DIEP 2014

JerseyMomOf3

Polly, are you not having a skin sparing mastectomy? Mine are refilled but the exterior skin is the same. I did not save my nipples but my skin is all intact, so they look like my breasts only refilled with my abdominal tissue  and a different shape than before. 

pollyanna5

See that's what I thought Jersey, I just assumed, that's how they did it. I just never asked the doctor.  I've spent time with the family this weekend at various events and friends (several of who are "unofficial MD's, in their own mind anyhow), and was told that is not how it is done, so I'm all mixed up now!  It doesn't matter I guess, it just seems worse in my mind.  If any of that makes sense?

JerseyMomOf3

Yes, leave it to friends and family to confuse it all up! LOL. I would have been freaked out if people told me that was how it was done right before my procedure. If you have a delayed DIEP, they can use the abdominal skin to fashion the new breasts. But one of the benefits of the immediate DIEP is that you can do skin sparing,  maybe call your PS tomorrow and have them clarify? This way you know what to expect after the surgery? 

Glad to hear you can let it go, let it go LOL! Sounds like you are well prepared and have a good support team.

nihahi

for most people, the belly button is not "removed". The umbilicus is internally attached, so what typically happens, is a small circular incision is made around it, and when the skin is pulled down to span the gap left after the flap is removed, the original "button" is poked through a new circular incision. It often feels like it is in a new place, but in reality, that is more the aftereffects of swelling, and nerve endings giving incorrect feedback. With time.....it usually looks and feels normal, but it takes time for that to happen. 

pollyanna5

I'm not worried about how they do it after thinking about it a bit more! As long as I have something, and my belly is smaller (eventually I get from the swelling it won't be for a bbit), I'm good!  I looked up some pictures from one of the sites (broke my rule for the night) and they look the same whether delayed or immeduately DIEP.  And they both still look like breasts.  I'm good.  

I cannot shut my mind off now, there is so much I feel I still have to do.  It's like nesting before a baby, but on steroids.  I'm fighting the urge to organize my basement storage area.  Because you know, my recovery won't be complete without that done .  Or my friends and family who help will be all "Judge Judy" on me because my books are dusty, or my fridge isn't organized 100%, my mending is not done, or my vegatable garden isn't 100% weeded.  

See, total type A !  You should have seen before I entered the hopsital in preterm labour with my twins, I was re-painting baseboards and other crazy stuff. 

Janet_M

Pollyanna, I also had a skin sparing bilateral DIEP with immediate reconstruction.  My skin envelopes were refilled so my boobs are basically the same as before. Because I had some radiation on the right, that side is a little weird looking, as they had to get a bit more creative and use some abdominal skin.  I'd be very interested to know why your procedure isn't skin sparing.

By the way - it's REALLY hard to absorb all the information and its equally hard to shut off your brain.  The recovery period is fabulous cus you can finally stop thinking and rethinking and just start walking the recovery road . Also, I really enjoyed the drugs. 

pollyanna5

I think it is Janet, I think that was just the unofficial family MD's who were confusing me.  

I can't wait to stop thinking about it, and start recovering .  I like that!

tlbradyful

Pollyanna, I have one of each. The radiated side needed the new skin and the other side is my old skin side. They both look great. I do have bad news. I had a sparkling house when I left and by the time I could get out of my recliner for long periods of time and inspect what the household had done while I was resting, it was messy all over again. I guess I just thought time was standing still while I was. I'll go ahead and scold you now because I can tell you are going to try to get up and fix it all. Let it go. You need your energy for healing. Let them take care of everything for several weeks!

goldie4040

Pollyanna, I think you must have misunderstood you PS.  I can't imagine there is any reason not to do a skin sparing diep, unless you have skin involvement?  I would question them again before your surgery.

I really feel for you gals who have little ones to deal with during this whole procedure.  More power to you.  Just keep delegating. A few weeks of the house being a mess is not the end of the world.  Remember what it felt like to get your diagnosis.  That felt like the end of the world.  A house strewn with toys, and some extra dirty finger prints is love, and why you lived through this f..king bc.  So, let it go. Rest, recuperate.  It will all be taken care of sooner, or later.

Nihahi, I tried to explain the belly button thing before. Thank you for explaining again.  Maybe a bit better than I did.  What I find weird is I know it's in the same place, but it it doesn't feel like it is. 

I had a cranky day today.  Looking forward to a better one tomorrow. I never knew a tummy could go from flat in the morning to pregnant by evening.  Pretty amazing. Tomorrow I am doing pure protein, and low salt.  Maybe that will make a difference? 

pollyanna5

I don't think it's the PS who is the issue, he's great, one of the best in the province from what I understand.  It's the family unofficial MD's who were the problem!

GwennyMD

Pollyanna - I too had skin sparing BMX with immediate DIEP reconstruction.  BS said that skin sparing is routine unless the tumor was too close.  However, unlike the others my new girls are not the same as the old ones.  The old ones were flat and wrinkled.  I had a lot of stomach fat to contribute so my PS tried to use all of it.  After Stage 2 they were lifted so the new ones are larger and almost perky. LOL

Good luck to everyone having surgery this week.

trish01254

Pollyanna.   Wishing you the  best tomorrow.   Trish

gila4936

I wrote this earlier for the June 2014 thread, but it applies here, too.

I had BMX with SNB on the right side and DIEP flap reconstruction. Oh my, the nuclear injection for the SNB was painful, even after the shot of lidocaine. No node involvement, although I'm still unclear if or how many nodes were removed. I'll get answers to that in a week or so. Bottom line is that I should not need chemo. They did find more DCIS in the right breast and atypia in the left breast so I'm definitely pleased with my BMX decision.

Surgery was long - about 8 1/2 hours - and then I had trouble breathing so they had to reintubate me. I wasn't able to get to my room for another 3 or 4 hours after surgery was over. I had to wear an oxygen mask the first night, and it's been strongly advised for me to have a sleep study done for apnea. On Wednesday morning when the PS said I could probably go home Friday I thought he was nuts but I did indeed go home Friday. I still have all 4 of my drains. I honestly think that's the worst part right now. The drain sites are extremely tender and the ones on either side of my abdomen are placed such that I can't pull up pajamas or even underwear very far. I am allowed to shower and I quickly discovered that not only is the lanyard a great thing to use for the drains when showering, but I actually hook the drains to the lanyard 24/7. Then I don't have to pin and repin each one to my clothes. I have two lanyards (one was sent to me from a breast cancer group and the other is actually from a trade show conference!) so one can get wet.

Funny story about pain meds: from after surgery until noon the next day I had a PCA pump but I didn't push it much because a) I was so out of it even though I was checked on a minimum of once an hour and b) I either wasn't told or didn't remember that the minimum amount of time between pushes was 10 minutes. So somewhere around 10 hours after I got to my room the nurse checked the history and told me that I was allowed up to 2 mg per hour. I had only used 1.6 mg during the entire 10 hours!

I'm glad the doctors and nurses always made a point to say how good my incisions look because I think they look very Frankenstein-ish. I'm very bruised and swollen and I have some awful blisters from tape.

I have a follow up with PS tomorrow morning. My drain output is pretty low now so I hope I can get all of them out, but should definitely be able to get rid of 2 of them.

Dyvgrl

Has anyone experienced itching in the breast tissue post op? I woke up this morning and deep into my right breast it itches in the lower inner quadrant below the incision and feels deeper inside. The tissue there is kind of hard but isn't red or anything. It's driving me nuts lol.

LoveAllMyBoys

Dyvgrl -- I haven't had my surgery yet, but a friend of mine who has been through this told me about her itching, so you aren't alone.

gila4936 -- What are the lanyards you mention?  I'm trying to make my way through this entire discussion group…have two windows open…one which I started at the beginning and this one where I'm looking at the current posts, but I haven't seen anything about lanyards yet.  Thanks!

All -- Thanks for the support re: my son's graduation.  I love the suggestion of writing him a letter before I go into the hospital.  I think that will definitely make me feel better…

TinaHoff

Milkyway, that discomfort after eating has been my experience, as well.

Tina

jmb5

Dyvgrl, I had surgery in January, and I still itch sometimes. Half the time it's where there's no nerves, so when I scratch, I get no relief. What a weird feeling! I have been itchy since I had my stage 2... my legs where they did lipo, and my breasts.

LoveAllMyBoys, some of the ladies use the lanyards, like what you hook car keys to, to hook their drains to while they're in the shower. You can't just let your drains hang down when you shower. Ouch! I didn't use a lanyard. I was given a nylon pouch at the hospital to use. It was a little black pouch that held the Q-ball pump that put pain meds directly into my abdomen. It had a strap, so I just put the drains in the pouch and slid the strap around my neck when I showered.

gila4936

LoveAllMyBoys - I'm going to try to attach a picture of the lanyard I got. I have safety pins attached to each of my drains and then I hook the safety pins to the lanyard clip. If the picture doesn't work, here's a link: https://shop.keep-a-breast.org/84240/I-Love-Boobies-Lanyard-Purple.

Teacher64

Itchiness where there is otherwise no feeling has been weird. I wouldn't have even imagined it!

Today was a wonderfully normal day shopping and lunch with a friend after a stormy, somewhat sleepless night due to thunder that seemed to be just outside the window! 

LoveAllMyBoys

jmb5 and gila4936

Thanks to you both for the lanyard information.  I will line one up in case I need it.  

pollyanna5

Back from the injections for the sentinel node biospy.   Holy cow did those hurt!  I did not expect that.  I've had 4 epidurals/spinals, and it felt like the freezing shots for those, except in the nipple.  Thankfully it was short lived (the pain)!    I have a pretty high pain tolerance, but that was unpleasant!  

We're here and hanging out before a quick dinner and a early night.  Have to be to the hospital at 6 am.  

Thanks again for all the information!

aff

Hi everyone! I'm out of the ICU and in my own room I should be going home tomorrow. It's amazing how much progress can be made in a day or 2. On Saturday I almost cried when being helped to a chair. Today I can get in and out of bed on my own. There is still considerable pain and I cannot stand upright yet but I am thrilled with the progress in just 2 days. 

Good luck to all scheduled this week!

pollyanna5

Good to hear aff!

Cherrie

For all of you people healing: drinks lots of water, walk even tho you don't feel like it, eat lots of protein at all meals and snacks to promote healing, take the pooping meds for sure, and rest. Just keep doing those things. After week three everyday gets easier. Small improvements. I am 18 months out, 4 surgeries, and I feel great. So will you, but have lots of patience. 

k79miller

Polly...good luck tomorrow! 

Loveallmy...I just used a long shoe lace & pinned the drains to it while taking a shower.

It sounds like everyone is doing good.  I've been busy ripping out carpet & refinishing hardwood floors.  I'm so glad that's over.  I'm ready for some down time now.  I saw my oncologist today for my 3 mo checkup.  Everything is great!  He told me that I'm completely healthy. 

To everyone else having surgery this week-good luck!  You'll be on the other side & on the road to recovery before you know it.

 

5tlv

I came across this forum approx 2 weeks prior to my DIEP surgery on May 30th.  I, too, was beginning to second guess myself and was having thoughts of backing out.  The operating time and pain after surgery is what I feared the most.  As I started reading through these posts, I began to feel so much better about my surgery...especially when I noticed there were several women who had implants and then later chose DIEP.  My initial reasoning for choosing DIEP was:  I would be using my own tissue so no foreign objects inside me, hopefully one time surgery without need for "replacements" down the line, and breasts that would age with me...in other words, more natural looking as my body changes over time. 

I am 10 days post surgery.  The recovery hasn't been nearly as bad as I anticipated.  I was released from hospital 3 days after surgery! I've been home now for 1 week.  I've been walking outside every day since 5 days post surgery. Today I walked 1 mile.  I don't feel like I am standing completely straight, but pretty close to it.  I still have 2 of my 4 drains remaining, which are annoying but manageable.  I haven't taken any prescription pain meds since 5 days post surgery.  I only mention these things for those with upcoming DIEP surgery who are anxious about recovery.  

My surgery lasted 12 hours(!) due to my blood vessels being only 1mm thin....it took the surgeon a lot longer to disconnect and reconnect since she was working with such small vessels.  She ended up using approx 2mmx2mm from abdominal muscles.  I would never know if she hadn't told me.  I'm glad I didn't know surgery was going to be that long beforehand.  She estimated 6-8 hrs., which included mx on right side at same time of DIEP on both sides.

Even with a 12 hr surgery, my recovery is coming along very well!  I hope this helps to ease anxiety for those with upcoming surgery!  The anticipation is worse than post surgery!  Stay busy the week before surgery so you don't have time to think about it.  I tried to tell myself that worry doesn't change the outcome.

Best wishes to those preparing for surgery within the next few weeks.

lemon68

Pollyanna, Everything your doing is normal. I really started to freak out right before. I then the day of felt like I removed myself mentally so I could handle it all. I don't even remember the drive to the hospital that early morning. I had immediate diep and kept my own skin and both nipples. Only my filling is different, I feel so blessed to be able to have this done. Strangely my radiated side looks better than the non radiated side and its smaller and healed faster. Your going to be beautiful.

jmb, I am sorry to hear your disappointed. I cant imagine the swelling and squishing around has gone down already? I do hear of others doing a Stage 3 if needed. Good luck tomorrow, let us know what happens at your appt.

Goldie, sorry today was a cranky one, I was the same last night. Are you wearing a binder? If I don't wear mine my I get the swelly belly by evening. when I do wear it I take it off and night and I am rock hard. I am taking 800 mg of ibuprofen and its is really starting to help, I am down 2" in the chest!! Yeah for me! Hope tomorrow is better for you. XO

naiviv

Good evening all,

Finally Home. Iggy (nickname) is in ICU. He will stay there at least 24 hrs sedated to give brain a chance to rest. They will allow him out of sedation briefly and check neuro functions. So far, everything looks good. Infection was encapsulated and removed. There appears to be no injury to brain from infection, After Neuro finished Ent Sur redrained/cleaned all sinuses.  It's been a long day. I'm exhausted.

An interesting point, they took fat from his belly to fill in where they broke bone (around forehead/nose) until bone heals over.  I can't wait to tease him on his sort of mini diep.

Much thanks and huggs to all.

Vivian

iowagirl1

I discovered something today.  Under my breasts in what I think might be called the mammary fold I have a bunch of divots about an inch apart.  They are quite disfiguring and one is deep enough I can put a q-tip in it.  It looks like the fat was sewn in place from the inside of the breast to anchor it.  Does anyone else have this and will the stitches dissolve?

Teacher64

Vivian - great news

Iowagirl - I have what I call divots, but are really kind of sunken ridges, but not from stitches. I don't know what caused them but I was told stage 2 will resolve them

Cindy - I'm very disappointed in my "new" belly button. I was an innie all my life, but no longer. Another thing to be taken care of in stage 2!!

Aff and 5tlv - glad you are doing well

Pollyanna - tomorrow will be fine, as said before, all you have to do is show up. Sorry about the SNB pain. Mine was done while I was out so I was lucky.

Lemon - I've been out of binder for "ages" but still get swelly belly after exercise, so my clothes fit differently at night than in morning. Today I couldn't wait to change after shopping and walking for two hours with a friend.