Can I have some advise on breast reconstruction surgery using belly fat, has anyone had this done and would you recommend it ? was it painful recovering from two wounds at the same time ? And how long was the recovery ?
Hi Ozbabe. I had a mastectomy and DIEP flap reconstruction on one side 2 weeks ago. Like notmyidea I'm glad I did it. I lost the nipple but kept my breast skin. The surgery was amazing - with a bra on I look just the same as before but with a completely flat stomach. I haven't been in pain, it's more that my stomach is sometimes uncomfortably tight and my breast is a bit tender. The two nice surprises are that I can raise my arm straight up in the air (because the stitches are internal, to the chest wall) and that I have a fair bit of sensation in the reconstructed breast. I'm now taking about 4 paracetamol a day but doubt I'll need to take them much longer. I don't have any gauze dressings anymore. I have 1cm width brown micropore tape over my stomach scar and around where my nipple was. I'll be wearing the control pants and bra for another month. I stayed in hospital for 3 days and had 2 drains which were removed before I was discharged. Since coming home I've taken things pretty easy but I have been doing the physio exercises and building up my walking. To my complete surprise I am now walking 6km a day. I've been told that I'm recovering particularly quickly so I'm aware it's not the same for everyone.
Wishing you all the best with your appointment and as you work out what's best for you.
I'd say I was moderately fit until about 6 weeks before the surgery - I walked the dog every day and did occasional yoga/Pilates. Then in the 6 weeks leading up to it I stepped up the exercise and did lots of full body workouts with weights! I think I was looking for something I could control! I was diagnosed in July so it was a long, at times, agonising wait. But I got my tissue results yesterday and the tumour didn't grow at all between July and November so there was no negative impact although it was tough mentally. It took a couple of months and lots of biopsies to determine whether my calcifications were pre-cancerous (they were) so that was part of the reason for the delay.
I got the bras from Nicola Jane. I'd suggest only getting 2 or 3 because I found that the bra that was comfortable straight after surgery now isn't and I much prefer the other one. My hospital said they needed to be back-fastening and to also buy a bra extender as the breast can be swollen. I needed a bra extender for a couple of days. I bought control pants from Amazon - a brand called Angool. My ward mate had the same. I'm a size 8 and was surprised that small was too small! The medium is still tight but at least I can breathe!! I've been told to wear compression stockings for 3 weeks afterwards. The hospital gave me one pair - I had another already from my sentinel lymph node biopsy which was done 6 weeks before the DIEP. That was to check my lymph nodes were clear because if I'd needed radiotherapy I would had to have a delayed reconstruction once the radiotherapy was complete.
Just thought I would let you know how my appointment went , after your honest advise.
I went in hoping for a date but like you said came out with another 3 week wait , where I can discuss my options ! however it appears that my surgeon doesn't do DIEP and I will need a plastic surgeon, but due to Covid backlogs there is a waiting list for plastic surgery.
im feeling very frustrated and totally out of control , I just want one operation and don't want an implant so having the DIEP and mastectomy at the same time was my preference.
Eliza's you said you had your sentinel lymph biopsy 6 weeks prior to op ! How was that ? iv been told I need a biopsy and just took it that it would be done during the mastectomy ??? But now feel confused and don't know when anything will happen. With the added worry of Omicron bringing everything to a standstill .
Sorry to be so down and negative , feeling like I'm loosing my energy and fight and have no say or choice.
I think the thing you realise is that every hospital and consultant does things differently and so you need to ask what your Consultant will do about the lymph node biopsy. I say this because I was getting very stressed about mine causing another delay and hearing nothing about it. Like Eliza, I had a long wait over three months for the surgery and additional biopsies in between due to other concerns found that had caused delays. In the end my consultant said he'd do it at the time of masectomy and diep reconstruction. He did it well, I finally had my Op on Tuesday and will be going home today. Hope that helps a little. Mickey xx ️
I think the thing you realise is that every hospital and consultant does things differently and so you need to ask what your Consultant will do about the lymph node biopsy. I say this because I was getting very stressed about mine causing another delay and hearing nothing about it. Like Eliza, I had a long wait over three months for the surgery and additional biopsies in between due to other concerns found that had caused delays. In the end my consultant said he'd do it at the time of masectomy and diep reconstruction. He did it well, I finally had my Op on Tuesday and will be going home today. Hope that helps a little. Mickey xx ️
Thank you , glad your all over your op and on the recovery road.
Were you offered DIEP as an option at the beginning ? Did you have a breast and plastic surgeon or did your surgeon do it all ?
like you and Elizab I'm already 9 weeks since diagnosis and 4 biopsies down , complications/ haemorrhage delaying progress.
feeling battered and bruised and haven't even got to surgery yet !
I find each appointment I'm being drip fed small bits of information, but I need to know what when and how so I can plan in my head and prepare for what's ahead .
Good luck with your recovery , what a great Xmas present .
I was advised masectomy as one invasive muscinous tumour and then they found two wide areas of dcis too. They pretty much left all options open for me. I did my own research and decided the diep flap was all I wanted. When I finally saw the plastic surgeon I felt he was trying to go for easier options, but I realise now he just needed to go through my options himself. I got quite frustrated saying I know what I want it's the diep and I'd already discussed that with everyone else. Anyway from that apt he promised me a date within 7 days and he was true to his word and my surgery was booked. We laughed about it when I thanked him after for the good job he did and he said that I just knew my mind (very true).
I only saw the plastic surgeon and anaesthetist, so I'm not sure yet if he did it all. Maybe though as when I asked if they found anything unexpected in my breast he was able to say 'no, it looked as we expected'. I didn't think to ask to be honest. He's the one whose visited me every day on the ward. He's done a great job and stitches for lymph node are internal so apart from swelling my arm feels ok.
The wait is awful and I did push as I was always promised it would happen before Christmas but by mid November, I still felt in no man's land - but then it all came together.
Feeling battered and bruised seems ongoing with what we go through, but it will lead to the best result and lowest reoccurrence risk for us and that's what we have to try and focus on.
