2018 DIEP Surgery

carmstr835

The DIEP does not cut through your muscles. You should not have a problem with your core strength unless there is something unusual. My surgeon did say it is a possibility the peripheral arteries may not be big enough and he might have to take a small amount of stomach muscles. I am very concerned about that, too.

Thanks "Just Keep Moving" , for your concern. I am talking to friends and hopefully I can get someone to come once a day just in case. I do not however have anyone for the days after I am discharged. Surgery is Tuesday and discharged on Friday. So I will have to care for myself and strip my own drains days 4,5,6 Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Back home by Tuesday. If I can get my PS to order a daily nurse to strip my drains at home I would feel much better, but I won't know until the surgery on Tuesday. He did say he will make sure I have every thing I need.

Does anyone think they might have been able to strip their own drains if they had to? I am trying to remember after my mastectomies if I could have. I just can't remember if I could have...I had my brother doing it twice a day for the first week to 10 days. I remember thinking I could handle this. But probably it was after the first week or so. I was staying at his house then and went home after 2 weeks.

Teaberry11

Just keep moving - 4 weeks back to work is ambitious - I am 3 weeks out and now with the abdominal binder on am experiencing new discomforts .. my short term disability is approved for 8 weeks but I think I may try part time around 6 weeks. And I have a desk job if it's anything strenuous you will need even more time. I saw an interview with Rita Wilson - she said she went back to work at a broadway show after 4 weeks and it was the biggest mistake she made — she pushed too hard and paid for it later. Her surgery was BMX with TE and not the DIEP that you are having which is a much more involved surgery. I like the idea of setting Work expectations for a longer period for your return and then if able you can come back sooner than they expect

Carmstr - the drains at the breast are very hard to do yourself just tough to reach but I was doing the hip drains easily. Movement is difficult the first days Home - I had a power lift recliner which definitely helped but getting blankets and pillows and all of the meds, food and drink you need is rough alone especially when you realize you forgot something after you sat down. Also showering is doable alone (except for washing your hair) with a seat but drying off and getting dressed again is all very strenuous. I had a wonderful home health care nurse that the hospital setup that came every other day. On her first visit she assessed my needs and said she could get other help approved if necessary. You can also check into local breast cancer support groups - I have found that other survivors are very supportive and giving of their time. They may have volunteers that will come out to you post surgery! I also just saw that Lyft is offering free rides for cancer patients.

OCDAmy

for my BMX with TE I was able to strip the drains myself. I am having a power recliner delivered next week. I had it for my BMX and it was so helpful. There is a local nonprofit that provides them for free to breast cancer patients. We also bought an adjustable bed. Can you go up and down stairs right away? My bed and shower are on the second floor.

mustlovepoodles

I haven't had my DIEP yet, but i had a BMX with modest reconstruction. I had a lot of tissue necrosis after my surgery, so it looked pretty God-awful. DH couldn't stand to look at it, so i had to strip drains and pack wounds myself. It wasn't hard.

Lanne2389

when you mention “stripping drains," what do you mean? For my BMX I just had to wash the wound lightly in the shower and empty the bulbs. Lanne

Lanne2389

Hi TWills, I'm in for DIEP, diastasis recti, and node transfer surgeryon 7/17!

Lanne

Justkeepmoving

Hi Lanne

How did they determine you needed diastasis recti repair?

Twills - great thread. I'm getting a LOT of information. Thank you! My bilateral mastectomy with DIEP is this Friday June 2

Elijahgirl

Please add me for Phase 1 on August 7,2018

Lanne2389

Hi JustKeepMoving - My PS made me do a half sit up, showed the Resident and said my “whatever" was a 4 and ikely the result of my twin pregnancy, then gave a quick explanation and said she'd take care of it during the DIEP surgery, all in about 30 seconds. Works for me! Lanne

carmstr835

Lanne,

The nurses showed us how to squeeze the tubing at the skin and stretch the tubing so as to squeeze out all the fluid to get it all into the bulb, then empty the bulb and measure the fluid twice a day minimum, or when it was full.

Lanne2389

have to admit I’m kinda glad I didnt get those instructions. : ) Lanne

Lanne2389

or maybe I did and just blocked it out.

OCDAmy

Lanne, I think you are supposed to strip the tube so it doesn't get clogged

TWills

Elijahgirl, Lanne, and Justkeepmoving, I’ve added y’all to the list. Good luck this week Justkeepmoving!

KimE

Hi TWills, please remove me from the list. I still haven't lost enough weight to be approved for the surgery.

Congrats to all that have had the surgery, I hope you are all doing well. Keep the posts coming, I'm learning so much from all of you.

seagirl

hello , I will be having surgery in July . I am 3 years out from chemo and radiation. I had mastectomy (left) for dcis and the plan was implant - but ILC was found so... I had chemo and radiation with my tissue expander in. I thought that I would be going ahead with taking out the tissue expander and just getting an implant( my last ps didn't explain the complications of having rads after surgery) my new ps says Diep is the best course for me now. I am very nervous because it seems a much more complicated surgery . Has anyone here had this surgery after rads? Also I have a mild lymphodema and am wondering if others have had problems post surgery . I'm so grateful to have found this forum.It is reassuring to read everyone's experiences.

I'm in Los Angeles surgery will be at UCLA.

OCDAmy

Seagirl, I had rads, completed 28 with a bolus in January. My DIEP is scheduled for July 6. My radiated breast is in pretty bad shape and the TE pushed up almost to my collar bone. I'll be glad to get it out!

bella2013

Seagirl, read TWills posts above and reach out to her. She had a similar path to reconstruction that you have described.

You have come to a very good place. Read all the posts here as you prepare for your surgery. There are quite a few of us who are 3,4,5 and 6 months post surgery so there are lots of experiences to read about.

DIEP Flap surgery is a big surgery but it is so worth it. I do not have any regrets about choosing this surgery.

Ask questions! We are here for you! You can do this!!

Lanne2389

Seagirl - I had rads with tissue expanders. Before my BMX my PS talked to me about implants or tram flap. When I went in to discuss implant exchange, he brought up DIEP, I think bcs I'd gained abt 20 lbs back so had enough tummy fat to use and I'd healed well. It was very disconcerting mentally to change plans at that point so I know how you feel. Although it took a while, now I'm all in for DIEP. I can't wait to get the TEs out of my chest even tho I'll likely end up with addit’l scars.

Re lymphadema, does NOLA do any lymphadema-related surgeries? My Dr suggested node transplant as part of my DIEP. I have very very slight swelling in my upper arm - I actually think it is caused by the tissue expander but I'm happy to get a little insurance against future problems and insurance will cover it.

Lanne

cev20

Here we go... 🤞

Lula73

Good luck today, Cev20!!🍀

bella2013

sending prayers and good thoughts your way today CEV20

TWills

You’ve got this Cev20! Check in when you feel up to it:)

Justkeepmoving

Be strong CEV20!!

Think of this as an interesting thing that you get to experience (crazy - but that is what gets me through anything that's tough)

Wishing you a speedy recovery!!❤️

Justkeepmoving

I've never heard of node transfer and will look that one up...

Anyone have information about getting diastasis recti repair during DIEP surgery? Lanne2389 mentioned it above and I'm kicking myself for not discussing with my surgeon.

Do they do this automatically if they notice and issue with the muscle?

CarolDee

KimE, I was initially scheduled for my DIEP surgery last June, 2017. But when I met with my PS, he gave me a very stern talking-to about my weight (206) being a huge risk factor for complications following DIEP surgery. I listened to what he said and spent the last year taking off weight. It was sloooow progress, I feel like the Arimidex I'm taking slowed my metabolism to a crawl, but I was 30 lbs lighter by May 2018 and my PS was pleased with my progress. I had my DIEP surgery 3 weeks ago (6/4) and I am very pleased with the results. You can do this! And you will be so proud that overcame another hurdle in your quest to restore what breast cancer has taken away from us. God bless!

Carol

Lula73

Justkeepmoving- the node transfers are still pretty new so not a lot of docs have done it and not a lot of patients have had it done but it looks very promising. On the abdominal repair, your PS may or may not repair it. It’s usually repaired with plication. Depending on how bad it is they might need to use a cellular matrix as well. I know the docs in NOLA address it as a standard part of their practice as well as a handful of other docs, however there are so many other PSs out there who won’t do anything below the breasts other than harvest tissue and close up. You’ll want to ask about repair and what else they do to address the changes to your lower 1/2.

carmstr835

Good Luck Cev20! Let us know how your doing when you can. Mine is 2 weeks away today.

Justkeepmoving

thank you Lula

I have a call out to my PS asking about it. If he is in there he might as well fix it! I look 5 months pregnant sometimes (usually after I eat). A couple of months ago a man at work congratulated me on my expected baby 🙄 Nice that he thought I'm young enough to get pregnant but still....

That's a great accomplishment Carol... Thanks for sharing. KimE I hope you get there soon xoxox

Runrcrb

seagirl. I had radiation with my tissue expander in and had DIEP 9 months later. Happy share experience and photos if you want. Just PM me if interested