billielee67

Dear Mary:  I, too, am 67 and was diagnosed much the same way you were in January, '08.

 I also feel the same way you do about waiting or taking meds and have chosen to have bilateral mastectomies.  However, it seems having your breasts removed is a lot simpler than having them replaced.

I have spoken to two plastic surgeons, one who does the pedical TRAM flap and also the alloderm/implant.  The second does the DEIP flap.  I have come full circle and have decided to go with the alloderm/implant surgery.  It is shorter surgery, the recovery period is long but not quite as rigorous as the TRAM or DEIP flaps and, if I don't like the results, the flaps can still be an option later. 

One of my big concerns was the size of my new breasts.  I am now a D cup and the pedical TRAM could give me a good A or B cup, a minor C cup at most.  The DEIP might get the breast to a C cup but the surgery is very long and I was concerned about the failure rate.  I was told by the second surgeon that if I had implant surgery and didn't like it I could always have a flap later.  But if I choose the FLAP and don't like it or it fails, I have no other options.

I will be looking forward to where you are in the process of absorbing all the information and what conclusions you have come to.

Billielee