Getting a Unilat Mas but maybe NOT reconstructing.Thoughts?

mtrebtoske316

I am having a unilateral mastectomy but not sure if I want reconstruction. I'm wondering if I can talk with those who have elected to either wait for reconstruction or decided not to do reconstruction at all.

Mich71

I delayed reconstruction a year. You can PM me if you like.

Erica3681

Check out another forum on these boards: Living Without Reconstruction After a Mastectomy. You'll find lots of information and support. You might also take a look at my non-profit website: BreastFree.org. I created it to provide information for women in your situation (when I had my mastectomy in 2006, I couldn't find anything about non-reconstruction on the Internet). You might find the section Deciding Not to Reconstruct particularly helpful. It lays out the various choices -- immediate reconstruction, delayed reconstruction, or no reconstruction. I'm not in any way against reconstruction; I just think women should be presented with non-reconstruction is a positive alternative.

Best of luck making a decision.

glennie19

I opted to stay flat from the beginning.  Erica has posted a lot of good resources for you. There are a lot of us over on the Living without Reconstruction after a Mastectomy forum,, and you are certainly welcome to come on over and chat with us.   I'm sure the ladies who have had recon will also pop on her and give you their thoughts.

Tell us more about you.  Your pros and cons for each decision?     I personally wanted to have the least amount of surgery possible.  A DIEP seemed like too much for me. Belly incision and breast incision.  And I didn't like the idea of implants either, as the thought of something foreign in my body like that makes me cringe.  I can barely stand my implanted tooth. 

Just remember it is your decision. Do not let surgeons bully you one way or another. Many of us who chose to remain flat had issues with surgeons who thought we didn't know our own minds and must really want recon, if not now,, then in the future. So if you choose to remain flat, be very specific and firm with your surgeon.

And you can wait!  You do not have to decide now. Have you spoken to a plastic surgeon? Learn what your best recon options are. You can have MX and excess skin left for future recon.  Then if you decide not to have recon, you can have simple surgery to have the excess skin removed.

Best of luck to you, glennie