2018 DIEP Surgery
Comments
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SadieSue09, I had problems with oxygen with my lumpectomy and my BMX. I wasn’t breathing deeply because I was bound up tight from my abdominal binder and the sports bra that was two sizes to small...not to mention how swollen I was from the surgery. Breathing deeply wasn’t something I was focused on. My sister constantly alerted me when my O2 levels dropped below 90. At about 87 the alarm would go off. It is important to do the breathing exercises because with our surgery we were under anesthesia for a long time. If we don’t get that stuff out of our lungs then we could be at risk of getting pneumonia
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Has anyone done delayed reconstruction? I had my BMX in December of 2016 and am just now looking for reconstruction.
Dawnann--Thank you! I really don't know why I didn't realize that was jazz fest. Of course I called first thing Monday and am still waiting for a call back. That really is frustrating!
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hi I just recently found out my cancer is back,it’s early but they have to do a mastectomy because of previous radiation. I will have to have delayed reconstruction which I’m so sad about I was hoping to keep my nipple. For those of you who had to wait how long do you have to wait. What did you do in the meantime I’m scared and sad. Have already had 2 lumpectomies and breast reduction to match them up and damn it I like my breasts how they are.
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UofAgirl--
I am so sorry to hear about your recurrence. Mine were fifteen years apart and it is tough. My first was lumpectomy and radiation.....this time BMX--chemo--herceptin and again radiation. My BMX was 12/07/2016. I have been flat since that time. Reasons are no OR time at time of BMX--radiation a second time on the same side I use prosthesis sometimes. Many women are able to have reconstruction at the time of their mastectomy. Your team should guide you through all of your options.0 -
UofAgirl we too are really sorry to hear about your recurrence, and all that you now need to go through. Your breast reconstructive surgeon should be able to answer how long you will need to wait, and what your best options are.
For that in between waiting time, you many want to think about getting prosthetics.
Here is also a bit of information on immediate vs. delayed reconstruction When is breast reconstruction?
Hang in there, we're here for you!
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UofAGirl- so sorry you’re having to through this again. Since no rads this time why are they saying your Recon has to be delayed? Seems strange.Also you should be able to do nipple sparing and just have expander put in if you do indeed need to delay recon. Do you know where you’re having it done yet?
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cindyanne, I hade my bilateral mastectomy done late Nov 2016. Had tissue expanders in place as "immediate reconstruction " ha! What a joke. This is what I should have done last year. Better late than never. Nola here I come!
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Good luck Kahnartist with your surgery tomorrow! We are all cheering you on!
I had my post op and was told everything looks good. I got all 4 drains out and I spoke in a new language when they took the tape for the wound therapy off of my abnomen though, wowzer that was painful. So glad I had it though, they told me my incision would have to be aggressive to get enough tissue and it is. It goes around the sides of my hips since they needed a bit of that tissue too. No pain there or in my breasts though. Strangely enough and I was actually told this but my former radiated side looks better and has a better shape and feel than my unaffected side. I had nipple and skin sparing back when I had my BMX Dec 16 but the radiated side nip and some skin had to be removed during this surgery because it just wouldn’t have been viable or symmetrical because of the tissue damage. I was sad about that but I’m totally ok with it now. For me it was the idea of it more than anything. I still have a lot of healing to do but in clothes I look perfectly symmetrical. No bra for 8 weeks and they want me to wear spanx to help with swelling.They told me to continue with the walker until week 4 post op and then I can start short distances without it. They said that week 4 is when most people have issues with the abdomen incision because they have started to feel better and try to do too much. Hope everyone is doing well:)
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Kahnartist, Wishing you well on your surgery tomorrow! Looking forward to hearing from you soon. I'm a little envious..wishing my surgery date was nearer. This waiting is killing me!
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hi I haven't been checking in much but have been following along. I am about 4 weeks out now and finally got my last drain out!!! Have been having some healing issues on my abdominal incision so will need some extra care. Pain is definitely still there but Manageable.
Cindyann- I had delayed reconstruction. My mastectomy was June 2016. I had reconstruction at that time but lost it almost immediately due to an infection. So I have been flat until about a month ago.
Wishing everyone well on their surgery, surgery plans and a speedy recovery.
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Thank you Bella and Lula!
Bella, I’m so sorry you are having so much pain. You can whine and moan all you want! That’s what we are here for! I hate that you are in pain, although at least I know I’m not the only one so I won’t keep worrying that something is wrong. My pain goes back and forth between a deep soreness and a heavy burning. I hope this goes away soon because it's constant and that is really getting annoying. I don't have family here, and my friends are all busy...so when I feel like I’m doing too much, I think about it being impossible to have someone just sit here with me for hours and hours, getting me water, fixing pillows, putting up the recliner footrest, opening or closing my blinds, getting my computer or book or magazine, cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc, etc, etc. There are a million little things we do all day long so how is someone supposed to be there doing all of those things for us? I don’t get it. I'm trying to stay positive though! I hired cleaning people today so I didn't have to clean, but we had a flood because one of them left the water running in the bathroom too long! I had to hoist myself up on top of the dryer in the laundry room and get towels and rags and things while she was trying to stop the water flow because it was going everywhere! It went through the floor into the floor below and then THAT floor flooded so the other lady ran down there with a bucket!!! It was pretty crazy so not sure if it was worth it or not! might just be easier to clean myself! hahahaha 😂
Anyway...Everyone else seems to be having a pretty easy time of this so I thought maybe something went wrong with my surgery. My PS saw me 10 days post surgery to remove drains and said everything looked good. I have to wait three weeks to see him again. He didn’t seem concerned about the pain at all.
And thank you Bella, for the info about the binder and why we wear them. I get zero info from my PS so I honestly do not know what I would do without you girls. It seems easier to peel a grape with my teeth than to get info out of my PS. He is a man of few words now that the surgery is finished.
Lula.... I had to go to work yesterday and tried spanks under my binder but I realized I need the spanks that go all the way up to your breasts or it’s even more uncomfortable. Maybe I’ll try a tank top like you said, and hopefully it won’t keep sliding up. I also turn it upside and and right side up and it does the same thing. I’m very short waisted and to be honest, I’m not even sure where it’s supposed to be sitting anymore. Right on top of the incision or on my waist just above the incision? In any case...You have a lot of good tips! Thank you!
I asked my PS’s assistant about Stage 2, which he will not even consider doing until the third month post op. But she said he WILL NOT discuss it at my next appointment...he WILL NOT even discuss it until right before we do the next stage. That seems weird to me because I’m SOOOO DIFFERENT on each side and the further away from my surgery I am, the more obvious the difference.
TWills! So happy you are doing so great! You will be back to normal in no time!! Are you going back to work at some point or are you taking a long time off?
SadieSue09- My oxygen was super low because it hurt so much to breath I could barely get the little ball up on the spirometer. They kept telling me to take deep breaths but it was SO painful. I made myself and luckily by day 4, I was able to start breathing deeper. Just push yourself as much as you can as it's really really important to keep your oxygen levels up.
I have to admit the thing I miss most, and the hardest part of this, is NO COFFEE!!!!!!!! I hope one more week!!
One more question...is anyone else being hit up to write Yelp reviews??? First my PS asked me to write a Yelp review for him. Then the Recovery enter where I went for one day emailed me and asked me to write one. Then the private nursing company who sent someone in one day texted me, then emailed, then called me, asking me to please write a positive Yelp review. It's really weird!!!!! Maybe it's just a Los Angeles thing!!!??!!🙄
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ha! No one asked me for a Yelp review, at least not yet.
I was able to go home from the hospital on Thursday morning. Everything was looking good enough, so no need to keep me there. i will need to have a small procedure to adjust the flap next week, but it’s outpatient and should be quick.
As far as pain is concerned, it’s mainly in my back and gets worse the longer I stand up. Muscle relaxers don’t seem to really touch it, but I am trying to gently stretch through it.
I am much more frustrated with the healing process than I thought I would be, but the only way out is through.
I hope everyone else’s recovery is going well. For this still waiting for surgery, you’ll do great!
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Mitzi-I wore it so the incision line was at about the 1/2 way mark on the binder width. Just high enough that it didn’t impair my ability to walk/sit by being too low across the bottom.
Kahnartist-good luck tomorrow!!
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Mitzi458, wow, I have never been asked to do a yelp review by any health care provider! Seems crazy!
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cindyanne, are you sticking with may 1st surgery date?
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Well, as far as the Yelp reviews go, I decided, at least with my PS, I will say, “I cannot give my Yelp review until we are finished with Stage 2. And I won’t discuss it until then.”
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Dawnann--I moved it to the 4th which is great because we miss all the weekend crazy. Excited and nervous at the same time!
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I know! Me too! It's going to be great to be getting closer to "normal".
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mitzi458, my husband and I had just moved to S FL a year and a half before my diagnosis and I was traveling back home to N FL(6 hrs away) every 5 weeks to do hair, I kept all of my great clients mostly color clients and I’d work 10 hours or so a day for 3-4 days in row to get them all done so I had to give that up. I referred them all to a few stylists at first because I didn’t know exactly what my treatments would be and they are waiting patiently for me to come back, not sure if I’ll start that up again. I miss them all terribly and don’t really want to start over down here so I’ve basically just been trying to get through all of my treatments and surgeries and I really can’t see past all of it yet. This surgery was a big milestone so maybe it will become clearer what I should do soon.Have you been able to continue working?
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hello all.
I’m on day 4 in the hospital. Had the deep flap Friday and overnight they lost Doppler blood flow sounds so we went back in the OR.
They still can’t find it but the flap is not cold, but cooler. So... tomorrow my ps comes to check but already put me on the schedule tomorrow afternoon. Even if it looks better he will want to explore again and told me he would remove a little and see if we have blood flow and keep doing until we do...so the result is I can end up flat on the left. I did this because I wanted them to finally match so this has been really awful to reconcile that the goal may not be achieved and this will not be the end of my reconstruction journey.
I will keep you updated. I’m bummed and annoyed and sore and unhappy at the moment
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hang in there, kahnartist! He's going to do everything he can to save that flap. All hope is not lost yet!
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So sorry you are going through this Kahnartist, sounds like they have a plan and I'm sure you are in good hands:) Sending healing thoughts your way.
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Kahnartist, so sorry that you have to deal with this. Sending gentle hugs and blessings your way
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Kahnartist, you have every right to be angry and disappointed. As TWills says, you are in good hands though. I know in my area there are lots and lots of plastic surgeons but few practices who do DIEP. The ones who do have to know their trade very well.
Your PS will figure out what's going on and fix it. Keep your head up (literally and figuratively).
Peace and blessings
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Kahnartist, I know you must be feeling anxiety about this. Keep positive. I have my fingers crossed for you, my Chicago sister!
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Kahnartist - i've Been thinking about you today. I hope everything is going well as your PS tries to isolate the problems.
I hope everyone still in the recovery phase is doing well. I am 9 days post-op currently. My biggest source of frustration is with showering. The entire process wipes me out. Other than that, recovery is going well. I am scheduled to see my PS on Thursday. If theyagree to take at least 1 of these 4 drains out, I will be over the moon.
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Kahnartist, I hope they can save it. Mine isn't until July now so I have lots of time to read about everyone. I am very encouraged by the replies very one is posting about their recovery. I am a bit relieved my April date was postponed and I have 1/2 the summer to enjoy before my turn comes again. I read where some of you are not allowed to drink coffee??? I am not sure I can do without my coffee. I drink it all day long and even take it to bed with me. Why can we not have coffee?
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I think coffee (caffeine) causes blood vessels to constrict, which can cause problems with the newly created vascular connections for DIEP patients. However, my surgeon did not ask me to cut coffee out and they actualy let me have some in the hospital during my stay.
Everyone’s surgical teams are different though
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Just joined group, not sure how to input info. Planning on DIEP in August. Sounds pretty scary from the posts I have been reading on here.
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I am trying to figure out how soon after DIEP I can go back to work.
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