Latissimus Dorsi Breast Reconstruction
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Hi, I just had my surgery on 3/13, and so far it's not so much about pain and more about being uncomfortable. I posted more in the March surgeries thread. I had 2 PS's, my regular one, and another one who does these all the time, so my surgery took 3 1/2 hours. I'm hoping to get one of my 2 drainage tubes out tomorrow. So far it looks like I have a big boob under my arm, it's much bigger than the front, but I know I'll just have to be patient to see how it all goes. There was a lot of measuring of the 'healthy' side before my surgery, so I'm trusting that I'll ultimately get close to that size when this is all done without having to do revisions.
Hugs to everyone,
Shelley0 -
shelley - i didnt have that side boob thing...but some women on this thread have, i believe it resolves. I was swollen for a bit aswell and didnt like the look of the lat boob but all was fixed at revision. Glad to hear you are not in that much pain!
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Ladies, what kind of bra do you wear after reconstruction? I think my surgeon told me no underwire, but I was wondering how non-underwire give you the support or push-up that is wanted pre-reconstruction. Is a push-up bra unecessary once you've got implants? I'm still trying to figure this all out! (My surgery date will be sometime in April/early May)
Thanks!
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Shelly - I had a bit of swelling under my arm, but I think this was more to due to the SNB. After al lthe swelling went down, under my arm was fine. However, my breasts are not exactly the same. When I wear a bry it is not noticable, but without it seems like the lat side 'slips' a bit; this is more noticalbe if I am on by back. I did have one revision, too, to create more fullness and to even up the sides.
As for the bra, at first I took the underwires out and wore that. However the wires are not a bother now. Again, I stress getting fit professionally - tt makes a huge difference in comfort and fit.
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weety....i am wearing the genie bra, cobbi bra. Looks like a sports bra. I really dont need much more support than this with implants. With my natural breasts i could never go without an underwire (thanks to 2 kids) but implants are firmer, dont droop so a soft bra is fine
i remember you from another thread...what reconstruction did you decide on?
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I just got back from my first appt, didn't get the front tube out dang it, but he says I will on Wednesday. I asked about the side boob, and he said it was my muscle and has to atrophy, plus swelling needs to go down. He was happy with how everything looked, so I won't complain...yet!
Weety, I wear sports bras from Walmart that have hook and eye closures up the front. The mastectomy store/website version of these are $50-$60, and they're $12 or $15 at Walmart. They weren't with the sports bras, but with the regular bras, so I had to do a lot of looking. I used to be a 38D and I think now I'm a 36C or large B, I won't know what I have on the left for a while I guess.0 -
Shelley - Glad to hear your surgery went well. I remember having that puffiness under my arm on my lat side. Sort of in the area where your bra strap would be. It did go down a lot over time. My surgery was 10/11/11. Now I only notice it sometimes.
fitzdc - I notice my lat side slips around a bit too. Especially when I'm on my back without a bra. The weird thing is although I don't really have "normal" feeling on that side, I do feel it slowly start to move a bit. It's very weird. Sometimes it bothers me more than others. But overall it's not too much.
For bras, most of mine are from VS. But I do agree about getting a professional fit. I just haven't had the courage yet. I also have a Geni bra and it's comfy too. But I like the support and a little thicker coverage from an underwire bra.
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Nordstroms have some soft, non-underwire bras which seem to provide more support for my c-cup than the underwires. Plus, they come in many pretty colors. I bought fuschia, mauve, black and white. I may go back for the blues and greens
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Summer Girl..I have an underwire from Nordstrom and I will wear it for a few months but it runs right across the lat muscle under my arm and I may be looking for the non underwire bra later.
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A good bra makes really does help. The bra doesn't have to be expensive (after getting fit, I bought bras from Target). I thought I was a C cup but needed a D to 'hold in/lift' the lat side. And yes, even without feeling on that side, the slippage does feel weird.
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Weety, I had the LD flap surgery (after a sizeable lumpectomy) and I can still wear underwire bras, no problem here. Not at first though - for about the first 3-4 months after surgery, I just wore stretchy bras like a sports bra. Your own comfort level is the important thing.
Printpal - don't you hate those darned drains? Hope yours comes out soon.
xox
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Had my bmx with LD reconstruction last Tues. Still in hospital but recovering nicely. Had TEs put in with 650 ccs to start. I was/so scared about this surgery due to how long it was to do as well as the recovery. So far so good./very happy with the results/so far. My back doesnt bother me except it itches! Started pain pills off the morphine pca, better now with pills. Hope to go home today or tomorrow. Sp glad to have this behind me as the waiting was the worst. Thanks for all the info, good and bad as this was my only recon choice.
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mamasixtaz - So happy you are doing well after surgery. It will get better each day.
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Faythnme- my advice to you is run as fast as you can! i dont know what your circumstances are, but there are so many better options than lat flaps-- i had lats done 8 years ago and i have been paying for it ever since- doctors tend to recommend procedures that they like or know how t do but there are so many other options including DIEP, GAP and body flaps using fat instead of muscle. If you would like to send me a private mesage I would be very happy to talk to y
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mama - so glad everything went well for you...hope you feel great very soon!
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I wore a Coobie sports bra for first 4 months, then got the okay to wear an underwire again. I have been sleeping in a sports bra ever since my surgery. Just feels too weird to go without a bra now.
mamasixtaz - glad you are doing good. The LD flap surgery is not a piece of cake by no means.
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mama.......so glad to hear it's going well......i will be doing this soon hopefully as well.....so great to hear positive results! are you from AZ? just saw the az at the end of your name.
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dnaadebbs- no not from AZ from denver, colorado. Taz is our favorite cartoon character and there are 6 of us, hence mamasixtaz!
When is your surgery? Well, it's been a week and I have the pain meds in control and appetite back. I even was able to walk down to the end of the blk and back! Got home before the snow so this is the first day could get out, getting cabin fever. Biggest thing are the drains and underarm swelling, but each day gets better. Recliner is my best friend and my daughter has helped me alot since I got home. Anticipation is the worst, hope yours goes as well as mine so far. I still have a long way to go but know I will make it!0 -
ohhhhh! that makes sense too!
and colorado isn't so far from me either! i go in next week to talk about my surgery date.....i already had surgery but it failed due to an inefficient PS.....so i switched. but it set me back a few months which was a bummer....because i waited what seemed to be an eternity to get to that point! (6 months...lol). but i like this new PS alot and i'm looking forward to moving forward.
i love hearing the stories......the encouragement......and am sooo glad you are coming thru this well.
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Glad you found a PS you like. I really like mine and he has been really honest in what I could do. I am overwt but wasnt a canidate for DEIP or TRAM. LD was his best choice due to the size I need at the same time as the bmx. This is a big surgery but feel better than I expected. Keeping up on the pain meds and muscle relaxers and stool softners! Lots of rest and help around the house is good too. The results looks good so far.
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I am scheduled to have my LD surgery April 22nd. I had met with my PS before I ever had my mastectomy and we decided on delayed recon because we knew I was going to have to undergo rads. I am now almost a year out from rads and ready to get this done. I am trying to read through this entire thread, but in the meantime: for those of you that might have done delayed like me how was it? I know it is going to be painful and I don't think I am looking forward to the TE's. I will have exchange surgery and a lift on my right side to help it match. I think I am just tired of being lopsided and really not looking forward to two more surgeries. Thanks for any advice/suggestions.
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sherrybaby I found the LD surgery easier to recover from than the mastectomy, even with staples in my back. I haven't had any real pain in the front (I'm out 15 days) and found it was easiest to sit with a pillow against the middle of my back, so the sides could equally not be hitting against anything. I had both drains out by day 9, staples out on day 12, and hope to have my stitches out tomorrow. I will say, mine looks pretty weird, like a big inner tube was implanted back by my shoulder blade, rolling under my armpit and stopping in front. the PS I saw this week said it's a combination of tightness of the skin near the donor site, inflammation in general, and I'll probably need liposuction, as I've always packed a big wad of fat under my arms no matter how small I ever got generally. They did lipo on the other side when I had a reduction and I think he said he removed 350cc from my side boob. This is all just a longer journey than we think.
Mamasixtaz, glad you're doing so well!0 -
Good evening! I had my Latis January 22 , after that I developed seroma problem in my back. I was at home all this time, PS after removing drains 3 Wednesdays in a row was taking liquid from my back, did not work , even without moving left arm, then he put a small drain back and after a week removed it. I am on STD till April 8, PS sent them ( Insurance ) papers, however, they still deciding if they are going to pay for last 2 weeks? Did anybody have a problem like this?What to do?
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Hi Olgah34,
I had fluid in my back for quite awhile. After my drains finally came out (after 6 weeks or so), the PS drained me weekly and then every other week manually for another couple of months. She referred me to a physical therapist that did manual lymph drainage and that made a big difference. Six months after the initial surgery, I had my permanent implants put in and had the scars on my back revised at the ends to correct my dog ears. The PS told me that about 20 cc's of fluid gushed out...the cavity still hadn't filled with scar tissue. However, since then, my back is flat and I don't see any fluid remaining. I think that after all the stuff we've been through, our bodies just take extra time to fully heal. Hope you can find some relief soon. Maybe the MLD with a physical therapist would be helpful. Good luck!0 -
Sherrybaby I had my ld flap surgery in November so that puts me right about 5 months out right now. You have probably read some of my posts. I have to say the hardest most painful part was in the hospital...I could not use my arms to lift myself and scoot around the bed. Had to basically roll out of bet etc...that lasted for awhile until I learned to be up on my elbows first. I was one year out from 33 rad treatments also. The rad breast was just numb anyway, there was no feeling and I had a non skin spraring mastectomy befor rads. My back never hurt at all, laid on my back the whole time without any problems. I am just now getting used to the feeling of the dorsi muscle working in my boob instead of my back, lol. But it starts to feel like the new normal. In a couple of months I probably won't even notice it.
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Okay, now you have me REALLY nervous ---- hwhranch said, "I am just now getting used to the feeling of the dorsi muscle working in my boob instead of my back, lol."
What?????????
My surgery is on 4/10 and I still haven't decided to do the LAT on both sides or just try to do implants on one side and LAT on the side with radiation.
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printpal-good to hear you are doing so well post LD. I have still my drains in (4) but decreasing each day. I do have lots of swelling especially under my arms, and had no nodes removed with the bmx. Having this done all at once is a lot but I am now 12 days out keeping comfortable with occasional vicodan and mostly tylenol and ibu and muscle relaxers. Sometimes it is painful getting up and moving as I feel the expander shift especially on my left side. This was the cancer side so I figure more was done there. My back does not hurt, I can lay on it and it won't bother me. My drains do occasionally pull and hurt but overall pain is in good control. I did not have staples front or back but stitches that absorb and steri strips. It totally is the underarm swelling that bothers me most. But I hope time will deal with that as well as the drains that may need to stay longer to do that.
Sherrybaby-I was so scared after reading this thread before surgery and asked my ps about alot of the problems people have encountered here on the discussion board and he answered all of them well. I know it is a long recovery but I put my trust into what he could do for me as there was no other choice. So far so good, it has not been as bad as I thought but I know more is to come but I think I am getting better every day and that is what I focus on for now. As far as the lat muscle working in the front it is true, it is a weird feeling as the function has not changed and it does contract when you for example try to open a jar...lol The nerves stay connected and you can feel it but it doesn't hurt just feels tight. Good luck and hang in there the anticipation is the worst part. Talk to the ps and have all your questions answered and it will help the fear.0 -
Weety - as for the muscle "working in (the) boob" - for a while after surgery I experienced that my muscle would jump or move as it got used to the new placement. It was not uncomfortable just strange. One year out and I no longer have that.
Teresa
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Thanks for answering my questions. I am getting more comfortable with the surgery each day. Now I just wish it was going to be here sooner so I could get it over with.
The cancer caused so much strange stuff to go on with my body that the idea of the muscle moving in my boob instead of my back actually doesn't freak me out
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That was the first time I had heard of the jumping muscle--I wonder why surgeons don't tell you this. Thanks for all the answers--it still freaks me out, but at least I know, now.
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