Reconstruction Woes - Help : (

pppinaz

Hi Ladies,

I figured I would come to the professionals with this one since the people in the know are the ones who may have dealt with this.

I was dx in August 2008 went through neo-adjuvant chemo, then a double mastectomy, then adjuvant chemo, then 30 rounds of daily rads...  had pretty bad burning during rads so had to take a week off.

In mid December 2009 I had TE put in.  the left side (no rads/no cancer) expanded well.  I actually told the Dr if it were a bit higher it would be the perfect breast.  The right side (rads/cancer) was not very cooperative during expansion.  My skin was not wanting to go with the grow... The TE ended up as a wide flat breast towards my armpit (in fact it was so hard and up in my pit it hurt to put my arm down).  I talked to my PS and went and saw another PS because I didn't like the look they both seemed to think with the exchange and some scar revision it would look more like the other one.

Exchange was May 27th - Well low and behold - it really looks no different than when I had the expander in.  It is a little less in my arm pit but still kind of there, still very flat. (Oh when the Dr did the exchange he said my rib cage was bent in - probably from the pressure of the expander when my skin would not stretch - so I guess that explains the pain when breathing and the sharp pain in the middle of the night - that I was told was normal TE discomfort -  really wasn't.  

 The left breast too has dropped and is lower than the right breast (UGG) and the right breast looks the same flat and out towards my arm.  He is still not sure if my skin is even going to stay shut as it was IFFY when he did it and I go back tomorrow to see him for 4 week post op and we will see what he says.

I am devastated... will they get any better - what can I do.  None of the bras I have or have been able to find even MX bras can fix the flat issue so nothing looks normal or even fits.  I have been putting socks in  my bra on the right side like an underdeveloped teenager. - just to try and help it look closer to normal.

Any thoughts - suggestions - ideas - HELP

hrf

Sorry you are going through this. I don't have any answers for you but I'll share what I know. I've had bc 2 times and rads to both sides. The PS in Toronto will not do expanders/implants for anyone who has had radiation. They say the failure rate is much too high and won't risk it. They suggest DIEP or some other type of procedure where your own tissue is moved to create a new breast.

Good luck. I hope you can get your fixed the way you want.

otter

pppinaz, I can't help you, either.  Most of the women hanging around in the forum where you've posted this have not had reconstruction -- the forum is called, "Breast Prostheses and Reconstruction Alternatives:  Opting out of breast reconstruction?  Discuss prostheses, swimsuilts, bras, etc.".  You might get some answers if you post your story on the Reconstruction forum, where it would be read by women who have dealt with misplaced expanders, wrongly-sized implants, and healing problems after reconstruction.

I hope you aren't offended by my suggestion.  I think sometimes people get confused by the title of this forum ("... and Reconstruction Alternatives.")  Most of our discussions aren't about "reconstruction alternatives" at all -- we talk about alternatives to reconstruction.  Semantics, I know...  BTW, you are welcome here any time, regardless of the choices you make. 

otter

otter

Okay, I'm back again.  I just checked and saw that you had already been posting on the Reconstruction forum (for quite awhile, in fact).  So, ignore my suggestion.

You said this:  "I am devastated... will they get any better - what can I do.  None of the bras I have or have been able to find even MX bras can fix the flat issue so nothing looks normal or even fits.  I have been putting socks in  my bra on the right side like an underdeveloped teenager. - just to try and help it look closer to normal."

I guess that means you're wondering what you might be able to do on that right side, to fill out your bra cup properly.  As a temporary measure, you could try a small version of one of the "puffies" (or "comfys") that post-mastectomy patients are sometimes given.  They're soft fabric, stuffed with fiber-fill through a slit in the back.  You can take out or add fiber-fill to adjust the size and softness.  Someone at your local American Cancer Society office should be able to give you a puffy (for free) if you ask; you can also buy them on the TLC (ACS) website for cheap.

Other alternatives are the "beanie boobs" we've been talking about on another thread -- I think you could get a small size and use it to fill out your cup on that side.  Or, you can buy silicone "falsies" at most any good women's clothing store (lingerie department).  They're small versions of silicone breast forms, used to add "projection" to a woman's breasts when she wants to look bustier than she is.

Finally, and, as my breast surgeon told me, you can stop at a mastectomy supply store where they can "fit" you with a partial breast form.  I don't know exactly how that works, but apparently those sorts of forms are helpful for women who've had lumpectomies that took out a lot of tissue.

As for how long your pain will last, and whether it will ever end, and what you can do to nudge that implant over to where it's supposed to be ... well, I can't help with those questions.  I opted out of recon for many reasons, one of them being the possibility of recon failure.

Hugs,

otter