Would you do it again?

ccgeiger

I just had my fat grafting & breast lift done on 12/3/15. I am very disappointed in how things turned out. I thought enough fat

would be added to give my chest a nice slope to the implant. Not so. It seems my ribs were merely covered over, so it doesn't look

so bony any more. On the side where my lift was done, my breast looks cube-like. And I have a huge divot above my pubic line

where the lipo was done. Am I expecting too much too soon? I still need extra padding under my bra where my implant is. If I had to do

this all over again, I would not have the reconstruction done. I know i can have the implant removed, but 3 surgeries this year

is enough. Sorry for being whiny - just needed to get this off my chest, so to speak.

Moderators

Hi Ccgeiger-

We want to welcome you to our community here at BCO. We're so sorry to hear about how your recon turned out! It's difficult to reconcile our expectations and reality when things don't turn out the way we'd hoped they would. Have you discussed your concerns with your plastic surgeon? It's still very early, and you have a lot of healing left to do, but if you're noticing things that are concerning to you now, it's better to get answers early on.

We hope as your recover continues, things start looking better to you!

The Mods

owlwatcher

I'm glad this discussion came up as this is the place to talk over all concerns. Like a lot of people I had some problems after the initial expanders were placed and it was one long problem time (year) until the final implants were place. According to the picture forum my foobs look good, are they different from each other yes, but are they more symmetrical than the natives were yes. Would I do it again? today I would say "yes" had you asked me during that horrible year "no". My cousin is getting a reconstruction at 70+ and I don't think I would at that age.

NatsFan

I had a DIEP flap recon, but after the first go-round, I had a reaction to the suturing material that left some bad scarring. Also, they were uneven. When I expressed my concerns to my PS, she was wonderful, saying she'd operate on me as many times as needed until I was satisfied. I ended up with two additional surgeries - the first was a scarring reduction, and the second one was done later, where she did some shaping and fat grafting to even them out. Both surgeries were relatively minor same-day surgeries, but they really made the difference. My original DIEP was in 2008, but I took my time and scheduled the additional surgeries a year apart, to fit in with my work schedule and just cuz I was tired of surgeries. But I'm glad I did the original recon and glad that I did the "touch ups". Today I honestly forget most of the time that they are not the original "girls".

I agree with the mods - talk with your PS and tell him/her exactly what you're thinking. Even if your PS thinks it can be fixed with additional surgeries nothing says you have to do that right away. I totally get the whole concept of "surgery fatigue." You can wait to see what things look like 6 months or a year from now, and see if it still bothers you then. That will also give you time to get second or even third opinions from other PS about what can be done. We all have a right to be satisfied with our recon results.

Keesmom

I had a lattisimus dorsi recon of my right breast in Nov. 2010. At the same time, I had a reduction and lift done in my left breast. In July 2011 after radiation, I had my silicone implant inserted. For the first few months, I loved them, but around the 6 month mark, I noticed the implant getting firmer. Each year, my lifted breast has lowered and the fullness is gone. My implant became hard as a rock and I knew I had capsular contracture. I also noticed a year after the recon was done that I was supposed to have a 340ml implant inserted, yet my Mentor ID card says it was 400ml. It was always a bit larger, but I thought it was from the radiation. Anyway, 3 months ago I began getting severe pain in my shoulder blade, under my arm and all around the implant. It became worse every week, and after two trips to the ER, it was discovered I had a ruptured implant.

I met with a plastic surgeon who ordered a breast mri and it showed a grade 4 rupture. It was encapsulated but there was a lot of scar tissue and radiation damage. I go on the 21st to have it removed, scraped out, and power washed with antibiotics. I wanted the other breast removed also, for symmetry, but we are going to wait until this heals.

I would never do this again. I wish from the start I had had a bilateral mastectomy, and just got tattoos to cover the scars.

Barb