DIEP Stage 2

hester

Thanks for the advice, everyone.  I talked to my PS and have stage 2 scheduled for late April.  With all the work they have to do to make my reconstruction look ok (I had rads in 2004 so things aren't great), the surgery will be about 4 hours.  I just don't want to push it to fix the waist, too.  Guess I'll live with that. 

 Swimangel, I'm happy to finally be back in the pool.  It took forever for the necrosis on my radiated breast to heal enough to swim!  Now, though, I am finding it hard to get back to normal.  A 1/2 mile takes 25 min, not 20, and I don't have the endurance to take on a full mile.  How are you doing?  You look so great!

mamaoftwo

Swimangel/Hester:

Another swimmer here.. I live in NY too.  I assume that there's no swimming for at least 10 weeks after stage 1 DIEP  - I'm going in this Wednesday Jan. 12th.  But what about exercise after Stage 2?

 All the best.

Laura

swimangel72

Hester - my avatar is not me (unfortunately) - although it COULD have been me about 10 years ago. I haven't been able to get back to my pre-menopause swim routine yet - the breast cancer, surgery and infections did slow me down, but it's not the only thing. Menopause really slowed me down even earlier - and now I'm on Arimidex and just can't increase my speed much. It takes me 40 minutes to swim a 1/2 mile - so you're twice as fast as I am! Even at my fastest, it took me about 42 minutes to swim a mile back in the good 'ol days.

Hi Laura - don't rush back into the pool until your PS gives you the green light. Stage 2 is so different for everyone - much will depend on how much revision your PS does - and if you'll need drains again. But the first time getting back into the pool was like HEAVEN for me - each and every time -and no matter how slowly I swim - even more than a physical rejuventation - I get such a mental and spiritual lift - so the first question I always ask my doctor is "how long till I can swim again?"

Dutchy

I got my official date for Stage 2.  It is Jan 31st, my birthday.  What a great way to spend it.

patientq

how soon after stage one so they do stage 2   also how long for swelling to go down from stage  1 thanks,  i;ma "noobie"

kcshreve

usually Stage 2 is about 12 weeks after Stage 1....or longer.  Swelling is pretty individualized.  A lot of swelling goes down in the first 4 weeks. Sometimes there is lingering swelling for a couple months in various areas.

chinablue

I had to wait 6 months after my radiation for stage 2.

Dutchy

I had stage 2 on January 31st and am healing well.  For some of you ladies that do not know what stage 2 is and the following is how it went for me.  I had dog ears removed.  Dog ears are the fat pouches you may be left with at the top or the bottom of the ends of the abdominal scar.  Some people may call them muffin tops.  What he did to me was cut them off, refine my ab scar and then lipo'd some of my hips but not enough.  He also did lipo on my breasts as well as gave me the lifts on both of my breasts which are both diep breasts. I wish I had gotten more lipo and am contemplating asking him to lipo more when I get my nipples as they were delayed because I got both of my breasts lifted and he did not want to do both at the same time.  I think he only plans on using local anesthesia for the nipples but when I see him on Thursday I am going to ask him to do more lipo and that will probably require general anesthesia again.  According to his coordinator they have 4 stages but I have no clue what the 4th one is.  Anyone else have stages 3 and 4? Anyone else have bilateral diep, lifts and one smaller than the other and if so what was done?

Evelyn

19babe59

Hi Ladies!

Just wanted to add my Stage 2 experiences to the board. I had Stage 1 DIEP at the end of September, and my Stage 2 at the beginning of this month, with the same wonderful PS. For my Stage 2, she revised the rather ugly middle section of my abdominal scar (making it a smooth, thin line to match the rest of the scar). She also did a little lipo for the slight dog ears I had at the ends of the ab scar, rounded off a somewhat pointy part of my left foob, and removed a bit of hard fat necrosis at the top of my right foob that felt like a marble under my skin. I had general anesthesia, was out for about 2 hours, and went home the same day. A real breeze compared to Stage 1, as it is for most ladies. I still have a number of stitches along the scar lines which my PS tells me will dissolve over time. All in all, I am very pleased with the outcomes of both the Stage 1 and the Stage 2 procedures, and would definitely recommend the DIEP procedure and my PS to any woman contemplating reconstruction. As many others have said on these boards, it's a tough surgery and a long recovery, but very well worth it for most of us who have gone through it. 

I have opted for nipple tattoos only, and hope to have those done by the medical tattoo artist who is on staff at my PS' office, sometime next month. I hope that will be the end of the process for me!  

Best wishes for easy procedures and quick healing to all!

19babe59 

saraha71

Hi ladies, this site was so helpful to me during the first stage (and simultaneous pregnancy) I decided to come back and see if anyone has good advice about working out after stage 2.

I had stage 2 last week, Monday March 28. So three years later and a toddler who just celebrated her 2nd b-day, I did the 2nd stage.

Two hours under general anesthesia. The PS removed alot of my left DIEP created breast to even it up with the right side, which was the side I had cancer on 12 years prior. 

The PS did a little lipo on my hips and removed dog ears. He also lifted me on the left side. I went home with one drain. I was a little tired and sore, but really OK.

I came on here to find out how soon people did cardio and started lifting weights?

Today I was just doing some spring cleaning and saw blood on my tee shirt, it looks like I strained some of my stitches. I feel ok, itching to get back to my life, but this kind of setback scares me. I have been lifting my toddler too since I felt ok. Any insights into this? My PS pretty much gave me the green light and hasnt given any clear, hard guidelines re: exercise, other than no heavy lifting the first few days. My drain came out on Thursday, btw.

I had worked out alot leading to stage 2 so I can be in good shape, and I feel like I need to work out soon to maintain my level of fitness, but dont want to hurt myself. Any feedback from anyone who works out regularly (4x - 5x) a week will help.

grateful99

I had my DIEP in April of 2016 and still waiting for stage 2! It feels like a lifetime has passed and I still don't have a date for surgery. The last time I talked to the PS's assistant, she said there are people ahead of me for the same stage 2 surgery, and she couldn't give me any idea of how much longer I'll have to wait. It's Dr. Hofer at UHN in Toronto. Does anyone know what the wait time is with this doctor? I am really fed up.

grateful99

Hurrah! I finally got a date for my 2nd stage touch up surgery on July 17th. Not confirmed but at least it's a date. Just wondering if anyone here can tell me how long it takes to recover from stage 2 well enough for travel.