Hi, 

It's a very personal choice and so the decision is all yours. I said to myself when making the decision that it is me who has to live with the results for the rest of my life.

After much discussion with BCN's, Surgeon's and reading the breast cancer now reconstruction booklet and recovery chart, I opted for the diep flap. I had my surgery two weeks ago today and I am very pleased with the results and positively surprised at how well I am recovering.

If you want to know anything else, let me know and I'll be happy to tell you. 
 
All the best with your decision making and I'd love to hear what you decide. 
 

Mickey xx ️

Many thanks for your response and great to hear how well it has gone for you, how long do you think you will be recovering? 

Did you opt for stomach fat removal and how does it feel now? I am a bit worried about messing with more parts of my body so the implant seems more straightforward but as you say this is for life.

thanks again

Amazing great tips, thanking you Mickey  

There is also Nicola Jane website for masectomy bras, and they do a good fitting service. But M&S have quite a good range and cheaper. I was given  a soft prothesis by the hospital, 

Silver 

Hi Sarah Louise

i thought I'd share my experience as I have 3 school-age kids. I had the DIEP flap 1 month ago - I had a 1cm tumour of invasive cancer and widespread DCIS in my left breast. I didn't want an implant so asked for the DIEP flap which my consultant had told me about when he gave me my diagnosis. He said I wouldn't get a great result anyway with an implant as I am an A cup. He refers lots of patients for DIEP flaps and agreed it was the best option for me. Re appearance if I wear underwear then I look exactly like I did before - my breasts are completely symmetrical - but with a totally flat stomach. The abdominal scar is hidden by my knickers. There is a circular scar round where my nipple was. I am a size 8 and am finding that my tummy is very tight. I wasn't stooped at all after my op but I'm hoping the tightness relaxes. I'm still wearing control pants which are very tight so I think I will be a lot more comfortable when I can take those off in 2 weeks.

I stayed in hospital for 3 nights. I had 2 drains both of which were taken out before I was discharged. In the hospital they were very keen on us being mobile so I would walk slowly up and down the corridor. When I came home I started walking outside and gradually built up the distance. 2 weeks after the op I was able to walk 5km no problem.

I've had a couple of duvet days since I came home but generally I've got up and dressed every day right from the beginning. I would say it's best to do as little as possible for the first 2 weeks and then you can start increasing. For those first 2 weeks there's a lot to get your head round - working out how to sleep when you have to stay fairly upright, getting dressed and undressed (takes a while as you have compression stockings, control pants and bra to wrestle with), injecting yourself with blood thinner (although not every hospital asks you to do this), doing your physio exercises. The nurse was amazed how well I'd healed after 10 days - I think that was down to how much I rested, and the fact that I was pretty fit beforehand. I did actually visit a friend for coffee 6 days after my op - she lives a 10-minute walk away. Other than that and my walks in the woods I stayed home. That was also because of COVID. I was told it was really important not to get COVID after the op as it has a negative impact on recovery so I stayed away from people - other than my friend who's shielding herself.

My husband took some time off work so he did most stuff with the kids but I was able to do bits and pieces if I paced myself eg sort laundry, cook, play board games with the kids, walk the dog to the groomers with my son (25 mins there, 25 mins back - I did that 3 weeks after the op), wash up. We had a lot of help from our church too - people brought us meals, drove my kids to activities, walked our dog a couple of times and one lovely person drove me on a 3-hour round trip for my follow-up appointment at the dressings clinic. I find it really difficult to ask for help but it was a lifesaver especially as something urgent came up at my husband's work and he couldn't help as much as he'd planned.

Hope that helps. Most days I'm glad I chose the DIEP flap. On removing the cancer and how I look I would say it feels like a miracle. The thing that is hard is the abdominal tightness which I hope will relax in time. Oh one more thingthe hospital lent me a DVD which showed the scarring for the different types of ops. It was really helpful. I think they have uploaded some of the material on their website. There was a brief moment when the plastic surgeon said I might be better using tissue from my inner thighs but I'd seen the scarring for that op and didn't feel comfortable with it. So in the end he did everything he could to make sure I could have the DIEP flap (by repeatedly locating my abdominal blood vessels with a Doppler). It felt a bit odd to care so much about the scarring but you do have to live with your new body. I really like mine - all my pregnancy stretch marks have been removed so I'm intending to live in a bikini when the summer comes!!
 

Wishing you all the best as you work out what's right for you xx

Hi Elizabeth,

thank you very much for sharing your journey. It really has given me a lot of hope along with the other posts! 
I am delighted and inspired to hear your recovery is going so well. I hope your tummy feels better soon but I would think yes when more time has passed it will be better as the body is amazing at adapting so it takes time.

Thanks again for all the detail it's very much appreciated and keep up with the great recovery ️‍  

SL xxx 

Sadly the moderator removed the name of the hospital from my post. The hospital website has a link to YouTube where they've uploaded 11 short videos explaining the different reconstruction options using your own tissue and exactly what you should expect re your hospital stay and recovery. Clearly some of the detail will differ depending on the hospital but I found it so helpful to watch before I met the plastic surgeon - especially the photos of results and the women talking about their experiences. You can DM me if you'd like to know how to find it xx

That would be great thanks 

Love to hear also from anyone who has gone the implant route and what the experience was like? 

Thank you, that's helpful. I realise DIEP is a big op but I'm thinking that 6 weeks out of my life is a small price to pay as I'm always feeling unhappy with how I look now. I was very sick with nausea after the anaesthetic for masectomy but will mention that to my consultant. Glad you are healing well

Silver 

Hey. 
Gald it helped.

xx

I was given a DVD about reconstruction by the nurses

I was given a DVD about reconstruction by the nurses