Unilateral Mastectomy with expander

shellgirl

Hello all. This is my first post since being diagnosed on Nov. 7 with Invasive Lobular Carcinoma. I"m so overwhelmed. I feel like I'm on a speeding train and can't get off. Things have been moving so quickly, which I'm thankful for. But I have so many questions. I will be having a mastectomy on the right breast on Dec. 3. I am unable to get immediate reconstruction due to fact that I must have radiation after surgery. This has really thrown me into a tail spin. I wanted to have immediate reconstruction and the thought of waking up without my right breast is devastating. I"m trying to deal with this and learn as much as I can to prepare myself. Yet not add more fear. The doctors explained that I will be getting a tissue expander during the surgery. Then 6-7 weeks of radiation. Reconstruction surgery won't be for at least 6 months. When they told me this, I was in shock. Seems like every appointment I go to, I get worse news. My questions are these:

1. What can I expect when I wake up from surgery with an expander on me right side?

2. How do I dress with one normal breast and this expander? What do I wear? What kind of bras? How does this look in regular clothes?

3. Any other tips or advice for a unilateral mastectomy with expander?

Thank you! I am so thankful for this online community.

Shellgirl

Gigi71

Me too! Surgery Dec 4th for my unilateral masectomy and expander. Any advice on “ when u get home" part would be greatly appreciated!

MCBaker

my expander was initially filled with air. I woke up with a small boob on my right side. And that was with a compression bra they had given me. At the age of 68, I am not much into style, but I have gotten more button-down shirts. Amazon has a nice selection of post-surgical bras. They cover more of the chest, and both provide support and ease the early panic because of numb skin. Most also come with padding, and you can add to that. You may wake up with it unexpanded, but remember that this is only temporary. You can do this, I guarantee!

Moderators

Hi All, and sorry for what you're going through.

We have quite a bit of information, including videos, on reconstruction that you may find helpful.

Take a look here: Reconstruction

Hang in there!

The Mods

Smd0816

when I looked at my boobs after surgery I was shocked...they looked the same! The expander (right) was filled with air and was about the same size as the left (real) boob. Mine was skin/nipple sparing so the incision was below the boob. I went braless for a while and then was most comfortable with a regular unwired bra. At my first post op visit with ps... I asked to see a tissue expander so I could get a visual of how its sitting inside of me. That was a huge help for me!

Good luck to you!!