Post mastectomy tops you’d recommend
Hello, I’m about a week post-op from my double mastectomy. I got a couple soft, button down short sleeve shirts to wear around the house that have been ok. Now that I’m going to be venturing out of the house a bit more, I’m hoping to find some tops that are still button or zip front that can have a place to conceal my drains and hopefully actually look a bit cute. I’ve seen a couple online that look like hospital scrubs, so I was hoping someone here might have a good resource for tops that meet post-mastectomy with drains needs, while looking at least a little cute too. Thank you for any suggestions!
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tx2tx0 - hi, I see that this is your first post - welcome! I hope you are recovering well and feeling good. My recommendation depends on where you live and the outside temps, but I found that I could wear a tank style top (non-racerback, regular tank) and put it on by bunching it up and stepping into it, then pulling it up. I pinned my drains to the side seams usually with a large safety pin through the tab. I then wore a very lightweight zip front hoodie or a lightweight cardigan or twill jacket, unzipped or unbuttoned enough to show the tank top. I usually wore leggings, yoga pants, or jeans with cute flats, slides, or sandals, and some larger earrings and bracelets, but not necklaces. Another option is a tank with drains pinned to the side seams, and a tunic sweater or flowy top over the tank and some leggings or other kind of pants. A few weeks out from surgery I could add a lightweight scarf looped around my neck. I didn't buy any new tops, just tried to use what I had, and usually you don't have drains for very long (hopefully!) so I wouldn't invest too much into new clothes if they are not something you would wear again later. I found I could wear things that went on over my head if again I bunched the top up and put my head in first, then carefully put my arms into the sleeves, but that worked best with things that had a more generous neckline and looser fitting sleeves. Good luck!
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I agree with special K, don’t buy things that you won’t want to wear after the drains are removed. Although the length of time drains remain in varies by person, for the vast majority of us it’s still a fairly short time. Take care
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Hi @tx2tx0. Welcome!! I bought some cotton mastectomy camisoles on Amazon by Gentle Touch Medical Products and have been living in them night and day for 5 weeks since my mastectomy. There are other brands that look similar. They were a bit pricey but I sort of panicked before my surgery because I had nothing button-down to wear!!
Turns out I love them and they have 4 interior drain pockets and a Velcro front. I didn’t care for the odd bulge from my drain but thankfully it came out after about 10 days. I layer a long button-down shirt over it (my sister-in-law was smart enough to get me several) for during the day but just sleep in the camisole at night. I’m glad I have a couple since they need to air dry and the fabric is kind of thick so it takes time to dry after washing. I plan to keep wearing these for a while as my tissue expander gets filled and then once I have my reduction surgery on the other side. And maybe just to get my money’s worth I’ll keep wearing them? They have breast insert pockets and came with poofy inserts but it doesn’t work for me so I don’t use them. The sizing does run a little large … I ordered XL at first then Large and use both sizes but the XL is a bit big. Of course I’m missing some bulk now on one side.
Also, if you ever shop at Costco, and like leggings, I wear the 32 Degrees brand base layer pants as leggings (in black) because they are inexpensive, come 2 to a pack, and have a very gentle waistband. I’ve been living in those night and day also. Everyone admires my leggings it’s so weird because they aren’t really leggings. But it’s become my new simple wardrobe.
I hope you find something comfy that works for you. Best wishes for a smooth recovery!
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