Failed reconstruction

teddysmum57

Hi all, I was diagnosed with DCIS in 2010 and had a partial mastectomy and radiation on my left breast. In 2014 I was again diagnosed with High grade DCIS in left breast. I had a double mastectomy including nipples and a Tramflap operation using the skin, fat and muscle from my stomach to create breasts.

I absolutely hated how I looked. It looked like I had 2 flat english muffins on my chest. I had no projection. I simply didnt have enough fat or muscle to create the breasts. The surgeons tried fat transfer but to be honest it made no difference. In 2017 I decided to see my surgeon about implants. I had the implants. I still had a shelf on one breast and the breast that didnt have reconstruction was bigger and had saggy skin. Last ear, due the age and my unhappiness with how I looked I went on a 12 month wait list to get the implants replaced with smaller implants and they did a lift and skin revision to make them look more normal. Plan was then to get tattoos to replace nipples later on. The photo taken during surgery looked amazing. Over the next week the tissue along the surgical lines broke down. Especially on the radiation side. After having 4 weeks of nurses coming 3 times a week to do dressings i basically ended up with severe infection and had to have emergency surgery to remove my new implants, clean out the necrotic tissue and infection in both breasts. Im 57 and single and this has really affected my confidence.( more than it had prior to this surgery). My question is....has anyone had successful implant reconstruction after going through what I have?

moderators

Hi @teddysmum57 , welcome to the community, though we're sorry for all that has brought you here.

Thank you for sharing your story. We hope some members with experience of reconstruction challenges, implant loss, or additional revision surgeries will see your post and share their experiences too. You may also find it helpful to post in the Breast Reconstruction forum if you'd like to connect with even more members who have faced similar decisions.

We're glad you found us, and we hope you'll keep us posted on how you're doing.

The Mods

teddysmum57

Thank you so much. I have just posted into the forum you suggested as well.

miriandra

I hope you eventually get the silhouette you want. However, if going flat winds up being your remaining healthy options, it's not all bad.

The flattie community is very supportive and enthusiastic. We don't need breasts to feel feminine, beautiful, and happy. Not every day is cheerful, and it's totally normal to grieve the loss of parts of our body that once brought us joy. But we can find acceptance for our new body shape, and many even find benefits from not having to lug around heavy boobs or worry about them getting in the way of things. Finding new clothes can be a challenge, but it also opens up some surprising doors for fashion options. There are some styles that wind up looking a lot better on a flat chest than they ever did on breasted bodies.

If you do wind up having to give up on pursuing mound reconstruction, I hope you'll find solace and peace in the flattie bc survivor groups. There are a lot of them on Facebook and Insta if you go looking for us. ((((Hugs!))))