Latissimus Dorsi Breast Reconstruction
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Haha, jbokland, that's hilarious!
Thanks, 2Tabbies (and others). This site is great. I talk with my friends and family about things and they are wonderfully supportive, but sometimes they just don't get it. It's nice to message with ladies going through much of what I went through and who have the same issues and concerns. Thanks for sharing your experiences!
My surgery is on the 12th, so I'm right in the mix with you all. My pre-op appointment was very similar to yours, 2Tabbies. Luckily with me it's just the right side; I have (had in the case of my right breast) pretty dense breasts, but I do wonder about lopsidedness after it's done. But I also hate the mastectomy bra and prosthetic and cannot wait to be rid of it! Wearing a tank top is something I'm excited for; a simple pleasure, I know, haha. I'm also really thin, so I worry about how much they can really take skin-wise (I have had radiation and need stretchable skin). I will update after my surgery and be sure to share my experience with you all. Good luck!
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sharing my preRads 'naked truth' photo with expanders at 800/700 cc. I have list all sense of modesty! Judging from my hair, I'd say this was from April.
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I had my surgery on Aug 26th - went home with 3 drains (2 in back and 1 in breast). The 12 inch incision on my back went up and down instead along the bra line becuase the doctor couldn't get enough skin, for the graft, trying to go the other direction. I'm still very numb in my torso area and under my arm. The pain wasn't bad - most of the pain I did have was in my back as my breast area has no feeling. I still don't feel 100% in range of motion as I didn't have any physical therapy but around week 4 I started doing some yoga stretches and has helped a bit...I've had 3 fills so far and will continue to have fills weekly until the exchange on Dec 4th.
I wish all you lovely ladies out there luck with your procedures - and, will keep checking in every now and than...
Andi
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DPiggy, I've been thinking about you each day and hope you aren't too nervous today. What time is your surgery tomorrow? Sending calming vibes and hugs. keep us posted!
I did ask my PS at my pre-op about cutting the nerve and he said he doesn't like to do it because your muscle will atrophy, like you see people in wheel chairs and their muscles have atrophied, and it also will take away volume from your flap.
jbokland, your joke was funny! and you look terrific!
Reading everyone's posts and keeping up on all, have a great day!
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Hi everyone, DPiggy, good luck tomorrow. Welcome Sharsalo.
TTabbies, you are getting closer and got very precise information. I got discharge instructions and that was it, but also had all pain meds ready at home.
Well I went to PS today, first I asked why do I not heal well, he said you are not 22 (I am 65). He removed the old tapes and taped me up again and said as long as you are not in pain you are still healing. He looked at the foob and touched it and said it is not moving, so that is why he taped me up. I am uncomfortable yes, still have to wear the tightest bra and I feel tight and I hate the fact that when I flex the boob I cannot stand the feeling. However, new boob looks good.
First he said you don't have to come back until 6 weeks then we will see what we have to do, then he said 3 weeks.I have not cancelled my trip, definitately cannot go swimming with taped up.
I see him again on Nov. 25th and will know more about a future surgery. He said no now, you are still healing, it was a big surgery. I keep forgetting that it was 5 hours and 3 days in hosp. Not exactly a small procedure. I already had the implants in and the reason for this LD flap was to cover the scar tissue on the right implant.
Artestimis, I was ahead of you with surgery, 9-10 but complications set in so that is why I refer to 3 weeks of being taped up.
Still have problems with movement of arm, but surviving. He just said be as active as you can. Did not provide me with any physical therapy.
Jbokland, funny joke but I am loving your photo. Esquisite. My expander were four years ago as exchange was March of 2010 and I am still on this journey.
Hello to all Raelan, Andrea, hope you are doing well, Yes, all others, hello and with love.
Envious of you gals who heal quick. In restrospect, it could be worse for me, driving is not so bad anymore, also having an epidural tomorrow for lower back problems with is also contribution. Not complaining I am alive. Perhaps after epidural, it will ease pain all around.
Again DPiggy good luck tomorow.
Hugs,
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jbokland - Love, love, love the photo. I see a powerful, strong survivor in that photo!
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Thanks much...it was not posed. I was actually doing my arm stretches after a shower and my wife snuck a shot.
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It looks like I will be joining this group. My surgery is scheduled for Dec 29. I didnt want to ruin Christmas, but wanted it by the end of the year. I will be having lat flap on my left masectomy side, with implant placement. On the right side-I had a lumpectomy with lift at the time of my masectomy...they also put in a small tissue expander in on that side so we can get symmetry. So that side will be getting fixed as well on this surgery. I am quite nervous, but also ready to get these brick hard TE's out. I was 42DD before cancer. I do not want to go bigger or smaller but want to get as close to my old normal size as possible-maybe like a 40D. For that reason, I will be doing saline implants...I wanted silicone but they only go to 800cc so my PS does not think I would be happy with them. I wanted soft and squishy so I hope the saline is not too hard. Thank you for your recovery stories. It helps to know what is ahead.
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Good luck tomorrow, DPiggy! I'll be thinking of you!
Jeanette, you look great! that photo is amazing!
Ronna, I hate when doctors remind us we aren't spring chickens anymore. As if we haven't figured that out on our own! I'm glad you didn't cancel your trip. Remind me again where you're going? My memory is shot!
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Thanks for all the well wishes. My surgery is scheduled for 1pm eastern time. I will keep all of you posted and appreciate your ongoing support. I'm ready, I'm ready, I'm ready...
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DPiggy - Yay, by this time tomorrow you'll be on the squishy side. Best of luck. We'll all be thinking of you!
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jbokland, the pregnancy test story is just too funny. Thanks for the laugh. I love your glamour shot! You rock those TEs!
Sharsalo, I had really dense breasts too. All gone now. (I've noticed that dense breast tissue is becoming a big deal, and they're supposed to offer you testing beyond mammograms. As usual, my timing is off.) I'm hoping my PS can make the lat flap side and the implant only side match up pretty well. I'm so tired of feeling like a mutant.
Ronna, I hope the new tape job does the trick. I don't always buy into the "aging" excuse for everything. Sometimes yes. Sometimes. no. My mother was told her back pain was arthritis and "old age." No. It was a broken back.
vettegirl, welcome to our little group! I hope you can get the size you want. I don't think the saline implants will be hard. One of my docs and my nurse navigator both have them and let me feel them. (Yes, that's right. I felt up my doctor and nurse.) Theirs were both small, but they were quite soft.
Dpiggy, I'm sure you've gone to be already, but I'll be thinking about you tomorrow at 1pm Eastern time! I understand feeling ready!
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jbokland! rock on!! Loved that story too.
How are you all dealing with drains? The one I have left just tugs and pulls so much at the insertion site, it's sore. This morning I woke up to it being filled with bright red .... It was yellow the whole time until now.
I seriously hope it is ok.
I am calling my doctor the minute he opens.
Has this happened to anyone else?0 -
Hi all!
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Mandala, sorry you're having drain problems. I definitely sounds like it caused some bleeding. What have you heard from the doc?
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This pain has been awful today!
I stripped the drain after I woke up and saw all that blood, and it just returned back to the old color. The hole and stitches are sooooo painful and sore right now.
I took some antibiotics just in case, and the PS's nurse called back and basically said I tugged or pulled it if it's not red or puffy. No infection. I was instructed to take gauze and put it under the tube, and also over the tube and tape it down. It seems to help but it just HURTS. No fever. My appt. is Tuesday to hopefully get it removed. I hate this.
I'll add this to my top 5 physical pains of all time. I'm so ready for Tuesday. 26 days with this damn drain so far.....0 -
JB,
You should enlarge to 11x14, print it in sepia tones or black/white matt it and frame.
It is a beautiful portrait, tell your spouse she has an excellent eye. Congrats !!!
Vivian
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Mandala, I'm sorry your drain is causing so much discomfort. I really hate those things too. Wish there was a way to make them less irritating. Hang in there!
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Mandala,
A drain in that long is very irritating and any little movement hurts. Try to keep drain as movement free as possible and it will help.
Once removed, the area may be a bit sore if touched but it will be a huge relief.
Feel better
Vivian
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Mandala, continued sympathies on the damn drain. I hope you get rid of it Tuesday.
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MandalaB - UGH!!!!! I hope you can hang in there with the drain. I know even after one of mine was pulled, the entry site on my side hurt like a dickens for a long time.
Edited to add:
Dpiggy, how did your exchange go? Been thinking of you!
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Yes, Dpiggy, I've been thinking about you. Are you squishy? I hope it went well, and you're just spending a couple days relaxing.
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2 Tabbies- I'm reading of your diagnosis....I am curious about the BC and OC. Was there a correlation ...Are you BRCA positive?
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Good morning everyone. Hope you're all doing well today. I'm continuing on my road to recovery, slowly, but surely. Finishing my first week of being back to work part-time and it went pretty well. I made sure to only work the number of hours I had committed to, and nothing more. Next week I go back full-time, so no more sleeping in. I've kind of enjoyed having a little more relaxed schedule this past week. Still have my drain in, but the volume is going down gradually and I'm pretty sure I'll get it out next week....the sooner the better. I'm at 40 cc's over a 24 hour period, and need to be at 30 or less. It'll be so nice to have the drain out. The one advantage I do have over others who may be suffering with drains right now (Mandela), is last week when I was in for my post-op my PS agreed to snip the stitch or two that hold the drain to the skin (which is where a lot of the irritation comes from), and taped it down really good. I have to be uber careful not to pull on the tube because it could easily come out (although I think it's way up in my back....probably 18 inches or more in length), but nonetheless, it has made living with the drain a little more tolerable. Also, the "bread loaf" under my arm does seem to be decreasing in size, which is nice. Still have some puffiness there, but it's certainly not as bad as it was last week. I continue to do light stretching and movement to assist in my range of motion and keep things from stiffening up. Recovery from this surgery is certainly a marathon, not a race.
Andi44 and Vettegirl - Welcome to the board. Although we're sorry you had to join us, we look forward to getting to know you better and supporting you through this journey.
DPiggy - Can't wait to hear about your exchange. Please post when you're up to it.
Ronqt - So good to hear from you. Please continue to keep us posted on your progress. I've read enough stories from others about this surgery to know that the healing process can vary significantly from one individual to another, so please don't feel discouraged. Time is our best friend when it comes to this sort of thing.
For those of you who are in the home stretch with upcoming surgeries, know we are thinking about you and are here to support you.
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jbokland, I'm not BRCA positive. I was tested a few years back due to my ovarian cancer and an aunt who probably had ovarian cancer. I say probably because it was the 50's and nobody discussed these things. From what my mother said about it, my doc thought it was ovarian. Anyway, I wish I had come up BRCA positive because I'd have had a prophylactic mastectomy and skipped all the fun of the last year and a half. Nobody really knows why my body likes to make cancer cells.
Raelan, I'm glad to hear things are still going well.
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I just had my talk with the pre-admission screening nurse at the hospital. I am getting so impatient to get this show on the road. The waiting is torture.
I have a question for those who've already been through this. The booklet from the PS said that often there's a big feeling of let-down after cosmetic surgery, and depression is common. Have any of you experienced this? Frankly, I'm not sure I'd be able to tell because I've been depressed for months anyway especially since starting Tamoxifen.
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Raelan, you sound good! hope that drain comes out soon.
2Tabbies, I've read on some of the exchange threads about the depression or let down after cosmetic surgery. I didn't experience with the lat flap surgery, in fact quite the opposite. With no boob for 6 years, it was amazing to see a mound there after surgery!
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kfinnigan, that's what I'm hoping for. It's only be 15 months since my mastectomy, but I'm so sick of the sunken chest look. Even if it doesn't come out perfect, it's got to be an improvement, right?
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I had a slight depression after I finished all my treatment, but I imagine I won't feel that way after reconstructive surgery. I have had a sunken chest for 10 years now, and I am literally skin and bones on my right side (my ribs are visible and I absolutely hate it), and to be rid of the prosthetic and mastectomy bra that doesn't fit correctly -- I can't wait. I think managing your expectations about what it will look and feel like is key to not being depressed; it will not be the same as what we all once had, but it is certainly better (at least for me) than what I have now.
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sharsalo - I think you hit the nail on the head. In my opinion it really is about managing expectations. I've done a lot of reading on the exchange forum, and seems to me that individuals who experience the greatest letdown are those who are expecting their new implants to look just like their tissue expanders (lots of projection). In reality, because tissue expanders have a hard backing and implants don't, the t.e.'s will give a very young and perky look to the breast, but the implants will tend to mold to the chest wall and be a bit flat at first. The flatness is primarily due to the pec muscle reacting to the surgery and pushing down on the implant. Over time (in some cases weeks or months), the implant will "drop and fluff" and look more natural and full through the lower pole. Ultimately, most women are happy with their implants as long as they are patient.
One other thing to keep in mind with implants is they will tend to look a bit smaller than the t.e. (if using the same amount of cc's as the t.e. was filled to) because of the fact they mold to the chest wall. For this reason, if you are happy with your t.e. size you may want to find out what size implant your PS intends to go with. A slightly larger implant (100 cc's or so) than the t.e. fill amount will generally provide a similiar look.
Once you get to the point of talking with your PS about implant size, I strongly recommend you check out the "breast implant sizing 101" forum. It's run by Whippetmom, who we all call the "implant whisper". She's amazing and has helped many women have an educated discussion with their PS's about implant size. The size and style she recommended for me is the exact one my PS intends to use. I went to him with her recommendation and he totally agreed it would be a good fit for me.
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