Post Op Double Mastectomy and DIEP Flap surgery

cswell

I had a double mastectomy and DIEP flap surgery November 4, 2016. What was supposed to be an 8 hour surgery turned into a 14 hour surgery. The purpose for the DIEP flap procedure was for reconstructing my both my breasts. The reason for the extended surgery time is while I was in recovery, one of my breasts hemorrhaged. The newly reconstructed breast was removed and reconstructed again. I do not know if my abdomen was reopened. Five days later that same breast was permanently removed due to lack of blood flow causing the breast to swell. I had drain tubes for each breast and one for my abdomen. Because the output was consistently greater than 35ml per day the abdomen drain was still in place until the stitch came loose holding the tube to my body on December 10 at which time I was instructed to remove the tube. The other tubes were removed by the doctor prior to this date. These timelines are important to me because the initial surgeries were 5 weeks prior to the removal of the last drain tube. I would not have been able to wear a tummy binder before the abdomen drain was removed not to mention the acute pain associated in that area plus my skin was pulled so tight I couldn't stand up straight for quite some time. Prior to my surgery I had virtually no stomach. At my age and after 4 pregnancies I did have a little excess skin but not much. When I went in for the tissue expander surgery I asked the doctor why I looked like I had a basketball in my stomach. He said he did not know because he removed fat and could not have made me fat. Two weeks later during an appointment I asked again about my protruding stomach and I was told that my muscles were not tight and he would tighten them when he performed the implant surgery. I did not hear about a tummy binder until my new doctor recommended I use one. He told me that my stomach muscles are weak but that it wasn't uncommon and if after a year post op my muscles had not tightened up he would be willing to do it surgically if that was my preference. He also advised me to not exercise this early in my recovery. Has anyone else experienced anything like this? And if so were you able to achieve your pre op stomach shape with the aid of a tummy binder?