Never ending

angiem7571

I am hoping someone else has had the same experience as me.

Here is a short list of what I have been through up until now:

May 2016 Breast Reduction

July 2016 Double Mastectomy (found cancer cells in both breasts)

August 2016 Emergency surgery to remove expanders due to infection

I have had leakage in both breasts (multiple sites) off and on since the expanders have been removed, here recently a BAD leakage. So at my last apt. my doctor said he wants to remove the muscles on my BACK and attach them to my chest. I have googled and can find no information on this, what to expect, etc. I am terrified. Not so much on cutting my chest open (this will be the 5th time I have been cut on my chest) but being cut open on my back!!!

Another thing that is freaking me out is how they are going to flip me from my back to my stomach when I'm under.

Thanks.

Angie

macb04

Hi Angie. I too have had a loooog, looong road to reconstruction. I had 15 surgeries. 5 fat grafting procedures, with 2 huge infections where I lost most of my grafted fat. I had adhesions and a giant crater. I also got radiation fibrosis really severe, where my skin was stiff and hard like boot leather. I had over 100 sessions of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy to help me get through the reconstruction successfully. So it can be done, to redo an unsuccessful implant reconstruction. I have a thread going about putting an implant over the pectoral muscle, because that is what has finally given me cleavage and ok enough looking breasts that are comfortable. .

If you want to do the back flap reconstruction, look up Lat Flap Reconstruction. It is a very hard on your body reconstruction process, so you should be really well informed and completely comfortable with the idea before you consent to it when there are other options out there. PM me for more details, or just look at my reconstruction postings.

besa

I also had a very problematic DIEP reconstruction and ended up dealing with multiple revisions. (In retrospect I realized my original ps was well trained by had done very few of these surgeried on her own - when not in training.) I now have a good cosmetic outcome but it was a long , long difficult road.

Bottom line of how I eventually waded my way out of the mess and had the reconstruction fixed. I got multiple other opinions from plastic surgeons unrelated to my original plastic surgeon (trained at different placed and affiliated with different hospitals). I actually traveled to see people that were considered experts. I finally jumped ship and found plastic surgeons who were more skilled and experienced. Personally I also found Kathy Steligo's "Breast Reconstruction Guidebook" very helpful when it came to figuring out what my options were and finding a truly skilled plastic surgeon. If you get a copy make sure it is the latest edition. I wish I had seen the book before my initial reconstructive surgery.

Know that plastic surgeons sometimes recommend the type of reconstruction they are technically able to do and don't mention or even disparage other options. As macb04 said what your plastic surgeon seems to be describing is a latissimus dorsi flap reconstruction (LD flap) . see link below .. There are other tissue reconstruction options that don't require taking muscle (for example DIEP) but which do require a ps trained in microvascular reconstruction.

http://www.breastcancer.org/treatment/surgery/reco...

My personal feeling is-- don't rush into anything you are not comfortable with. Get other options, do your research and then decide on the path that seems right for you.

mustlovepoodles

I think what you're describing is a latissimus dorsi flap. Some people love theirs, but many, MANY have had serious regrets. Check out the Latissimus dorsi forum. I got a second opinion from a PS who prefers to do lat flaps. I wasn't totally on board, because he wanted to also put in implants, something that I definitely do NOT want. I went home and research lat flaps thoroughly and came to the conclusion that there was a high likelihood of complications for me. A lot of women end up with chronic pain and upper body weakness. When I asked this PS about that he claimed that NOT ONE of his patients had ever had that. I knew right then and there that this guy was not the one for me!