DIEP Flap Reconstruction 2017
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Haven’t been on here in a while. I’m getting ready for stage 2 on Thursday. Not sure why I’m more nervous now than I was before the initial surgery. Probably just anxious to be done. The PS is going to have to go into the noob because there’s some necrosis. Depending on what he has to do he might not get to make righty match the noob. I’m hoping that’s not the case because he said my only other option would be to do the lat. dorsi and I won’t do that. Also I’d like to call it done at 2 surgeries. I’m a little weary at this point and want some time to not have to focus on any of this, you know
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Very common for them to open up the noob in stage 2 especially for some necrosis which they will break up. Is it a time crunch for OR space or his OR schedule that he may not be able to address symmetry?
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He has to fix my abdomen also. Tighten up one side, as he likes to say. The abdomen is most important to me, although I would like everything taken care of, of course. Looks like he’s scheduled the OR for 3 hrs, so it is a matter of what he can get done, I suppose.
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cdv4251992, good luck with your surgery on Thursday. I too wish it could be two and done. It is a long process that tests your patience for sure. Speedy recovery
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cdv4251992 we wish you much luck for your surgery!
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Does anyone remember the drain totals before they would remove the drains for your breast? I know my surgeon said below 20 because I had some really huge seromas and lots of encapsulated seromas as well as scar tissue and fibrous tissue that was very painful prior to this DIEP. I was hoping this surgery would help with that pain and so far it has, but my drain totals are not consistent. It seems the more I am horizontal, the higher the breast drain totals and lower the stomach drains. The more upright I am, the higher the stomach drain totals, but lower the breast drain. I did not sleep well last night and my drain total was 5 cc's lower. I was only in bed for 4 hours last night. The night before I slept in (over 10 hours) and the drain total was quite a bit higher. When I am upright my breast drain totals is about 7.5 for 12 hours, but 12.5 cc's when I am lying down.
I want the drains out, but not at the expense of seromas and pain. I do have some rather hard spots as well so I am hoping the mid level people can make accurate decisions, my suregeon is on vacation till Aug 5th.
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I think my guidance was <30cc but not 100% confident. Even though your surgeon is on vacation there should be another surgeon or nurse that you can talk to. I found movement to be best for healing- short walks several times a day. It also helped with sleep.
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Can anyone feel lumps at the edges of the flap? Not sure if it’s where the flap was attached.
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i can and didn’t get a good answer from my surgeon. I’ll hit him up again when i see him
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I just got 2 of 4 drains out today. My PS took them out under 30 on day 10. The other two are still above 30 because I’m too active. Too active as in I tried to walk around the block after a week. Due to this, now I have to wait till day 14 to get those high producing drains out. HTH
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https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topics/861735
Bie-slo
Here’s the link to the 2018 thread, it’s a lot more recent and activeif you are looking for a DIEP reconstruction thread:)
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I've had unilateral mastectomy in 10/2016, had TE put in at first for implants but after rads, PS said DIEP is the only option. Two yrs passed still with TE on but I'm undecided fear of recurrence. Although there's no concrete study showing that but how do I know if I don't have Mets before deciding to do DIEP. Second I have not met any PS I can talk to or who can explain to me the good and bad impartially. My current PS continually insist me on doing DIEP to get rid of my rads skin. But he doesn't discuss with me about what I want how I want the breast to be. He just said simply the new breast will be perky and the good breast will be reduced to match. The thing I do want a lift but not much reduction. My belly has some fat but may be just enough to do 36B I do not want my good breast go down to 36b from 36 C. So finding a good Dr is a n issue. I also do not want any fat taken from any other parts of my body neither. Any help anyones?
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One option is that they can put a small implant under your flap for volume.
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I would definitely wait to see what the DIEP breast looks like before deciding to add or decrease anything else. I had a unilateral DIEP. I didn't have to wait though as I did not have any invasive cancer but had 4 spots of DCIS so my removal and reconstruction happened in one surgery. I had a bit of scarring below the flap but otherwise it turned out nice. My issue now is getting the two breasts to match. I am a 36C, the DIEP breast is really nice and have not had to make any changes to that but my natural breast is a bit shallow in comparison. I have had 1 fat grafting (this past February) so far to the natural breast and my PS is REALLY conservative so I am waiting to see if I will decide to have another fat grafting. To be honest, my left breast was always bigger than my right anyway (the left being the DIEP now). I actually have always been almost a full cup size difference.
You really need a PS that listens, discusses everything and that you feel 100% comfortable with. I do love my PS though I still have some concerns over the latest touch ups. I cannot imagine how I would feel if I didn't have complete confidence in him.
Your DIEP breast might look fuller than you anticipate. I personally wouldn't add an implant to the DIEP because implants usually have issues at some point in your life, but that is just my opinion.
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hi, I’m checking back on this after all this time—did you ever get the mesh out? Mine is still in and my entire abdomen is so messed up, anyone can feel it. It’s rock hard with ridges and all sorts of nonsense. Every dr says some version of “huh, that’s odd—I don’t know!” Sigh. I’ve been doing PT and massage and my rectus abs will engage, but cannot contract enough to bend me. I’m considering seeing an abdominal specialist at U of Mich. it’s been 2.5 years. I’ve also had a CT—nothing of note other than some features on the abdominal wall. Have you had better luck? Oh, I also look distended and digestion is affected. :
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Jubilee, not everyone gets mesh and I was a good year out from surgery with constant infections when someone finally mentioned the mesh and biofilm etc. after 2 and a half years of antibiotics, I finally had all the mesh removed and replaced with a biologic mesh. It’s a long miserable tale. I can only say this. Within a week of having that mesh out, I felt so much better. Ask questions and definitely consult with another surgeon and possibly an infectious disease specialist. Hope you feel better soon
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I would not recommend implants. Read about the recall.
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Houston2016-I don't know if you live in Texas, but if you do, there is a wonderful plastic surgeon who is in private PS practice there. His name is Dr. Michael Saint-Cyr and he is in Temple, Texas. You may have already had your surgery, but if you have not, please consider consulting with him. He actually did my DIEP reconstruction at Mayo Clinic in 2012. I had a unilateral mastectomy right away after DX, and I had to wait a week for Dr. Saint-Cyr's schedule to clear. It was well worth the wait. Two and done-everyone who sees the reconstruction (Dr.'s nurses, etc.) all tell me how great it looks and ask who did it. My only personal complaint is that he left Mayo and now that I have a recurrence in the other breast, I am very disappointed he is so far away (I live in Chicago). Anyway, just wanted to throw that out there because he is a gifted micro-surgeon and I know many people have had less than stellar experiences with reconstruction.
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Hi Michelle,
How was your experience with this procedure and Dr. Kanchwala? I have a consult in 2 weeks!
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