your reconstructed breast if you've had radiation

pesky904

I'm looking to hear from people who had a mastectomy, then radiation and then had their implant placed after radiation.

1. How long between radiation and implant placement for you?

2. How does your breast look?

I had mastectomy Nov 2017. Then radiation late Jan through March 2018 while tissue expanders were in. Had implants placed Nov 2018, so 8 months after last radiation treatment.

At first, all was well. I had a lump in the exact spot where my tumor was about 2 months after implants were placed but they said it was scar tissue.

I'm now a year and a half out from having implants placed and 2 years out from radiation.

My non-cancer breast looks fine. The implant is soft and pliable. The scar is healing beautifully. It's like a flat white line now.

My cancer side was healing just as nicely as the non-cancer side. But now I have what looks like a dimple right where my nipple should be and it looks like a little bruise. It's tender and sore to the touch. It looks just like my tumor looked when this all started, with reddish skin and a little swollen. The scar itself is not flat like the non-cancer side. It's red and has a red rash-like area branching off from it.

My surgeon just sent a letter saying he's moved to a different state and I'm not due to see my radiation onc until September. I have a follow up with my MO in early June that I'm still not sure if they'll change to a televisit. But right now I don't have a surgeon and I'm not risking going out during the coronavirus pandemic to have them look at it and tell me it's all due to radiation, which is what I assume they'll say.

Curious what kind of issues folks have had when having implants placed after radiation?