Bilateral Mastectomy + Sentinel Node Removal + Reconstruction + Tummy Tuck: First Thoughts, Post-Op.

That is a blessing.  I hope you have a speedy recovery and if you choose to get the reconstruction done, good luck.   I was just trying to get some idea of what to expect after surgery.  I will have my right breast removed and my left boob lifted so when I get the reconstruction done, it will be easier for the doc to work with.  Thanks

Hi Mary, I had almost forgot about what I had written in Dec. 2007. It has been a year and 4 months and I am doing great. I still have some numbness in my arm pits but not to bad. I still don't intend to have reconstructive surgery. I just wear my fake boobs. My only complaint is they are a little heavy but the good new is when I order new ones there are lighter weight ones available.

Also the physical therapy is the best thing I did in recovery. If you have the opportunity it is a must.

I wish you will in your surgery and hope to hear back from you. Thanks - Connie

Thank you very much, you ladies are great and this webpage is awesome.  I thank God for all of you. It is nice to talk to someone who has been through this and I need this at this time.  Will find out tomorrow if he wants to remove all the lymph nodes or just some for testing.  Thanks again. 

Dear Connie,

I have read your comments of not going through the reconstruction.  Yesterday I had to see the surgeon about the same subject.  When I was diagonised in April, my initial thought was no I am not going through this. I dont wnt to suffer anymore.  My friend suggest I should have it done.  I am confused; now.   I can live with it, because i feel I am very strong and can cope.  To be honest, I have reached to 60 and I dont wnt any more suffering.  Please wht do I do?

 Niru

Hi there Niru and all others   My name is Ellena and I am recovering from the bilateral mastectomy WITH immediate reconstruction, using the Latissimus Doris muscle.

Fortunately for me I've had absolutely NO regrets whatsoever !!  I too went through a horrendous time pre-op - wondering if I should have recon or not.  My first decision was to go through with it, but on researching the procedure I started to scare myself!!

I am 50 and the thought of taking recon and subjecting my body to virtually double the amount of time in theatre, double the pain etc etc... was just too much - not to mention the fact that I could not begin to imagine HOW I would survive, having major wounds on back and front....

Well, here's the sure sign it was the right decision to go for the whole thing - when I came round from anasthetic and realised I was alive, that was enough to counteract all sense of pain or suffering !!!  I've been bouncing fit and rearing to go since day one after op, which was on 19 May 2009.

I am having fun learning how my 'new body' is settling into things, and my back muscles are learning how to be boobs... !!!  There's so much positive I would love to share with people who (like I was) are traumatising in the pre-op time, to go for immediate reconstruction or not....  I'm happy to talk with anyone who needs to chat... you can find me on facebook as Ellena Paterson...

Warm regards and gentle hugs to all

xxx

Thank you so much.  I'm doing last minute research right now and this is exactly what I needed to hear.

hello,

just wondering exactly where the muscle is that you are referring to and what was the procedure and recovery like. i have had two failed breast expanders due to infection and now must find another way to reconstruct.

thank you

laura

Hi there Laura - the muscle they used were the Latissimus Dorsi (the big muscle in the back) - I opted to use only the muscle as I am feared of having expanders/silicone implants due to infection and rejection.

My surgeon did warn that with only using these muscles I would be no more than a B cup but that is quite fine for me :-)  I am moe than happy to telephone and talk with you if you want ?????

I had no one who could tell me first hand how things would be, so went blindly into it and here in Aberdeen it was the first time they did the double/double operation so was really in the dark.

There is also the tummy muscle op (tram flap) which I believe is also very much more risky than the Lats op.

I am more than happy with the results and will be even more so once a little bit of shaping is done soon !!

Warm Regards

Ellena

44 7800 984 672

hello,

just wondering exactly where the muscle is that you are referring to and what was the procedure and recovery like. i have had two failed breast expanders due to infection and now must find another way to reconstruct.

thank you

laura

Hi Amy,

I'm coming up on three years post-TRAM flap surgery.  I'm happy to answer any specific questions you have, but generally things are good.  Recovery, after the immediate surgical recovery, you should know, is SLOW.  Very slow. Don't listen to the surgeons who say you will be up and around and back to normal after 4 weeks.  That's completely untrue.  If you decide to move forward with this surgery -- and there are good reasons to, as well as not so good reasons -- you should be very aware of the fact that it will be at least a year before you can get out of a chair or off a couch or out of bed without really thinking about it.  It's a massive amount of surgery to go through so you need to be really really sure that you want reconstruction -- if you are on the fence or could take it or leave it, skip it.  Surgeons will underplay recovery time -- esp for the TRAM surgery -- but even implants are difficult.  Of course, if you want reconstruction (as I did), the results are good and you definitely do heal.  But with the TRAM surgery you're left with mesh holding the abdominal wall in and I am just starting to have a little trouble with mine -- it's a foreign body in your body, after all, and there's always the chance of something going wrong with it at some point.

I'm not trying to talk you out of it -- it can be a great thing - but I often wonder whether I would choose to do this again.  I'm not sure I would.  I might.  Hard to say.  

Feel free to ask specifics if you need to.  Just want you to have a realistic sense that it is a huge undertaking and anyone who tells you otherwise either hasn't had it done or is a doctor!

--Laura

Thank-you so much for your response. I'm aware of what a huge recovery I'm taking on and that it will be months before I am able to do certain things. My main question would be do you have or have had any bulges, or hernias because of this surgery. That is my main concern!