Not-so-good surprises in DIEP surgery and recovery?
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Hi there,
I am one year out from my Bilat SGAP, which turned into a DIEP after one of my flaps failed two and a half days out.
What I really want to share is what developed last Sept. I am an active, biking, hiking , kayaking, elliptical etc etc. using woman. Last Sept I was hitting the ellipticall pretty hard and I developed a very serious Left trochanterec bursitis, severe left hip pain, pain that radiated down my leg, made it impossible to sleep and was basically with me 24-7. Of course when I can't move, my mood takes a nose dive. I had x rays, inconclusive and opted to see a friend of mine, a chiropractor, for help. I did six weeks of adjustments and stretching which helped tremendously, but did not cure the problem. I eventually saw a physiatrist, after my MRI, and he diagnosed Left hip bursitis, here take these pills and let me give you a shot of cortisone. I really wanted to know how and why a healthy (cancer free !!) active 48 year old female ened up with bursitis ! Fast forward to my lovely PT Andrea. During my first visit I began to share my medical history with Andrea which brought us to my buttocks scares (still tight and numb ) and my abdominal scare (very tight and numb ) and Andrea looked at me in shock "well of course you are having troubler with your hip" Apparently the scar tissue makes the hips so tight that the illeotibial band (insertion at the hip bone and runs down the outside of your leg to your knee) rubs across the bursa (cushion between the bones of the hip) and irritates the heck out of it. Amazing !!! now I am a nurse and I never figured out that one until my PT shared it with me. Soooooo ladies, beware of the tightness of the buttocks and ask for some PT to be included on your recovery !! No one suggested that to me and I wish they had. There are exercises and massages that PT's can do to minimize the scar tissue that is forming in those areas
Hugs to all !
Anna
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Hey Anna~
So maybe if I have been having pain in my left hip and the onc. says "keep an eye on it" since I finished chemo at Thanksgiving, it could have something to do with my DIEP? Maybe I should speak to my PS about it...
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Hi all,
Thanks for all the postings. As some of you know, I have decided that instead of DIEP, I will do implant recon. I am comfortable with my decision, but my PS, being a DIEP expert, thinks that there are a lot of benefit of DIEP over the implant.
For those of you who happen to have experience with both, do you feel that in terms of the multiplicity of follow up surgeries, fills, exchange surgeries, etc., associated with the implant recon, that the benefit of having a shorter surgery and recovery with implants would turn out to be less than DIEP for which pretty much one major procedure (albeit longer for surgery and recovery) takes care of everything once for all?
Thanks for your input!
Bella
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I am writing this to show that there are many complications from implants as well, so I will share my story in hopes that I can later finish it with a better ending :} I am going in for a DIEP May 2, 2011.... almost four years to the day my journey with breast cancer started. A journey that has been a roller coaster ride this whole time and I wish the ride would stop. Never the less I am willing to give it one more try so that I can step off the ride with a smile on my face! To write this journey, It would be a book, so I will just try to condense it down. I started with a lumpectomy in May 07, then axillary dissection. Lymph nodes involved and path report of tumor was very aggressive stage III ILC. Chemo was said to start as soon as possible. I had one treatment and felt terrible. Was hard to know if it was normal for chemo, or something else. Of course, it was something else. MRSA staph infection that put me in the hospital for 7days. Came home on Vancomycin through my port three times a day for two weeks. Had to have a wound vac for the lumpectomy incision that would not close. Three months later I started treatment again and because of this delay, my Onco said that mastectomy and recon would have to wait until after treatment. In Feb08 I had a bi-lateral mastectomy due to cancer being lobular and aggressive and almost always affects both sides. I had expander's placed in at that time and was going to start the expansion process. After two fills, I woke up with the right side feeling a little flat. Still half a sleep I did the normal morning potty visit, but when flushing realized that the "normal" morning potty was not so normal. As I looked into the toilet the color of green was surprising to say the least. Ok, well one of the first things we learn in art class is that yellow and blue make green. Yellow= pee Blue= dye that is inside the expander that is drawn back each time my PS made sure during fills that he was in the expander. I grabbed the right side again, and YES it was flat. My PS had gone through the expander and it was leaking. I went in again for another surgery to have the right expander replaced. Two months later I was not feeling good again and woke up to a very high fever and the right side of my chest red and swollen. After 4 days on IV meds in the hospital, the right side just opened up. My PS took the expander out, cleaned the area in the OR and placed the expander back in. I was once again sent home on Vancomycin through a PIC line since my port had been removed during the mastectomy. Two weeks three times a day and just three days after finishing the regiment, the right side at home opened up. PS took the expander out for three months and once that was done, I was able to finish the fills and was scheduled for my final stage of reconstruction. During the last two months of this process, my identical twin sister was diagnosed with breast cancer. (that part of the story is another one in itself and so unfair. She did everything that was told of her to prevent this and after a preventative bi-lat mastectomy and expansion process, her cancer was found in a lymph node in her arm pit when the expander's were replaced with her perm. implants). So three years later, I have had my body reject two sets of implants and I am scheduled for the DIEP. There are two reasons for this. One being that my skin over the implant is so "paper" thin as the PS has stated that my body just keeps pushing them out, and two, the body is just rejecting them. I am now on my third PS and I think that I have finally found the right one. That is not to say that the first two did not come highly recommended. My first was the Dean of plastics at the U OF U and the second one I had seen his work and was for sure he could fix me. There are many people that have said that maybe I should just cut my "losses" short and be done. Really!! Hmmmm, I wonder if the shoe was on the other foot and it was them walking around with one implant in, one missing from infection and rejection and the left one on it's way out after all of it, if at the age 0f 39 if they could live with out breasts. I have fought to hard for the last four years to throw the towel in now. So, I am going to get back on the "ride" and hope for the best because "boobies" are worth it to me.
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sticec, wow what a ride, what an awful ride!
Thanks for sharing, it's true that sometimes in the midst of the difficult parts of DIEP it seems like implants are "easier" - but obviously that is not always the case!
BEST of luck with your DIEP, I think you will love the results! Are you doing unilateral and keeping one implant, or going for bilateral?
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Sticec,
This is indeed a long and bumpy ride for you, I really admire your endurance and your courage! I wish you a successful and smooth DIEP procedure! I might be experiencing the same kind of reaction as you did because I know my body is sensitive and picky
But I am hoping for a better outcome and easier process. One does wonder given all the trouble one may simply go breast free
. But at this point, I still want my breasts, especially when the summer comes when I go to the beach. So I understand your thoughts and wish you the best as you go back on the ride!Bella
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My freaky side effect from my DIEP surgery was getting an ileus. I had lots of people tell me, don't get constipated, but boy howdy, no one ever told me how AWFUL you can feel when you find yourself in that situation. A scrip for reglan got things moving again. This complication is unusual, and no mention of it was made previous to surgery, and I can't imagine there would have been any reason for them to mention it at that time.
My next freaky side effect was muscle spasms in my back two weeks after surgery. My pain levels were nearly nonexistent in the hospital. I had two very dear friends who chauffuered me to and from NOLA (a 10 hour drive), and I think something got tweaked on the way home that led to muscle spasms. Celeste told me it happens on occasion due to being propped into unnatural positions during surgery. That was the only time I needed some serious pain killers (they gave me muscle relaxers).
The only other thing I would've done differently would have been to tell Dr S to leave my good side as is. He offered a mastopexy on my good side to lift it up some to acheive better symmetry. Unfortunately, I have the same condition mentioned earlier in this thread with the itchy red bumpy scar tissue -- sometimes, not always. It used to be called keloid and can't recall the newer name it has now. Anyway, my surgery was in 2005 and my scar tissue still itches. It's taking it's sweet time to flatten and fade. I was stitched up many times in my youth, and the tissue literally takes years to fade and stop itching. The discomfort is infrequent these days and the redness is fading.
I suppose the only other thing that was unexpected that no one could have foretold was Katrina. I was starting to feel pretty good again by week 5, and they told me to lay low for 6 weeks. Katrina made landfall on the eve of my 6-week anniversary. NOLA was like my second home then. I had the best medical experience I'll probably ever have in my lifetime there. My local doctors had nearly scared me to pieces for getting my surgery elsewhere.
I realized with hindsight that leaving town for surgery was the best decision I made that entire year. I was on the verge of mowing my lawn the last day of August I was feeling so good, and then I realized no one was home at my surgeons' office and I couldn't possibly risk any kind of complication. So I stayed inside and watched day 1 with no buses, day 2 with no buses, day 3 with no buses, days 4 and 5 with no buses.
I can't blame all my ptsd on the miserable response time to the Katrina disaster because I've had prior occasions in my life to cause ptsd, but it seriously made my ptsd considerably worse. Just a few weeks later, I had to evacuate from my own home because of Rita. So yes, the DIEP was a bit of a rough ride, but I really didn't want to choose something that might need a do-over. It might take a bigger chunk of time for recovery up front, but over the long haul, when you recover from DIEP, you're DONE. If there's any do-overs, they happen right away, and if you go to NOLA, your chance for a great outcome is excellent.
I haven't chimed in here in a while, and I just wanted to let people know that you can have complications and still get great results. Travelling to see the best surgeons possible is at the top of my list of recommendations for this type of surgery.
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have surgery sched. may 16th for diep. saw some info on brava method miamibreastcenter.com and am thinking i am going to do this instead. had double mastectomies one year ago and radiation on the right. i am afraid of the diep too- recovery, scars and the over all result? anyone know anything about this new method. i have had some great info already from someone who has had it.
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Hi Hope,
Yes, we PMed before. Thanks so much! I actually will be doing a unilteral implant reconstruction. I wanted a shorter surgery and recovery period (I plan to go back to work in 4 weeks if possible).
Thanks again. Hope you are well,
Bella
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Good Luck Bella. The final choice is yours to make. That being said, I know several women who opted for implants and ALL of them wish they had done the DIEP or TRAM. Since I've been home and word has got out, women I barely know are asking about where to get it (DIEP) done and how bad was it (not that bad and I am no stranger to surgery).
I'm wishing you the best outcome and fast recovery no matter which way you go.
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Thanks so much, Snobird. I know there are pros and cons with implants or flaps. But for now I am comfortable with my decision. I can always do a DIEP if implant does not work out
but of course I hope it works out beautifully.Bella
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Hi all, I will be having DIEP in May. Wondering does everyone get a breathing tube? I will be having a bi DIEP and they said it will take 12 hrs or less. Did anyone have problems from being under this long. I must admit is sounds a little scary being out this long. Thx ladies.
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IowaSue44 - Is this your first time being under for surgery? Yes I believe everyone gets a breathing tube but I didn't even know I had one, as it was out before I woke up in recovery. I did get a hoarse voice very fast after trying to talk too much the first day or 2. I do think everyone wakes up with a catheter in but I may be wrong. I had one for 2 days I think it was. I had prophylactic mastectomy on 1 side and then DIEP recon on both sides all in about 8 hours. I had been under previously for a partial thyroid for like 6 hours. The only problem I get is that I cannot go to the bathroom for the first 24 hours, so I didn't mind the catheter, and all other times I got sick from the general anesthesia. This time, my anesthesiologist did a great job, I did not get sick at all. Good luck with the DIEP in May and the date will be here before you know it.
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Sue,
As what blondie said, I had a breathing tube but since I was under at the time I had no clue it was in me because when I "came to" it was already out.
When I woke up I was comfortable and they were making sure they were on top of my pain levels. I think what hurt me more was my arms from the position they had me in for that many hours.
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I have heard that with anesthesia, it is the going under and coming out that are most important, so kind of like an airplane with take off and landing. Once you are under, you won't care or notice anything until you wake up in recovery. If you are choosing a great surgical team with lots of experience, I would imagine they aren't going to be working with a sub-par anethesia team. Also, ask your surgeon directly about the anesthesia part and also ask the anesthesiologist any questions you have. I have neck and back issues, so I asked directly that they protect and support those areas as best they can. I trained for my DIEP to make sure I had good stamina; so used the elliptical in cardio training mode almost daily for several weeks preceding my surgery to make sure my heart was as strong as possible.
I have also found that my mental state makes a huge difference in my recovery. This time around, I did a lot of creative visualization to visualize a smooth and successful surgery; I also used meditation tapes before and after surgery. Because I live reasonably close to my PS, I had a super good rapport with him and all of his support team; that really helped me build confidence, so by the time I was being wheeled into the OR, I really felt like I could trust him 100%. By the time I saw my surgeon in prep, I really had no more questions left unasked. As he was drawing all over me with his marking pen, I joked with him to make sure my belly button was nice and centered (a friend of mine says hers is slightly off center). I also have a symbolic strength totem that I took with me into surgery, taped to my leg that reminds me of my own inner strength. I visualized my surgical team surrounding me, my closest family and friends surrouding them, and all my other support people surrounding them. I felt like everyone was watching out for me and sending me positive energy; I also asked everyone ahead of time to be sending positive energy to me and my surgical team throughout the day.
I really stayed super positive all through the hospital portion, realizing that every unpleasant thing i went through meant that I was just that much closer to going home. There are certain parts of this whole experience that are outside of our control, so I feel like it is important to figure out all the places you do have power and to use that power to your advantage.
Today I am on day 10 after surgery and one not-so-good surprise has been my thrush (from the antibiotics) and the nausea that I just can't seem to kick. I'm surprised at how great my breast looked immediately after surgery, from looking at before and after photos, I expected it to look a lot worse. I am surprised by how natural and good my breast feels; it feels like a breast again and part of my body again. In spite of reading about everyone's recovery, I am surprised at how difficult it is to stand up and how much pulling there is on my stomach and how much my lower back hurts due to walking around all hunched over. I am also surprised at how difficult it is to really rest and let my recovery flow at its own pace.
I know I have a long way to go before I can truly assess the outcome and whether or not I would do it again or not. The bottom line is that I made my decision based on lots of research from lots of different sources, so I have no choice except to trust in my ability to decide what is right for me, no matter what those around me might feel. I did second guess myself a couple of times and I had to go back over my decision process and make sure I wasn't letting low priority items change my mind.0 -
IowaSue44 - I was under for over 10 hours, and when I woke up my throat hurt. It made it difficult to eat. It lasted one week, went away after I got home and rinsed with Prevention and Biotene mouth rinses, no idea if they fixed it or it would have gone away on its own, but I had white ulcerations on my uvula and tonsils. No doctor or nurse at the hospital ever looked in my throat when I said it hurt, and I wish I had asked them to in hindsight because maybe they would have done more than give me throat numbing spray and lozenges?
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Yikes Xmas that isn't good at all!
treesprite I did some of the same things. I was getting my body ready mentally and pysically during the 5 weeks I had between my diagnosis of IDC and my actual DIEP surgery. I had already been working out at the gym prior to my diagnosis but I was training really hard after the diagnosis. I was determined to be in the best shape I could be for surgery. It also helped me emotionally because to be on the treadmill and run off my frustration and anger of being diagnosed with cancer helped tremendously.
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treesprite and nora_az - I'm thinking along the same lines. My DIEP referral PS consult isn't until June, and I don't want him to be "available" until after Labour Day. I want all summer to run and get my cardio and abs into the best shape possible. I've had excellent results recovering from anaesthesia in lumpectomy and mastectomy: aside from the sluggish, um, digestion, I had no complaints, no barfing (which was always my thing post-op before). But those were 90 minute oil-change operations. DIEP is a marathon, so I am going to train like it's a marathon. (Okay, half marathon, but I run slow. A good runner could do a marathon in my half time!)
treesprite, you reminded me of something my OR nurse said minutes pre-op. I am very stressed out by inhaling anything other than room air. Using my asthma inhalers just kill me. Heaven help me, I could never smoke or do medical pot. They had to physically wrestle me at the lumpectomy to get that mask on and promise it was just oxygen and the meds were going to go in by IV. At the mastectomy, just as I was about to get all worked up, as I do, the very "zen" type OR nurse said "visualize something you really like just as you go under, because that will affect your mood as you come out." That could be a bunch of bunk, but I couldn't disprove it. I visualized getting on a ride at Disney World (:3 When my daughter was going through the gauntlet of juvenile arthritis, with blood draws after blood draws, she would always have me narrate roller coaster rides to her in phlebotomy: "now we're in the queue, now we're on the platform, now we're in the car, moving, stopping to check our lab belts, now going up the lift hill, now going down the first drop, and around through the ..." These had to be specific rides, because if we got to the end of the track before the tech was done, I had to narrate the walk to the next coaster, and start that one! Anyway, when the nurse gave me that suggestion, I decided what the heck, and did the same thing in my head. Comparing that with some past surgeries when I was angry or scared going in, I woke up feeling pretty together.
I'm determined to keep a positive outlook, but honestly, I fear cosmic punishment for the vanity of wanting the reconstruction and even the prophylactic mastectomy with "only" DCIS. I probably shouldn't even be in this thread!!
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Goldlining... I don't understand... Are you feeling that you are "just" DCIS and therefore shouldn't be here? DCIS=cancer... so you are choosing PBMX... me too... and recon... me too... and I want the best result... why not? But what do you mean by fearing cosmic punishment? You are entitled.
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Nannie:
I had my bmx & immediate DIEP on March 14th with Dr. Casey at Mayo Clinic here in Phoenix.
He & his team are GREAT!
I was well read about bmx & DIEP before I went to see him, so there's been no real surprises.
Dr Wasif @ Mayo did the bmx. The only surprise he presented was that he thought I was a good candiate for skin & nipple sparing. More than I could have hoped for.
The nipples themselves and some of the aeorla (both sides) have died, but I knew that was a risk before going in.
The best part? I look down and see *me*, my skin, my tissue.
Over a year ago, I went to Dr Casey, but, Mayo wasn't approved by my primary insuranace and they didn't want to mess with pushing my secondary insurance. So, I waited until I could change insurance plans at work. If Dr Casey couldn't do it, my next option was NOLA. Me & my family were in a tizzy about having to go to New Orleans and flying the long flight home with drains, pain, etc. But my Dr *McDreamy* came through for me. He's great & I could not be more pleased.
By all means, PM me if you want details.
bonny
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(1) What are the things that you didn't anticipate to happen that you wish you were told by your doctors?
I was well read & well informed before I even went down this path. I read everything I could from any source about reconstruction options. I knew that DIEP was my best shot. I'm a detail-oriented person. I had a notebook with my questions for all the Dr's and made sure I got all the answers.
So, there's been no real big surprises.
One surprise is how tired my back becomes. I do walk hunched over and my back gives out pretty quickly.
I wasn't expecting itchy skin. The boobs got pretty swollen and the skin got pulled pretty tight. Then it itches! But, Cetaphil cleanser instead of soap in the shower plus the Cetaphil lotion solved that within one day.
I knew they had to *harvest* a vein & artery on each side from the chest and/or from between the ribs. What I wasn't expecting was that rib cartiledge on each side of the sternum would be actually removed. Not a big deal in the grand sceme of things.
My PS did MRI's to get a better picture of the veins/arteries. He found that on one side of the belly, the vein/artery were too small so he would have to harvest some belly muscle. So one side is a free tram and the other is a true DIEP. But I knew before the surgery that the free tram was necessary.
Heparin shots in the back of the arms was a surprise. I had heaprin a few years ago due to a broken ankle and got shots in the belly, so I figured that's where the shots would be. So, that was a little surprise. I really didn't care one way or the other.
(2) What are the things neither your doctors or yourself had anticipated?
My Dr's weren't prepared for how motivated I was. I was sitting in a chair on day-2 post-op. Normally, that doesn't happen until day-3 or day-4. On day-3, I did my first lap around the nurse's station.
(3) Exactly how long did it take for you to recover to being fully normal?
I don't know yet. I watched an old movie today & cried when they had to put a dog down. Yeah, a bit of the depression is hanging around. But the weather in Phoenix is very uplifting & very much Spring, so that pretty well chases the blues away.
I still take a Percocet before bedtime and sometimes in the am. The dang pills give me the most bizare dreams!
Good Luck to All!
bonny
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Bonny..... I had dr wasif as my breast surgeon too. My ps was Dr Rebecca. I absolutely love my results. My nipples took fine. I am sorry to hear about yours. They actually went sure mine would take because I has a breast reduction a year prior to my DIEP. Dr Rebecca did that one too. I love the Mayo.
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I just celebrated my one year PBM+DIEP anniversary!! I couldn't be happier. PBM + DIEP was 3/29/10, Stage II (nipples/lipo/scar revision) was 11/5/10 and Stage III (tattooing) was 3/31/11. Maybe I am the odd man out, but things have gone very smoothly for me since post-op day 2 at Beth Israel in Boston with Dr. Tobias.
The post-op issues I had were twofold. 1) my reaction to narcotics, particularly morphine, is not pretty - combative in recovery. 2) they left phlegm in my throat, which interfered with my breathing for 2.5 days. After the morphine pump was removed and the phlegm left, my recovery was text book.
I was out walking around my neighborhood 2 days after getting home and visited my daughter's school one week after surgery. I still walked a bit bent over for awhile. The tightness disappeared somewhere along the way - just when I thought it might be permanent.
8 weeks after Stage I, I was at a Taylor Swift concert in Foxboro with my 7 yo daughter. By summer I was kayaking, swimming, etc.
I still had indentations above my breasts which weren't very appealing, but were fixed in Stage II a few months later. In Stage II Dr. Tobias did lipo on my hips/thighs, waist, stomach and moved the fat to fill in these indentations. He also fixed the dog ears on each side and created nipples.
Stage II was three days ago, so am still healing from the tattooing. This procedure lasted 2 hours and was done in Dr. Tobias' office with Maria. I did require a local for that. So now I am just about finished with reconstruction. There is one more follow-up, then annual appts after that.
For me, getting the PBM + DIEP has been one of the best decisions I have ever made. Getting it done at Beth Israel with Dr. Tobias was the BEST DECISION!!
My blog http://www.breastcancermom.blogspot.com details my journey from decision-making through my one year anniversary of my PBM + DIEP. If you have any questions please PM me, I would be happy to talk with you. Dr. Tobias/Maria referred me to two of his past LCIS patients who spoke with me on the phone and were key in relieving my anxiety.
My best to you all!
Joanie
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@Joanie207 HOORAY for you! You are finished and I on the other hand, am just beginning my recon with Dr.Tobias and his team. My PMX (already had a MX on the BC side 6 years ago) and bilat DIEP is scheduled for June 6, 2011. I sure hope I am making THE BEST DECISION also by choosing him for this most important surgery. I'll read your blog from cover-to-cover, so to speak, but would also love to PM you. I'm not really nervous (yet) but actually can't wait to have 2 "breasts" and CLEAVAGE once again. To be looking forward to a 10 to 12 hour surgery is kind of odd, but strangely I am looking forward to waking with 2 breasts, if that even makes sense.0
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Interesting about the length of surgery differences. My BS said that my skin-sparing BMX with DIEP will take just 6 hours because the BS and PS will work in parallel for a good part of the surgery. The BS will remove the breast tissue and the PS will harvest the tummy fat at the same time. When the BS finishes her part, the PS takes over.
Anyone else experience this timeline?
Michelle
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@XRAYestInMA - you are definitely in good hands!! I not only had Dr. Tobias, but also Dr. Lin as the attending, Dr. Curtis as the Breast Fellow (on his own now in Albany!) and his resident. I love that I was able to have my surgery at a teaching hospital affiliated with Harvard!!! My breast surgeon was Dr. Houlihan, who is also very good. My friend who had this done in October had Dr. Sharma, the breast surgeon who did her follow-up. I met her when visiting my DIEP sister in the hospital and loved her!!
I was lucky in that my LCIS was non-invasive and I chose to take this route. So, I was never without breasts. Two of my friends have done the bilateral DIEP with Dr. Tobias after single mastectomies and have been very pleased with their outcomes!! Am very happy to talk with you. PM me and we can set up a time to talk.
@LuvRVing - I have no idea why the difference in time frames. My surgery was 14.5 hours. It started at 7:30 with the breast surgeon and the plastic surgeons working in tandem. It ended just after 10pm. Just this past week I confirmed that with my PS while I was being tattooed. I was able to ask anything and everything for 2 hours while Dr. Tobias was working on me!!
I wish you both well with your DIEPs. A year later I feel normal, actually better than I did a year ago. Aside from the relief of having it behind me, I also physically feel better. My best to both of you and everyone else with a DIEP on the horizon!!
Joanie
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I was told that my DIEP would go faster that it did. Mine lasted close to 10 or 11 hours. The reason why is the BS was not planning on finding a dirty lymph node. Once that was discovered he said the PS is not able to work side by side with him doing some things she needed to do while he was performing the mastectomy. If they were clean they would've worked together.
It sort of scared my husband because about 45 minutes after saying goodbye to me he went to have breakfast in the cafeteria and he saw my PS sitting on her own eating. He had no clue why she was eating and not doing surgery on me!
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I did not expect to have an incision revision /debridement(due to some fat necrosis/seroma) after my DIEP last month, adding a little more mending time with gauze.
Actually I wish I was told or realized (hindsight being 20.20) about Implant base Reconstruction:
In October I had Bi lat Mast with Tissue Expanders which failed (skin necrosis & infection)
I choose implants due to least surgery time. I was perhaps nieve and did not realize the high failure of implants (Ntl. rate is 50%) infections, pain, contracture, multiple lifetime revisions etc.
versus DIEP the failure rate is only 1%.
Both of course can have general surgery complications. Most important is that any problems are fixable.
We make our best decisions based on what we know at the time and any which-way there is a no picnic aspect as well as silver linings.
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Yes I have been under for a few surgeries, bimx was one,sorry I didn't know they give everyone a breathing tube. I thought they just give you oxygen with a mask. I was asking my friend who is a RN about it the other day and she said if I've had surgery I've had a breathing tube. Wow the things they do to you while your out lol.
I will watch for sore throat and make sure they give me something for it if I have one. I had a very easy recovery from BIMX. 0 problems from being under left the hosp. 20 hrs. after surgery, felt fine and went shopping 2nd day after surgery. I hope I do, half as well with the next one.
I think the time difference is from having 1 or both sides done I am having BI DIEP. That told me it is usually 10hrs. Also that they always use 2 PS for the Bi Diep. That is at the hosp. I will be going to, Mayo Clinic Rochester, Mn. It is ranked 3 in the nation for cancer treatment. idk about plastic surgery, they told me they do 1 Diep a week. 1 bi diep a month.
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I was expecting implant reconstruction but now I have to have radiation which may not make me a candidate for implant after left mx. What is the difference between diep and tram flap? Are there lots of complications?
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