Update on my lumpectomy/reconstruction drama.

etnasgrl

Okay, so I called my surgical oncologist and left a message for her, letting her know that I did NOT want any work done to the "healthy breast" during the lumpectomy. I just wanted the lumpectomy done and that's it. I told her that I will consider reconstruction down the road, once treatment is over, if I'm not happy with how my breasts look.
She called me back and was wonderful! She told me she understands my concerns on the reconstruction and is in complete agreement with me on waiting. She explained that having reconstruction on the "healthy breast" during a lumpectomy is a fairly new procedure, but many of her patients have decided to do it so that they don't have to undergo more surgery in the future. She apologized, saying that she was under the impression that her PA had explained all my different options and that I wanted the reconstruction at the time of the lumpectomy. (So a miscommunication, it happens. Doctors are human too!)
She said that she would have her staff contact the plastic surgeon to let him know the change of plans and that he may want to see me prior to surgery, to make sure I understand everything. (He will still be present during surgery because she wants him to move around my breast tissue if need be, to prevent any indentations caused by the lumpectomy. She told me that she would like for the breast to look as close as possible to what it was prior to the lumpectomy. I'm okay with that.)

Well, the plastic surgeon's nurse just called to set up my appointment to go over the change of plans. I don't like her. She said, "This appointment is very important because you need to understand that most women who opt out of having their healthy breast reconstructed at the time of the lumpectomy end up with VERY uneven breasts and are NOT happy with how they look. As long as you are okay with that, we can move forward."
I felt like she was trying to intimidate me into having this reconstruction done and I plan on letting the plastic surgeon know! I have enough fear of the unknown here and enough stress trying to deal with everything, how dare she try to add to it!
When everything is said and done, if I do decide to have some reconstruction done, you can be sure that I will NOT be using this plastic surgeon!!!

etnasgrl

LOL! Just re-read this and thought my last paragraph may be a little harsh?
Perhaps the nurse was just trying to be sure that I understood. I'm a little stressed out and overwhelmed, trying to navigate through everything....I think I may be a bit on the bitchy side!

proudtospin

et, I do not think you are too harsh and no reason a surgeon type person should be trying to dictact to you what is basically a optional cosmetic procedure

I was offered the chance but opted out as I had had enough surgery

lisa-e

I would sure like to see statistics that back up the nurse's statement. I doubt if it is true.

I had two lumpectomies pre bmx. My breasts were more or less symmetrical; my appearance in clothing or a bathing suit was unchanged. I certainly wouldn't have wanted plastic surgery on a healthy breast - every surgery has the possibility of side effects and most importantly with breast surgery, can interfere with normal sensation.

labelle

I too would like to see the stats.

From what I've read on here most women are quite satisfied with the outcome of their LX. Both surgeons I consulted told me they would not recommend a lumpectomy unless they were reasonably sure the result would be good cosmetically speaking. I have a hole and a dent in my breast, but that is from my infected seroma and the surgery to drain it (left as an open wound to heal, the results are not great). The lumpectomy incision is clean, barely visible and the lumpectomy itself changed the size/shape of my breast very little.

lane4

While I understand the reason behind having symmetry surgery at the time of your lumpectomy, I'm not sure they can accurately predict the outcome, especially if you're having radiation. My surgeon told me that radiation is the "wild card" when it comes to your cosmetic outcome and he recommended that I wait until a year after radiation before having anything done to the other breast. I wore a compensation form for a year and hated every day of it, but I'm so glad now that I waited.

ruthbru

What part of the country do you live in? I have never, ever heard of such and thing. I think it is terrible that they are taking women in a very vulnerable state and pressuring them into doing something that will only cause more discomfort and is likely to cause more harm than good. They should not even be suggesting or doing anything until after they see how it all turns out. What I was told, and what happened to me, was that the fat moves around ON ITS OWN and fills in the gaps pretty well (taking about a year or so). So if that is true, then A PS messing around with your breast during a lumpectomy is worthless (to you, they make more money the more stuff they do) AND if you are doing radiation it might mess things up even more.

No you were not harsh. I am appalled if that the advice being given to women now!!!!!!!!!!

etnasgrl

Ruth, I'm in Texas and use MD Anderson as my cancer center.

ruthbru

Geez!!!!! I can only think of bad things to say. One would think that getting rid of the CANCER would be their main focus at this point!

etnasgrl

I appreciate all the help and advice that you gave me! It helped me SO much!

ruthbru

Thank goodness you found your way here (and thank goodness I did too, stuff I learned here caused me to ask the right questions and changed my treatment plan as well). If I find out someone I know has been diagnosed this is the place I refer them to!