Latissimus Dorsi Breast Reconstruction
Comments
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Olgah, We seem to be on a reverse pattern! I am now on the same chemo regimen that you were on, but I started chemo 6 weeks after my bmx with lat dorsis reconstruction. I had my bmx on 7/25. No real issues with recovery. As you have read, the drains are annoying, but not to terrible (and I had 8 of them!!) My back is somewhat numb in places, but it doesn't interfere with my lifestyle much. I'm 50 and fairly active.
I mostly have my full range of motion back. I was fortunate, because my bs was able to access the sentinel node through the breast, therefore she didn't need to cut under my arm. You should be able to knit slmost immediately.
How did you find the chemo regimen? I'm going for my 2nd big treatment tomorrow.
If you like, you can private message me. I'll be happy to answer your questions, and I would be interested in your chemo experience (wtihout cluttering up this thread!)
Thanks and good luck,
Cheryl
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Momluke and Jo1955 thank you for letting me know that you were itchy too. Jo how long after your surgery did the itching go away?
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Momluke,
I am almost a year from my BMX, lat dorsi reconstruction. I have been trying to keep up with everyone on here, but being back to work, and this year is crazy, I have 35 students in each of my classes and just trying to keep up is making me nuts!!! My PS also told me that the numbness will not go away, although in reality, it's a strange numbness. At first I felt like Robin Williams in Mrs. Doubtfire, that I could burn them and not know it. I remember bending over the washer to get the clothes out and didn't realize that I my foobs were leaning on the washer until I felt the pressure! Now a year later, they are still numb, but not like in the beginning.
I too get this strange pull in my shoulder, armpit, back when I reach for something or stretch funny. I am very careful how I move. The breast clinic at Forsyth Hospital gave me a stick and dvd to use for after the surgery for exercises and that helped alot. When I feel the need to stretch out I use the stick again.
I am not as active as I would like to be. I am on herceptin, which is causing me to have some breathing issues lately. I find that I run out of breath much easier in these last few treatments. I am just glad that Nov 15(my birthday) is my last one. I am hoping that my heart and lungs will get back to normal so I can begin a regular exercise program to get this excess weight off.0 -
Have questions again girls I had my surgery on sept 28th the doc released me from the hopstial with a rx of hydrocodone 7.5 one pill every 6 hours i have two left am i over using my pain has not eased much. Ive been taking1 and a half.sometimes at night a take 2 thats when my pain makes me unable to sleep. Do any of you have pain under your arm not armpit and pain in the back of your arm.
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robertson8272 - Each of us responses to pain differently. So to answer your question - no, you are not over using your pain meds. I was also sent home with hyrocodone and I think I took one or two to help with sleep. I did not have too much pain - some along the back scar and at the drain sites. I bounced back fairly quickly. In fact, I was back to work after my one week followup. Found some shirts to wear that hid the drains. If you continue to have the same level of pain, please contact your PS and discuss this with him/her. You should not have to live with pain. Hang in there! It does get better.
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Sept
25th I had my surgery with a 24 hour stay in the hospitalI was also on the same meds and run it to the problem of them making me sick on top
of the pain. So after a midnight call to my Doctor, he took me off the meds and
told me to take Motrin and pack myself in ice. Now this is going to sound funny but once I got the meds
out of my system and started using frozen peas the pain eased up. Also a friend of my that is a Yoga instructor
showed me how to breathe through the pain.
check with your Doctor, before you do anything first.0 -
Hi Ladies - I had my exchange last week and just wanted to pop in and tell you all that it went really well and that it's way easier than the initial surgery. I actually had extra stuff done - another lift on both sides, revision of the dogears (another 4" added to each scar so that it now comes down onto my side, but it's perfectly flat), major scar revision around one nipple and minor liposuction on the sides, under my arms for shaping. Today is day 6 and the drains came out (thank god!). I did 7 weeks with them the first time around and I hope to never deal with them again!
I went with silicone implants and they feel so much more real than those TE's did. Now, I'm just trying to adjust my brain to the new me. Part of me looks down and feels like the new girls are small, but I'm a D cup. I think it's just the new shape of them and the fact that I used to be a G cup, so it's just a different look for me. I'm hoping that as I lose weight they will look bigger to me...if not, I can see myself going back in at some point for bigger implants. I think she said the ones she used were 380cc's and I had some bulk from the flap itself. We'll see how things go as they settle back down.
I'm still really happy with the outcome of my surgery overall and I wouldn't change anything about the decision to do the lat flaps. For me, the blood flow that came along with it helped me to save my nipples (2 other PS's told me there was no way given how much I was sagging due to breast size prior to surgery). Plus, I look pretty darn natural overall. The scars on my back are thin and pink and they keep getting smaller.
I hope you're all feeling good.
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Jen - Great news! The best part is the dreaded drains are gone and you are very pleased with your results. So glad to hear you are doing well. I also would not change a thing.
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Thanks, Jo. So glad that you're happy, as well. I think you were my "drain buddy" back in the day. We hated them together, lol!
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Good Morning Jen - You are right. We were drain buddies and we both got through it. It was quite a day when the darn things came out.
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Hi Ladies
I'm having mx on 10/22/12. I'm an XXX-large gal with DD bras. I'm supposed to have delayed recon with the latissimus dorci.
My question is: Did any of you have delayed recon and NOT have tissue expanders?
When I saw the OS Tuesday, he said there are no plans for tissue expanders, because recon won't be for 8-12 months.
Should I be calling the PS to check on this?
HELP!!!
Blessings
Paula0 -
Paula I did have it on my left side. After my left TE failed twice, PSand I decided to remove it. It was March21, I am still without it on the left, TE on the right. I am planning Latissimus in the beginning of next year.
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Olgah, thank you for responding. I call the PS office today, and his secretary assured me that I will still get recon later even without the TEs.
Maybe that's better, since many of the ladies complain of the discomfort of the TEs.
Blessings
Paula0 -
Really? I thought Latissimus always with TE. I will get another one and PS will expand it, then change to sulikone. I did not have enough skin and muscle though...
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olgah34 - I had latissimus without TEs or implants - just muscle. Had just the left side done.
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Thank you!I really did not know that...
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Jo...thank you. Was there a lot of discomfort? I mean with surgery in the front and back, how do you sleep?
I'm more educated about breast cancer than I ever could have imagined! I mean really, I thought BC was BC. Who knew there were so many kinds, or so many treatments!
Blessings
Paula0 -
I had an immediate recon with the lat dorsi and a 550cc implant...no expanders. Sleeping can be challenging depending on your sleep position prior to surgery. I used to sleep on my stomach and sometimes my sides...never my back. Now...I sleep mostly on my opposite side from the surgery and my back. Took me a while to get close to comfortable doing that.
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Soteria205 - What you said about knowing more about BC than you wanted to is so very true. Who knew there was so much information?
First, let me tell you I have the LD flap done to repair a significant lumpectomy defect. The entire bottom half of my left breast was taken even though my lump was small. My BS wanted to make absolutely sure he got clean margins.
With that said, I did not have a lot of discomfort - front or back. I took very little pain meds even with the drains in. I had to on my left side close together. One was for the back and one for the front. The front one came out at 2 1/2 weeks and the other at 5 1/2 weeks. I thought the drains was the worst part of this whole recon experience. You asked how did I sleep? In a recliner. That really sucked since I normally sleep on my left side and hate sleeping on my back but I did it. I went back to work after my one week follow up and yes, with the drains. I was us and moving about the day after I was home. I know my limitations and rested when I needed to. I wanted to get back to my normal routine as quickly as possible.
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Jo1955 I so much agree drains were the worst part of my surgery. I too had a flap without a te, but I did have a 150 cc implant. As I've mentioned I will need a revision. My non cancerous breast will need a lift and I probably will need a larger implant in my other breast. I am still a little itchy, and I still have discomfort when I sleep. MY surgeon said I could havethe revision as soon as December, but I think I will wait longer than that. Have a great weekend.
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I've read through several of the entries but still had some questions. I had a Double MX Dec 8, 2011 with immediate reconstruction...expanders placed at the time of MX. I didn't have enough fat from tummy and elected NOT to do the lat flap because I work out a lot and didn't want to lose my lat muscle. After the whole very painful process (fills, exchange surgery April 2012, nipple reconstruction, August 2012, complications with nipple reconstruction Sept 2012 and Oct 9, 2012 when the Dr. took out the implant on my left side because he didn't have enough skin left to accomodate the implant due to the radiation I had back in 2007).
So, I have had 6 surgeries in 10 months and now I will have to start this process from square on with the the lat flap on my left (that surgery is scheduled for Nov 2, 2012...so that will make 7 surgeries in 11 months!).
My questions of anyone who may have had a similar experience.
Since the MX has already occurred almost a year ago, what should I expect in regards to pain for the lat flap and placement of expander? And length of recovery? Will ROM issues be greater with this than they were with the MX and placement of expanders?
I know everyone is different and has different experiences. My MX and reconstruction surgery was EXTREMELY painful. I woke up from the surgery and it didn't feel like there was any pain medicine in my body at all. And the fills were extremely painful as well, partly because my muscles were developed because I lift weights and partly because I am on the thinner side (so I found out afterwards from reading so many posts on this site!).
And finally, for several reasons, I have still been sleeping in a recliner since Nov 2012 ( I had a lumpectomy and removal of 18 lymph nodes before the MX and came out with drains)! Now with the lat flap it looks like it will be a challenge to sleep on my back even in a recliner...yikes!
Anyway, if any of you have similar experiences you'd be willing to share, I'd really appreciate it. I am just really apprehensive about the surgery for many reasons, not the least of which is not looking forward to the kind of pain I experienced after the MX. Thanks in advance :-)
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Flintviolet - I hope I can be a little help to you. I had lat flap on left side. I play golf and was worried about my ROM. Had surgery Apr 18, 2012 and I can play golf now with no ROM issues. I did sleep on my back in a recliner with not problems or pain. I hated having to sleep in a recliner with the drains but for me that was the worst. I don't see why you could not go back to exercising with time and slowly at the beginning. I woke up from my surgery with no pain to speak of. The only pain pills I took in the hospital was when my PS would mess with the drains. On a side note, I had lat flap done and next day had to go back to surgery for a hematoma so was in the hospital for 4 days instead of overnight. Did not wake up in any pain then. Of course that is just me. I hope others come along and share their experiences.
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Jo1955: thanks for the feedback! How long did it take you to recover enough for daily life, work, etc and for playing golf? Do you mind me asking if you had expanders?
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flintviotet - I did not have expanders or implants. The entire bottom half of my breast was removed during lumpectomy. I did get to keep my nipple though - thank goodness. I was at work with the drains after my one week followup. I pretty much did my daily stuff with the exception of reaching in high places and heavy lifting. I felt pretty good so I thought why not? I was not allowed to even swing a golf club for 2 months. In fact, my PS said I probably would never be able to play again unless I started playing left handed. Well, I fooled him. I slowly did stretches and had hubby massaged my scar daily. I would swing the club slowly and half way up at first and worked my way up to a full swing. At 3 months out, I was playing 18 holes with just a bit of stiffness. Now, it is no problem. I don't notice any difference. I was determined to get back to some sense of normal and I did it.
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Hello! I'm going to discuss this surgery with my PS on Monday. I was trying to get a feel for when people were able to go back to work after the surgery? Does just one side mean a shorter recovery period than if you have both sides done? Or does that not make a difference?
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I had just one side done and I will be returning to work on the 23rd part time and full time Nov 5th.
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cat24 - I went back to work after my one week followup and yes with the drains. As far as recovery time, each one of us is different and I don't know if having both sides done makes that much of a difference in recovery time.
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Jo-
Your Lat dorsi flap was for a correction from a lumpectomy? I wonder if what they take from back differs between a lumpectomy correction, a complete breast mound, or a breast mound with an implant or TE's. I know I have a good amount of muscle that was moved, enough to cover a 550cc implant. With that being said, the recovery times might vary based on what they took from the back.
I don't know...just speculating!
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Jo: good for you!! I love to hear stories of perseverance:-)
Momluke: Am I understanding that your recovery was 6 weeks to return to work part time?0 -
I'm a full time employee but my PS wants me to phase back slowly. First week for 8 hrs, second week 12 hrs, third week full time. He's a conservative older dr (sweet as pie). Thankfully my employer offers up to 12 weeks sick leave that can be broken up into hours.
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