From Breast Implants to Possibly DIEP Surgery

MNCathy

I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer and had double masectomy 10/16 and to find out i had15 lymphnodes removed with 3 positive for Cancer. At that time of surgery i had the expanders placed. I had chemo (16 rounds--AC & Taxol) to Proton Beam Radiation (25 rounds). I had my expanders replacement surgery to implants Dec. 2017 and end of Jan, 2018 started having issues on my Radiation side with infection. I was put in hospital due to the infection 3/2017 and had to have the implant removed. I have DIEP surgery scheduled in June 2018 to get on the schedule but am able to change my mind. I am in my late 50's so not sure what to do. I feel having the implant removed and having to a micro bead pocket into my bra can be a nuisance. I did get the prothesis as well but have not used that yet. So I am looking for pro's and con's to if i should move forward to do the DIEP surgery.

Moderators

Hi MNCathy-

Welcome to BCO! We understand, it's a difficult decision. You might find some help in the DIEP thread, lots of great info there, and plenty of members sharing their experiences with DIEP (positive and less than positive). It helps to have as much information as possible!

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/69/topics...

The Mods

Lula73

I did DIEP and would do it again in a heartbeat. I actually look better now than when I started the BC journey and I looked good back then. too. Regardless of your age, if you’re leading an active lifestyle you should be good to go. It’s very nice to not have to worry about prosthesis or stuffing a bra with anything else in place of one. I hear a lot of women 50+ say that due their age they’re not worried about recon. That’s their choice and I respect it. But in my own mind I’m thinking this isn’t about sex or attraction. It’s about being ok with what you see reflected back at you in the mirror. And if you’re not ok with flat on one side (and let’s face it it’s not just flat but concave in some ways with a long horizontal scar that there is no way to hide) then recon is something you should pursue regardless of your age. My great aunt is in her 70s, had BMX with no recon because of that over 50 thinking and she can’t even look at herself in the mirror. No one should have to deal with that daily when there are other viable options. Just my $0.02. Happy to answer any questions about DIEP.

MNCathy

Lula thank you for your response. I do have a hard time with the one breast being gone. you had your surgery last year? Could you tell me on a few things. how long of hospital stay? how long recovery and restrictions? any complications? how long did you have to wear on waist binder? any additional surgeries or cosmetic to fix? does your tummy still feel tight? i had a gal do this but 17 years ago and she said her stomach was swollen for quite awhile? i need to complete my histroy diagnois so comes up on my post. Thank you for your time

klvans

Could someone explain what DIEP surgery is?

OCDAmy

MNCathy, I'm considering DIEP at least on my radiated side because my PS said many women have complications with implants on a radiated breast. Sounds like you did. I'm worried sbout such a long surgery and recovery and not sure I have enough tissue for both. Would you keep the implant on the other side

Lula73

MNCathy- Let me see what i can answer for you...

hospital stay for stage 1 was 3 nights/4 days including surgery and discharge days. Post-op visit on day 7 from surgery. I went out to lunch after discharge, watched the Mardi Gras parades a couple nights later, walked and went on drives with Mom or DH in the first few weeks. Started driving during 4th week, started cooking dinner around that same time. Returned to work at 10 or 12 weeks (my job requires a lot of lifting, driving & getting in and out of the car all day).

Complicationwise I had a small spot on one breast and a small spot on my abdominal incision where a knotted stitch pulled through the incision and opened it up a little. Both healed within a couple weeks.

Restrictions were no side sleeping til at least 4 week's out, no tummy sleeping til at least 6 week's out, no underwire bras, dr preferred that I wear the bra they gave me, no driving til off pain meds or 4 weeks whichever was later, no lifting anything over 5lbs for 6 weeks, no raising arms above shoulder height for 4 weeks and no strenuous arm/chest/abdomen activities (like vacuuming, sweeping, etc) for 6 weeks. You can't stand up completely straight for about 2-4 weeks. Velcro waist binder for 6 weeks but only when walking around.

Procedure is Typically done in 2-3 stages: 1)MX (if needed) + DIEP procedure, 2)lift, reduction (if desired), symmetry, fat grafting, scar revision, plication, (had to wear girdle that came up to just under my breasts and down to my knees for 6 weeks) 3)nipples (if needed). Stages 2 & 3 are much easier surgeries with typically just an overnight hospital stay and back to work in a couple days to a couple weeks.

I did have some tummy swelling after stage 1, typically fine in the morning but somewhat swollen by evening by about a couple inches around. but with plication in stage 2 it's pretty well resolved now. Tummy felt tight until after stage 2 as well- they did just a little lipo on the upper tummy and the tight feeling went away (just enough to loosen things up a bit).

I hope this helps! Happy to answer any other questions you may have.

OCDAmy

Lula, this might be a dumb question but where does the removed skin and tissue go, under or over the muscle? I have TEs right now - are they even necessary for DIEP? I am guessing the new tissue sits above the muscle

Lula73

OCDAmy- they tack it over the muscle similar to how your original breast tissue was attached. TEs aren’t necessary but can be helpful with delayed DIEP as theyhelp keep the skin stretched and give you a shape in the interim. But really they’re acting as space fillers at that point.

MNCathy

OCDAmy

If i do the surgery, I am going to do both sides. I would remove the implant on right side as left radiated side implant came out in March 2018 due to infection. I was told that if i did not do both at that same time, and decided to later date, i would need to do so from back or someplace else as they could no use the stomach fat again.

and the reason i would take right implant out as if for some reason my body rejects i,i don't want to go through what i just recently did with infection.

hope that helps