Topic: Lattissimus dorsi - comments please

oh dear Caya..

i have the same of all ur q????

they told me the same but i also asked to have reduction on my other side

i am confused about it as there will be more scars..i would prefer to have expander and implan with out the flap..i want a very small breast and dont know if anyone will answer our q???

Hi Caya:

I had it! I also had prev. occurrence with a lumpectomy and a prev. irradiated boob.  Was left much smaller and scarred.

This time around I went with mastectomy (same boob) and had a lattisimus flap bec. if you have had prev. radiation they liken the skin to wet tissue paper.  It is not likely to hold an implant without some sort of superstructure in place.  The lattisimus alone won't make you a big enough boob (or wouldn't have in my case) but everyone is different.

Yeah, the recovery is tough, but it's worth it in the end.  I do need a lift to match the bigger boob on the other side that has never had cancer, but I am waiting to decide on that.  Hubby doesn't care and neither do I if I match.  So I am now waiting on nips, exchange is put off til fall (my choice, I wanted a break and am on chemo too)

when i will get permanent implant in and "fipples".

I looked at many options, but this was leakly likely to fail in my scenario.

Good luck to you!

I had left LD flap with expander and ultimately saline implant done back in 2000 following mastectomy, chemo and radiation; with a right side prophylactic mastectomy with implant only. I definitely noticed muscle weakness on the left side, but it isn't debilitating. Muscle has a tendency to cramp when I'm chilled or when muscle overworked.

However, over the last few years, capsular contraction has become an issue, and the radiated skin that couldn't be covered by the flap has thinned making the implant visible, so I'm now looking at DIEP and S-GAP with removal of the implants. At the time of my LD surgery, it was my only viable option.

Caya,

If you are looking for great cosmetic results, I think the lat flaps are the way to go.  I had it done last June and they look great.  The drawbacks are:  tight feeling--like a boa constrictor around you.  It has eased up since surgery but I still feel it when I exercise or when I wake up from sleeping.  It isn't painful, just uncomfortable.  My back is itchy but cannot be scratched because it is numb.  On the other hand, my scars are not bad (are hidden by tanks, swimsuits, etc.) and I do not feel any loss of strength.  Good luck with your decision.

i had a bilateral lat flap back in 05 with immediate silicone implants.

i recently lost my right implant due to infection, but my right one looks pretty darn good, if i do say so myself .  like others have said, it is a slow recovery.  i was out of work for about a month, but the tightness lasted for way longer than that... probably at least a month or so more.  i did go for some p.t. which i think helped.  the scars on my back are hidden by most of my clothing, but the area is numb and does fell really weird to the touch .  the scar on my boob is getting very very light and i don't put anything on it.  the boob i lost to infection, never ever felt right... it never got nice and squishy, it was always hard.  i hope i answered some of your questions... if you have more, just ask... i will help, if i can.

good luck.

barbara

Hi

My lattimus dorsi reconstruction was amazing!  I could wear a bikini and you wouldn't know!

The surgery and recovery were hard, but well worth it!  Ask your plastic surgeon where your drains will be as that for me was the worst thing as they were coming out of my back for 8 days!?  I suggested to him that in further ops he might put them in the front! 

I am incredibly happy with my lat flap. I had a bm with immediate recon. Doc even made me a cup size bigger! They fell where they needed to be, and look better than ever. I was out of work 2 weeks. I slept sitting up for 2 weeks as well. If I layed down there was no getting up, but I must say the drains were the worst part. I have no feeling on or around the scars on my back, the scars are hidden by clothing, no biggie. The nipple reconstruction was scary, it looked as if I had worms sticking out of my boobs for over a month. But they shrunk down, and yea, I am happy.

I can tell you that my LAT Flap side looks more natural than my just implant side.  I had lat flap on my left side with implant and just implant on right (had radiation on left, so needed Lat Flap).  It seems to add a better shap to the breast.  I had the mastectomy in September 07 and Recon in Feb 08 and I feel great.  I have a little tightness, but stretching help and I am getting strength back every day.  As others have said my scar is hid by most clothing.  Course I made a huge mistake of going tanning prior to my surgery thinking it would be a nice way to relax and got a terrible sunburn.  So I had a template of a bikini top for the PS to follow..hahah.  So he new where to make the incision on my back :)