will the puffy wrinkles ever flatten out?

DM-M

HI - I had a bilateral mastectomy 11/09. I opted to not have reconstruction. Here it is 6 months later and I still look like I should visit the dry cleaners for a good steaming to get out all of the wrinkles. I look like I have 2 punched down dinner rolls on my chest. I saw photos that really made me think I would be just sporting my scars at this point.

Any advice/comments would be appreciated.

Thanks

Denise

BoobsinaBox

Denise,

What you describe sounds to me like skin-sparing mastectomy, which some doctors do to be sure you have enough skin later for recon if you change your mind.  My scars are pretty flat (chest is really concave on one side), more like the pictures you describe, though I do have a wrinkle and a tuck, which I attribute to a bad surgeon.  I can live with them, rather than having more surgery.  I hope someone with more experience can respond to you.

Dawn 

DM-M

Dawn - Thanks for your reply.  The weird thing is that I didnt have a skin sparing surgery. My surgeon (who also had a bilateral) keeps telling me that everything will flatten out. How long does it take?

Thanks again and enjoy the weekend

Denise

Lunakin

DM-M,

 Hard to tell without actually seeing. Do you have skin folds which you can move around and roll or pull out more than about 1/2" from your chest? Or are the "wrinkles" more like slight linear indentations at right angles to the horizontal mastectomy scar, and you can't pull the skin out much?. If the latter, then when your skin flaps were sutured together the tension wasn't right, and wrinkles developed.   If they haven't gone away by a few weeks they probably won't. 

Even the best surgeon can't always get everything right. I have one "wrinkle" and it hasn't gone away after 1 year.

You could have the scar re-done by a PS; it would be a very minor procedure. Though most of us have had enough of anything done to our chests!