2018 DIEP Surgery
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Twills I am 0n hold right now. My chest x-ray appeared to show fluid in my lung, They believe that in reality it is changes from radiation but my PCP will not clear me for surgery until I complete a round of extremely strong antibiotics and repeat the chest x-ray. My last CT showed the same so I believe it is radiation changes. I guess it is always good to be cautious but this is really a disappointment especially when you are this close and have mentally prepared. I have not gotten a rescheduled date yet.
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Oh no Cindyanne, well I hope it clears up soon or they find out it’s nothing. I know it’s frustrating to have to postpone.
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Twills and friends,
Thanks for your good thoughts, am post showered and heading to bed soon for early am surgery. Feeling great, relatively! Am grateful for all the great support, honesty and courage I have found here. Best wishes and peace to all in recovery and on the path to surgery.
I will check in after my “safe landing"!! 😘
Amy
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good luck tomorrow, scubamom!! 🍀
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Will be thinking of you Scubamom24 during your surgery. Praying for a miraculous result
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Cindyanne, How frustrating! I have had nightmares about getting sick before surgery and having it postponed. Hope it clears and you will be good to go soon! Does this interfere with your travel arrangements? My fingers are crossed for you.
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Question about the recliner chair during recovery..
I have one that I used after my BMX and it was great - I slept in it for about 2 weeksbut the manual leg handle was rediculiusly hard to move and I always had to have someone put it down so I could get up!
I’m thinking of renting an electric stand up recliner — have you all rented? From where? Or is it better to purchase one?
Thank you all!
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By the time you rent one for the minimum number of days you can buy one. The power recliner is the bomb. Ashley furniture has one that even lifts you to a semi-standing position for $499 if I remember right.
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I met with a new PS this morning that I really like and he is experienced in DIEP flap surgery. He took a lot of time to talk with me and I have decided to move forward with single DIEP on my radiated breast and a pre pec implant on the other side. I had a nipple sparing MX on that side and the nipple is way too far down so they will remove the nipple which I am fine with. The implant will be placed in the second surgery. I feel at peace with this decision. My surgery is set for July 6. I am going to go back through and read all the posts on here again to get myself prepared. He is scheduling me for a scan of my abdomen, I think he said to make sure there is good blood flow or something. I assume this is standard?
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ocdamy,
Yes the abdominal CT scan is normal. Your PS will use that on surgery day to know where your epigastral ( cant spell - the E in DIEP) artery is. Mine explained that the location of the hip to hip cut is largely driven by where your artery is.
Congratulations on making a decision.
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Awesome OCDAmy, so happy you have a plan that you’re comfortable with!
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OCDAmy-so glad you found the right path for your recon journey! Let us know if you have any questions.
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Hello! I had DIEP surgery in New Orleans 3 weeks ago. My stomach seems tighter today than usual. I’m not sure if I’m not moving around enough or if I’m doing too much. I also am not sure how tight to wear this abdominal compression. I started wearing it after my last stomach drain was taken out a week ago
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DIEP surgery in NOLA, April 6, 2018
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Marg2018, I am nine weeks out from my DIEP surgery and my abs are still tight...some days more so than others. My last visit to the PS which was about 5 weeks post surgery I described to him that my abs felt very hard and tight and I felt very full. He drained off fluid, which he and the PA described as not very much. I thought it was a lot and I did feel more comfortable when I left that appointment.
At eight weeks post surgery I accidentally rolled over on to my stomach. YIKES!!! Don’t do that! I felt like there were thousands of pieces of shattered glass inside of me from my breast down to below my abdomen poking me from the inside out. I realized that there is a lot more healing that needs to be done internally that we can’t see.
The abdominal compression needs to be snug. It is meant to support your abdomen and to prevent fluid building up between the layers where they pulled your abdomen back together. Fluid build up will slow the healing process.
After 4 weeks of the compression band my PS said I could switch to Spanx. I felt that was more effective because Spanx gave me full support where the compression band kept riding up on me. The Spanx needs to be the long kind that begins under the breast and extends to your thighs. Spanx that begins at the waist does not give enough support and will be uncomfortable.
I am sharing my experience with you as I followed my PS’s instructions. Every PS has their own plan. Follow what your PS has instructed you to do. Always call his office when you have questions. Ask to speak to his PA’s...you can usually get a faster response.
Blessings for a miraculous recovery
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Hi Marg-did you wake up from surgery with the binder on? Or did the nurses put it on you at some point? If so then you want it as snug as then. If not, then you want it snug but not restricting. I found it didn’t ride up as much if I flipped it so that the wider end was on the hips and the narrower end was on my waist. If you open it up and lay it out you should see the difference in width I’m talking about along the center panel.
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Thank you you so much for the tips. It makes me feel better to know this tightness is normal. I’m going to try wearing my compression band tighter today. It constantly rides up so that might help. I am only 5’2 so not a lot of room for it anyway. I am not rolling over to. My stomach thanks to you! That sounds painful. I’m still sleeping on my back. Margi
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Hi,
I didn’t wake up with it on. The nurse gave it to me at my 2 week appointment after my stomach drains came out. I tried finding information on how to wear it because I’m not sure if I have it on tight enough. I’ve worn it for a week now. I’ll look at it like you said
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April 9 DIEP Flap; seems to be healing well! Follow up tomorrow. So ready to see what's under all of this surgical tape. I have a small area that looks red on the inside of my right breast; praying it's not a problem with healing.
What a miracle this surgery is! I am so very grateful to my doctor for his amazing gift. I had delayed reconstruction for 5 years. I wake up every day in awe of my cleavage and flat tummy. Biggest challenge: waiting to heal before going shopping for clothing that does not fit like a tent as I've had to camouflage misshapen breasts for so long.
Blessings and healing to all on this journey to a new outside to match our brave and beautiful insides. 💖🙏🏻
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That’s wonderful staceysjourney, Yay for cleavage and flat tummies!I’ve loved that part as well, I should start counting how many times a day I look down my shirt lol. I was flat for 8 months and then had only one side expanded for 8 months so I know what you mean! Congrats and continued healing!
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Marg-no side sleeping for 4 weeks, no tummy sleeping for 8 weeks is NOLA’s standard protocol.
Stacey-sounds like you’re doing great! It is exciting to see the changes. Hope you’re as thrilled with your results as I am with mine!
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Hello All,
I am considering going to NOLA for DIEP surgery. Had a wonderful conversation with them today. Very encouraging. For those of you who went there, would you kindly share your experience with me?
I am concerned about travel home to Chicago. Plus, my husband has Parkinson's so he needs as much help in the airport as I might after surgery. I am also concerned about who would follow up with me, at home, if I should have issues that need immediate attention. How did you handle that, if you had a problem occur?
Thank you in advance!
Mary
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Carmstr835-
I did have a partial rib removed, although my PS never told me that this could happen. When I started having a lot of pain that others were not having, I asked for my surgical report and found out that he did, in fact, remove part of a rib. He was not very forthcoming with my plan, my results, nor my second surgery. He is a man of few words so I’m going to another PS for my Stage 2 surgery, which is on May 10.
I also found out from my surgical report that he removed a couple of lymph nodes and sent them out for biopsy. Thank goodness they were normal. I did not even know this was done! And I also was not aware that you could reconnect nerves, and I did not see that on my report. I wish I had known this could be done, as I would have done it. My stomach is still pretty numb and my surgery was on Feb. 21st. Not sure if any feeling is supposed to come back or not. Right now I feel like I’m always wearing a tight girdle. : )
However, i’m SUPER happy to have two breasts (even though they are COMPLETELY different from each other). Hoping to fix this next week. I love love love having a flat waist for the first time in decades. It’s very worth it.
You sound like you have a great surgeon. Mine did not like me asking questions. When I asked if I could have cleavage as you asked, he said “Yes, if you wear a bra.” Not the answer I was looking for. My new PS said, “Sure! That’s easy!”
I would ask your doc if he does fat grafting in Stage two if needed, and where would he harvest from. Good surgeons will do scar revisions. My new doc looked shocked when he saw my breast scar....most women have a football-type shape to the scar. I have a full circle so I STILL cannot wear anything open past the first two buttons. I’ll be happy when I can finally dress normal! I chose my second surgeon because he truly does have an artist’s eye. I hope I’m not disappointed.
I believe you will be in good hands if he is willing to talk to you about all of this. Like I said, despite the drawbacks, I’m still happy I did it. And hoping to be even happier after next week!!
Good luck to you!!
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Hello all, thank you so much for your kind wishes.
Night 3 in hospital and feeling very good. They ended up doing a single flap which looks great thus far, nipple spared. Honestly, I'm not in much pain, slightly more around the abdominal incision. I think the worst was post-op recovery in the 78 degree room where I have been roasting and swelling up for three days! But, the blood flow is great so they're happy and once my IV came off the edema was better.
Sadly, halfway through the 9 hour surgery, my partner got a calll that his dad had died. He had given the DNR order so we know it was close, he stayed with me until the next morning then went to make funeral arrangements.
This group has bee so very helpful and my nurses and docs are great (Beth Israel Deaconnes, Boston). Showered, learned how to strip the drains, and catching up on rest. Have a private room - no one wants to share this oven!
For all of you in recovery or anticipating surgery, I sincerely hope it goes as well as mine. I am still waiting on the path report (2 nodes)but will cross tha bridge when I come to it
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scubamom- so glad everything went well for you and you're feeling pretty good! Don't be afraid to take the pain meds to stay on top of things, that's what they're for. I'm so sorry about your partner's Dad. I hope all goes well with the funeral arrangements and such. We're all thinking about you two!
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Mitzi458, I guess you’ll be the one to get our Stage 2 list started! Excited for you, good for you for switching Drs to find one that you’re confident with. It really stinks that we have to go to such links to advocate for ourselves. I’m instantly more confident in my Stage 2 consult in 2 weeks, if I don’t like what he says then I’ll find a new Dr.
Good luck with your next step!
Scubamom24, so happy that you’re comfortable and healing nicely. Sorry about your partners father, that’s a lot for him to deal with all at once.
Marymorris, Welcome! You’ll find a wealth of information here:).
Anyone else with a Stage 2 date, or Stage 1 if I missed it?
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My stage 1 is July 6. I'll be having surgery at Barnes Jewish Hospital/Siteman Cancer Center.
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I updated the list OCDAmy, sorry it I missed that before:)
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Scheduled my CT scan. Do you need to get an IV with contrast for this? It makes me a little nervous they will find cancer in my abdomen, I know that is silly but still...I guess that is always going to haunt me.
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I had an IV when I had my CT, I’m pretty sure that’s standard because that’s the way they make sure the arteries have good flow and map out the ones they will use. I was nervous about the results too
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