Reconstruction after mastectomy

[Titch22]

I’m looking for some advice, for those of you that have had a mastectomy & reconstruction did you get good results? I may be heading down this path & wanted an idea of pros & cons following surgery?

[Curbs]

I had a mastectomy on my left side with immediate reconstruction using back muscle and an implant and I can honestly say I have never mourned my poorly boob.

It is a big procedure but it looks fabulous and once I had healed they put an implant in my right side to even me up and tattooed a nipple on my bionic boob. For me immediate reconstruction is the way forward to feeling feminine again. Big hugs for your future x

[Titch22 in reply to Curbs]

Thanks for your reply. I’m also thinking of having reconstruction at the same time. How long was your healing process?

[Curbs in reply to Titch22]

Gosh it was 8 years ago now, I do know that I visited my friends at work a week after and they were amazed. I’d say it takes a couple or 3 weeks for all the fluid to disappear. I was in hospital for 4 days with drains in. Make sure you follow aall medical advice, it’s a big op, so just take things slowly and let your body heal at its own pace, everyone is different 😘

[Titch22 in reply to Curbs]

Thank you 😊

[winprogress in reply to Curbs]

it's interesting to read this as I had a single mastectomy and am debating what to do with the healthy breast. My instinct is to just redo the lift so that they look more in keeping with each other. I am told if I do mini-liposuction to add fat to the mastectomy breast and if I put in a small implant on the healthy breast that this will be the best cosmetic result but that sounds like a lot to put my body through and I am worried about complications as well as implants flipping and also any future screening issues for healthy breast...

[KathrynA]

Hi Titch22. Good luck with your surgeries! I found that the mastectomy not as bad as I expected and that the scar fades quickly. Do all the stretching and shoulder strengthening exercises! And don't over use your other arm or you will hurt that shoulder like I did. Because I needed radiation post chemo, I have to wait for the DIEP reconstruction surgery I chose (uses tissue from my abdomen), and wait longer due to Covid. I chose this route because implants need to be replaced every 10 years and some implants cause problems. All this is truly awful and shocking while you're going through it, but fades into distant memories as we are distracted by enjoying our our lives.

[Titch22 in reply to KathrynA]

Do all reconstructions need implants? Apologies in advance for my naivety.

[Curbs in reply to Titch22]

Ha probably not but I had small boobs before 😀

[KathrynA in reply to Titch22]

It's a personal choice! I had very large breasts and had a reduction on my healthy breast while I had my mastectomy. I am happily now a B cup (with a temporary breast expander to stretch the skin in anticipation of the reconstructive surgery). I am getting the DIEP surgery because I don't want to have to wear mastectomy bras and I like the DIEP surgery results. The plastic surgeons hold a reconstructive surgery info session here in my city, Vancouver, BC, and I got to see the results and speak with women who'd had the surgery. I am 61.

[Titch22 in reply to KathrynA]

Yes that’s what I want. Reduction on my good side & immediate reconstruction on the other after mastectomy, although it would appear that I’ve got to maybe have an expander first then the reconstruction?! 🤷‍♂️ I would rather wake up & have everything done than have to go through more surgery at a later date. It’s so hard to know what to do for the best...🤔

[Jg1960]

Hi Titch22,

I am currently on Letrozole and will be having a double mastectomy in October. I have met with a plastic surgeon to review my options. I am a candidate for diep reconstruction, which uses tissue from your abdomen to recreate the breast. Due to my age (I'm 60) and the desire to not have a lot of surgery I am choosing to not have any reconstruction done. If I were younger I may think differently but really don't see the need for reconstruction for myself. It is a very personal decision and I know several people who have had very good results. I would be prepared with a list of questions to ask (you can google this for suggestions) and make sure they answer all your questions. Best wishes to you.

[Titch22 in reply to Jg1960]

Thank you & good luck with everything & your surgery in October, all the very best x

[Mmnyc]

I’ve been meaning to reply to you but got busy. I had my mastectomy last year with tissue expanders placed. I HATED the tissue expanders. When I woke up from my mastectomy I felt like I had been run over by a huge truck and beaten up🤯if that makes sense 🤣my doctors told me the pain would go away and it did but for me, again this was only my experience might not be your experience, the tight feeling from the expanders did not go away. I had to live with them for 7 months before my second surgery for the breast implants and that tight feeling never fully went away. By month 5 I was able to sleep on my side but before then I couldn’t. Of course the actual discomfort Of the expanders does take a back seat to everything else going on in your life. During those 7 months I had to undergo chemo and well that wasn’t fun either but not bad overall...

I had my implants in in January and still haven’t gotten around reconstructing my nipples 🤦🏻‍♀️ Honestly it just becomes all so overwhelming and with COVID I don’t want to expose myself. My nipples will wait for now.

When I look at myself in the mirror and see my results I’m not sure how to feel🤷🏻‍♀️ When I have clothes on it looks good, like I don’t think strangers can tell that my boobs are not real. But without clothes, they look like implants, there’s no way around them. And the scars are there, just staring at you, a reminder of how I got here...

Maybe I’ll feel better about them after I get my nipples reconstructed. My plastic surgeon was going to reconstruct my nipples from extra skin around my breast and have my areolas tattooed in. I wonder if the tattoo will hurt?! 🤦🏻‍♀️

Oh and I was a b cup before cancer and decided to stay the same size.

[Dimsdale18 Partner]

A great resource is the SHARE Cancer Support breast cancer helpline. All of the volunteers are breast cancer survivors and can offer support because they have been where you are now. In addition to the Helpline, if you want specific information on your type of cancer, we have a peer matching service which allows us to match you with someone who has a very similar diagnosis and/ or treatment. You can reach out 7 days a week from 9:30 am to 9:00 pm. The number is" 844 ASK-SHARE or 844-275-7427. Our website has many accurate and updated information, support group contact information and educational resources.

sharecancersupport.org. You are not alone with SHARE.

[Adi80]

Hi Titch!

I've had a double mastectomy with nipple sparing and with immediate reconstruction also with implants

Healing was much quicker than i had expected. Felt great after a few weeks time but of coarse healing is absolutely different for everyone.

I've had both implants flip on me after 4 months so a second surgery was performed with fat grafting taken from my abdomen. This is a much more invasive procedure which downtime recovery was a bit harder.

I wish you the best of luck and please ask as many questions as you can.

Big squeeze

[RobertaG1961]

I had reconstruction along with the mastectomy surgery. I chose the implant route because I didn’t want the weeks long recovery for the flap but a tummy tuck was very enticing!

The expander wasn’t the most comfortable but tolerable.

When it came time for the permanent implant, I was strongly encouraged to have the healthy breast lifted. No one mentioned that the scar tissue on that breast would result in multiple call backs for every mammogram for several years. If I had to do it again, I would not do the lift.

Implants can last over 14 years.

I just had my implant replaced (after 20 years). The lifted breast is a little saggy and the new boob is perky but they get along just fine.

I’m delighted with the result.

If you go with implants, read up on the issues with textured implants.

[winprogress in reply to RobertaG1961]

You sound as if you have a great attitude though I'm not sure what you had done? So you had a lift done to the healthy breast and then an implant to the unhealthy breast? I had a mastectomy and will be getting an implant. For the other healthy breast I am debating just redoing the lift (it's quite a different level from the unhealthy breast with the tissue expander) or going the whole nine yards with a small implant in the healthy breast so they are more on the same level and then mini-liposuction to blend things on the mastectomy breast. It's really challenging to sort through all these options. It seems to come down to cosmetic vs. avoiding complications. Would welcome your thoughts...