it can only add a fairly small volume to the breast. It sounds as though your breast surgeon may have given you an idea of how this could look for yourself and it may be helpful to have a further discussion with them about how the outcome will be for you.
Lipomodelling usually needs to be repeated several times as only a small amount of fat can be transferred at one time and the body will reabsorb some of the fat that has been transferred. Healing may be different for different people, but usually takes a few weeks. You can find some information about recovery from lipofilling here.
You can ask your hospital for an appointment to review how your prosthesis and bra are fitting. They may be able to advise on ways to make them more comfortable for you while you are considering if lipomodelling is right for you.
Coming to terms with the body changes after breast surgery can be difficult. Talking to someone who has had a mastectomy may be helpful and our Someone Like Me service can match you with a trained volunteer who’s had a similar experience to you. They’ll be a phone call or email away to answer your questions, offer support or simply listen.
You can ring the Someone Like Me team on 0114 263 6490 or email them at someone.likeme@breastcancernow.org, so they can then match you to your volunteer.
Do call our helpline if you would like to talk this through or have any further questions. The helpline team have time to listen to your concerns, talk things through and signpost you to more support and information. Your call will be confidential, and the number is free from UK landlines and all mobile networks. The number is 0808 800 6000, (Relay UK -prefix 18001).
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Our usual opening hours are Monday to Friday 9am - 4pm and 9am -1pm on Saturday.
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Best wishes
Cassie
Breast Care Nurse
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