Worried about breast reconstruction with radiated skin

Zuzuzara

Hi everyone. I have IDC and likely early stage, and I've been advised by my surgeon to have a lumpectomy with radiation (1.1 cm tumor). I'm only 43 and have slightly higher chance of cancer because I have chk2 gene mutation. I've heard that if there's a new cancer in same breast, and I need a mastectomy after lumpectomy with radiation, that the skin may not hold the implant, so I'm very worried and trying to decide if i should jump right to mastectomy. Has anyone faced this problem?

chiefswife

I did, I had ILC back in 2010 had chemo, a lumpectomy than radiation. 5 years later got diagnosed again only this time it was IDC in the same breast and almost in the same location. First time was at 9 oclock, the second time it was found at 8 oclock. My choice was to have a double mastectomy with reconstruction, I chose the diep, my left breast which was simply by choice to do has turned out fine it appearance and how it feels. My right breast which had the 33 radiation treatments done 5 years ago has an odd shape but my skin has held up just fine. It took almost 3 months of healing because my breast would leak and ooze something daily. Seemed like it took forever for the seams to close completely. I'm fine now and have come to accept that one is bigger than the other and is kind of ugly but I'm okay with it. I would do it all over again even now after all I've gone through.

Zuzuzara

thank you! I just noticed your feedback. I'm brand new to the site, so I didn't see at first. Do you think it was the radiation that caused your symptoms?

chiefswife

Yes I do and so does my husband, like I said after the revision which was my 2nd surgery, my skin actually looks fine. But it did take forever just to heal and close. My right breast just has a strange shape, like on the bottom underneath side it has a indentation, a dent, I could go back into more surgery and possible he could fix it's appearance but I want absolutely no more surgery for the rest of my life. (knock on wood)

I actually did get an infection after my diep procedure back in Dec of 2015 in my right breast, I had to go on antibiotics for I think 10 days, and again it was only in the right breast. I never had any implants at all. It cleared up too, it had me worried for awhile, my doctor said that if I had an implant then I would be done with proceeding further with any kind of reconstruction so I was thankful I went with the diep.

Hope all ends up well for you.