April & May 2015 Surgery Sisters

saugagirl

Hi there, well I had my surgery yesterday, May 29th. It went well.  I'm not sure if surgeon was able to take out two lumps as he said he would try or just the one.  He only told my mom everything went well.  Regarding the lump in my armpit,  while lying on the operating table, he said now he can feel it and ordered an ultrasound guided fine needle aspiration. He said that the ultrasound done during core needle biopsy showed normal appearance.  But the ultrasound PP did said not to rule out malignancy.  I told the surgeon that now the lump is huge. 

I was given three regular Tylenol before surgery and two doses of morphine and two Percocet after surgery,  it was so painful.  Not so bad now. I have a bandage on my left breast.  But my breasts are lopsided -left is high up and right is hanging.  (Lumpectomy on left breast ). Is this normal, would both breasts be the same height once bandage comes off or is the left breast higher because of the amount of tissue taken out and now it's lighter so it's higher up? I hope I don't stay lopsided

downdog

SummerAngel, best of luck with your surgery tomorrow and a gentle recovery.

Welcome lou23! The pain you are experiencing is likely a result of your ALND. Are you from the UK? I'm not familiar with typical turnaround times there, but that does seem a long period of time to wait for your path results. Good luck on Wed for an optimal path report. Let us know how you made out. The fish tail (some refer to it as a Y incision) is one of a few techniques employed for avoiding dog ears. If yours is a Y incision, keep an eye on the junction where the two branches of the Y meet the main mx incision, as it can sometimes be prone to necrosis with this particular incision. Since you're a few weeks out, if it looks good now, you should be fine and your surgeon can also take a look on Wed.

SuzyQ42, I can tell from here that your BC doesn't fit, so get that new one and have fun diving! Which sites are you diving? I've only done west Maui in HI.

Debutante8, you go girl…best photo on this thread!

Person photo that is, because what ever happened to our mascot? Ahem, Jackbirdie? I do hope you are on the mend. Sending emotional and calming thoughts for you, as I'm sure the mental aspect is almost tougher than the physical and hope you get back on schedule this week. You will emerge victorious on the other side of this shit, it's just not soon enough. Not sure if you're up to some exercise what with trying to recover from the pneumonia, but try and go for a walk if you're up to it. I'm sure a walk along the beach with Jack is a pick-me-up. Gentle hugs

saugagirl, where was the lump? If it was in the 3:00 – 9:00 range, you will have inflammation and upper swelling, so that could contribute to your breast appearing higher. Also, the way the bandage is taped could also lift the breast. If a large area was excised (the larger the lump, the larger the margin area of tissue surrounding it), your breast would lift if your incision was more or less horizontal or perhaps even diagonal and your surgeon pulled up the lower breast area to meet the top line of the incision. This would mean a fair size of tissue was removed if it is particularly noticeable in comparison with your right breast. The area of removed tissue will fill with fluid and eventually be reabsorbed by your body. You may end up with a dent at your lx site. You will have to wait several months for it to settle, but if it is large enough to bother you and if you have some donor fat sites available on your body, you could explore FG to try and remedy it. Best of luck with your path report and the biopsy results for the lump under your arm.

MaryAgatha

Hi guys,

My BMX with reconstruction on Wednesday went well. All the surgeons and residents came by many times during my hospital stay and checked out my breasts with much self-satisfaction. According to them, I'm healing well and look even better than they expected. I look down at my new breasts and I ... I just cry. They look so fake. They look ridiculous. They feel hard and cold like two ceramic bowls carelessly glued on where warm soft flesh should be. My BS says he put them way up there on my chest because they will for sure drop in the next few weeks. It's hard to believe. My fake boobs are way up there, unmoving, hard, and no natural curves. Depression has hit me hard. I know I should be thankful that the surgery was successful and that things could be a lot worse. But for now, I've decided to allow myself to feel depressed. I'm sure the constant pain and constipation are contributing to my depression. I haven't had a BM since Tuesday morning. I'm not eating much so I don't know if it's constipation or there just isn't much in there... probably both. I've been taking stool softner and drinking prune juice.

Jackbirdie

DownDog- I'm doing a lot better with the pneumonia, but I think I mentioned they delayed my chemo.... I think next week now. I am having extreme bone pain and am very frustrated that I just can't get on top of all thisand right the ship.

A bright spot in all of this is that Jack has a friend who asked if she could take him to a Memkrial Day parade yesterday, since I couldn't go. When he got there, they asked him to LEAD the parade, and he evidently pranced in front of the banner the whole way through! Here he is with his fancy bows on.

downdog

Just love that first photo, Jackbirdie! No wonder they picked him to lead the parade - how could they possibly resist. You must be one proud mama. Did they get any video for you? Sorry to hear about the bone pain and I guess it's breaking through even with the pain meds? It must be so frustrating; if there's a crap SE out there, you're experiencing it. Is the bone pain caused by Neulasta? Speaking of bone pain, is your MO planning on tamo or and AI? I'm 52 and still pre-meno, so taking tamox, and if my MO has any intention of switching me over to an AI at some point in the future, I'll be nixing that idea. No way with the joint/bone pain and setting the stage for osteoporosis. Hope you feel better as the day progresses.

downdog

MaryAgatha, sorry to hear that you are unhappy with your implants right now. It's OK to feel depressed and allow yourself to grieve...whatever you need to get through this crappy experience. How many ccs are your implants? The upper pole will have inflammation from the trauma your pecs underwent. They will be angry for a few weeks. So, if the upper area is puffy, that will subside in time and become more sloped. For the constipation, you may want to take a pusher as well, like Senakot. I used Senakot-S, which is a combo stool softner and laxative and it worked great for me.

mjh1

lou23 - welcome to the sisterhood.  Hope you'll stay around.

summerangel - best of luck tomorrow.  May you have a smooth and uneventful recovery.  warm hugs!!

jackiebird - glad to hear the pneumonia is finally starting to get better.   I hope the rough spell you are having these days passes quickly.  I hope Jack continues to put smiles on your face.  He is so cute!!

maryagatha - feeling depressed after surgery is quite normal and usually only lasts a few weeks.  Try not to critique too much yet.  Right now you just need time to heal and let the "girls" settle in.  There will be many changes in them in the coming weeks.  Gentle hugs in your healing!!

 

SummerAngel

Thanks for the well-wishes for my surgery tomorrow! I'm feeling ok right now, not too terribly nervous but I'm sure I will be in the morning!

DayLily15

Best wishes for SummerAngel tomorrow

I like to think Jack is leading our parade . he is so handsome.

Jackbirdie

Summer Angel- glad you are feeling relatively calm. I will be thinking of you tomorrow, also, and I know the rest of your sisters here will be as well.

DayLily-Awwwwww. Thanks. He is truly the light of my life.

PatRN10

good luck summerangel!

little-k

good luck SummerAngel

debiann

I had my stage 2 Diep recon 4 days ago. I'm feeling good today, still a bit sore. The first two days however, I was unexpectedly emotional. Peeking into the surgical bra to see the results made be cry uncontrollably. At first I hated the results and I was filled with regret. My PS called the day after to check on me and when I mentioned they seemed small he said things will loosen up and change.

Now that I'm out of the surgical bra and I've had a better look at things, I'm very happy with the results. There was a 7 month gap between my stage 1 and 2. In that time I grew to love and accept my new breasts as me, saggy and misshapen as they were. I was pleased with how the scars were fading and even getting used to the odd crop circles. I think seeing my breasts change once again, seeing more incisions and bruises set off a new sense of loss. I'm past that now. Anxious for these incisions to heal and happy to be one step closer to the finish line.

MaryAgatha

Downdog, my implants are 425cc on each side, although my left side looks slightly bigger to me. Maybe my left side is just more swollen. I was a B cup before and had asked the PS to make them B+. I can see that they are slightly bigger than my ex-breasts, so I'm happy with the size; the disturbing part is that they're so obviously round and tight under the skin. On my left side, near the armpit, I can actually see the top of the circle because it is unnaturally pushed up against the skin, almost creating a fold (I don't know if that makes any sense). That's the part that makes me cry every time I look at myself. I was very very happy to read your post and have reasons to hope that this is just an inflammation and will go away eventually. Thank you!

Physically, I think I'm healing pretty well and the pain is totally manageable. The only problem is I'm approaching 1 week of no BM. I think I will try the Senakot-s that you suggested.

AudreyB

hello ladies. I just had a bone density scan. The tech did the scan then said he had to do another scan of left hip. Is this standard. Should I be concerned

downdog

MaryAgatha, your left side will be more inflamed as a result of your SNB, so that side will look worse, especially by the armpit. If you touch and gently push in the upper part of both breasts 1/3 of the way in from the center over toward the armpit, you should feel the puffiness in the skin from your inflamed pecs. You will still have a lot of swelling at only 1 week out. You will have a good idea of what they will look like 3 months post-op, but there will still likely be more settling.

Audrey, the two key places they measure are your lumbar spine and femoral neck (the narrow area close to where it inserts in your hip socket). It could be an additional check, or potentially the type of scanner they used, or even his technique - tough to say, but it's not standard procedure. If you had to put your lower legs on an elevated box for the lumbar spinal scan, it is an older generation scanner and these usually have the patient turn their leg to rotate the hip inward for the femur scan. Perhaps your rotation on your left side wasn't as good as on your right, so he may have wanted another scan, if this was the type of scanner used. If it's a new micro fan beam scanner, you just lie on your back and it has multiple detectors, so you don't have to be positioned.

AudreyB

Thank you Downdog. Yes, I had my knees elevated first, then he had my legs flat and had me turn my feet so toes touched, then he did a seperate image of left hip, and he specifically told me he was doing left hip. Ugh. I'm going to force myself not to worry about this. I'll call my MO on Wednesday for results.

downdog

Audrey, did you have a scan pre-meno? It's normal to lose some BMD with menopause and if he is comparing this to a previous scan on file, it would be expected that your bones will be a bit thinner. I think it would be unusual to have a big difference in left and right sides (with the exception of injury to your left side), unless you do an activity emphasizing one side or carry a lot more weight, such as a super heavy purse, and have built up your right femur more. If you are right handed, you will usually be right leg dominant, but not always, and that side would be a little stronger than your left. The way to tell if you are right or left leg dominant (if you don't snowboard!) is if you are standing and someone pushes you from behind, which leg do you step forward with to stabilize yourself? That's your dominant leg. Your MO may want to put you on Fosamax, because you will be taking Arimidex, but you can also build up bone mass with calcium supplements and weight bearing exercise. In the event your MO wants you to take Fosamax, you should research Fosamax beforehand, so you are aware of the SEs and risks. If you do take it, you might want to take a vacation from it after 5 years.

AudreyB

Thank you Downdog, you are such a wealth of knowledge and information. I am right leg dominant for sure. I will be calling my MO tomorrow to let her know I want test results and find out what I can.

On a different topic, I'm going for my 2nd fill today. I hope I don't faint like last time 2 weeks ago. I'm also going to try nail down an August surgery date for my exchange.

Lastly, I took my first arimidex last night. Wish me luck.

Healing prayers and wishes to all.

aprilda

ADA--Jun 16 BMX with DIEP reconstruction

downdog

That will be exciting, Audrey, to get your exchange date. How'd you make out at your fill?

Hi aprilda. There is a June 2015 surgery sisters thread on-the-go (titled: June 2015 Surgeries??), so you should add your name to that one. There is also a DIEP 2015 thread under the Breast Reconstruction forum, where you could get lots of good advice from the ladies who have undergone your procedure. Feel free to ask any questions here, too! Good luck with your surgery!

debiann, that's great news that you're happy with your DIEP recon results.

AudreyB

Happy happy happy. I had my 2nd fill today. Now at 550 on each side. My breasts have now taken on a more round look vs the football shape they were. My right TE is no longer pressing under my armpit. I also have upper pole fullness. I have to say that these TEs are way more comfortable once the fill process gets underway. I had heard that from other members and it's coming true for me.

I have a tentative exchange date of August 19 or 20. Yay. Light at the end of this very, very long tunnel.

On a more somber note, my BMX incisions are no longer taped. When I shower tomorrow I will see my scars from sx for the first time full on in my bathroom mirror. I've only seen them during fill apts looking down. It's my new normal for now so it is what it is. If this experience has taught me anything, it's thst I'm a much stronger woman than I ever knew I was. So I will face my scars and accept them. One more step.

SuzyQ42

I'm going to have a little pity party here so please bear with me. I just heard back from my PS that with the TRAM on a UMX I won't be able to get augmentation on the non-UMX breast. This is a big deal for me because when I'm at my normal weight, I'm a very small A cup. I'm at that now with the TE.

I feel like a baby because I'm sitting here in my office blubbering. Larger breasts were the one bright spot in this whole shitty ordeal and now I can't even get those.

I know. I'm a huge whiner. I'm so lucky to have had only DCIS and to not have to have any chemo or rads. I know how much worse off so many of you are. I'm really not ungrateful.

I've only cried one other time this whole freaking journey and that was when I looked at my scar the day after UMX. I'm defeated. I'm thinking I'll just skip reconstruction and get a foob until I lose the weight. Then I won't need one anymore.

Thanks for letting me vent.

AudreyB

SuzyQ42, is this an insurance issue? Your insurance company has to cover your reconstruction on both breasts. It's the law. Get angry and start fighting.

mysunshine48

Yes, it is the law! Both sides.....for symmetry. Google the law

SuzyQ42

I guess I wasn't clear. The PS will do the augmentation, but with an implant. I was going for TRAM so I wouldn't have to have an implant. He said that I can't get augmentation on the healthy breast without using an implant

mjh1

suzy - it's okay to vent and get your frustrations out.  If I understand you correctly, the only way you'll be able to get a bigger boob is if you get an implant on the non TRAM side which would then make you symmetrical??  while it may not necessarily be what you were hoping for, wouldn't your request for bigger boobs be fulfilled??  Just take some time to let our mind process this all and then write a list of the pros and cons of what can be done and what you're looking for in the end.  Also, remember this is one PS opinion.  I would definitely seek another opinion.

april25

SuzyQ42 -- Venting is OK. Having your plans and expectations dashed can be very upsetting. I like the idea of maybe getting a second opinion, or exploring options. Best to you!

MaryAgatha

At one week post-op I tried senna-s and it worked great. I'm still not regular but slowly getting there! Thanks for suggesting it, downdog!

MaryAgatha

suzyQ42, our situations are different so I don't know how helpful this will be but I'll share my experience for whatever it is worth. I had DCIS with micro invasion in one breast and benign spots on my right breast. I opted for BMX (which turned out to be the right decision because postoperative results show that I had 5 different foci of larger tumors with clear margins on my left breast which none of the diagnostic procedures had detected previously; if I had gone with the initial recommendation of a lumpectomy I would not have known about all these other more seriously cancerous spots until probably too late). I was initially hoping for a DIEP (found a PS who specializes in DIEP specifically) so I was very disappointed when he told me I didn't have enough fat to do both breasts. I cried right there in front of him. He said he could potentially do DIEP on one breast and one implant on the other if that's what I really wanted but he wouldn't recommend it for the sake of symmetry. I opted to do implants for both ( later he will do fat grafting to round everything out and I will also lose some tummy fat as an added bonus). I went from a B to C cup. My first impression of my new breasts was that of disappointment and despair because I looked ridiculously big and tight with boobs that were too high up on my chest. Right now I'm still too swollen to tell but from all the encouraging words I've heard from this site I can imagine I will look pretty good in a couple of months when my boobs drop and soften. My PS assures me he will tweak things later if necessary. It's important to find a PS who will listen and give you a lot of options. Get a second opinion if you are not happy with what the first surgeon tells you. The second PS might tell you the same thing but at least you would know you did everything you could.