I hate my incisions!
Comments
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Sher, my suregon said that with time, your body will remodel itself. I'm not sure how much or how long, though, and I don't plan on waiting ten-fifteen years for the scar to smooth out.
I plan to have reconstruction, down the road, but I still am concerned about how the incisions look now. My pathology report says my surgeon did a skin sparing mx on the prophylactic side, but they look pretty much tthe same to me. He knew I am planning recon, so that is why he left as much skin as he thought was safe. It does make it look bulgey. If I change my mind, a ps can revise the scars and hopefully lipo the fat deposits that are still there.
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I see in My Favorite Topics that NancyD has posted here, but I can't get to page 2. Anyone else having that problem? All other threads seem to work normally.
Thanks Nancy, I was able to read you post on your profile page. I did meet with ps before surgery and told him I did not want to go through recon, but was told I might change my mind later. But my incisions do look similar, just quite a bit more tissue on the proph side. I hate the thoughts of more surgery, so knowing me, would likely just live with it instead of having it fixed. I do have a little more pain on that proph side for some reason, even extending a little around to my back, so maybe there is still some swelling? My body had a tough time with the drain in that side. Will see surgeon tomorrow to check it out and hopefully get some questions answered.
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Okay, now page 2 works!
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Sher, I had the same problem with page 2 right after I posted. I couldn't read my own writing!
If you're feeling surgery-overloaded right now, then wait a couple of years. But if the scars don't smooth out to your liking, definitely see a ps about them. I don't think revision is as involved as the mx...they're only be dealing with the surface skin, trimming and restitching, and maybe lipo-ing a bit of fat out of some spots and injecting it into hollows.
I still have suburn-like pain across my chest. The actual incisions are numb, but just above and below them is where I feel the pain the most. It runs back on either side to just under my arms. Some of it may be due to the seromas the surgeon didn't want to drain, and some of it may be nerves regenerating. It's not as bad as a headache, and I've almost gotten used to it.
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I know exactly what you mean about the sunburn like pain as I have the same thing. Sometimes it kind of throbs too. Mine is above the incisions, not below and is pretty much constant, but has eased quite a bit in intensity so that now I'm not taking pain meds all the time anymore.
Ps was scheduled to assist my surgeon, to shorten the time it would take to do my surgery, so I wouldn't have to be under too long. I thought to myself that I would have great incisions 'cause the ps was assisting. Wrong! Something happened in the scheduling and the ps wasn't the one to assist after all. Hopefully my incisions will level out over time, otherwise fitting/wearing prosthesis might be tricky.
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You should be able to get revisions done to the inscisions. I have that now, but I have implants. My surgeon has to do corrective work as well as re-do the implants.
But I have these weird lumps at the end of each inscision and they are raised and "angry" as my PS says.
I have been massaging them every night when I take a bath and then after with body lotion. I have noticed they have gotten a little smoother since I started doing that. But it has no effect on the lumpy bits.
You can get lipo and a clean up of the area. I don't see how insurance can refuse.
Good luck!
g
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I saw my surgeon today and she said there is no seroma, but the area was definitely aggravated by the drain and so would explain the continued pain. She didn't come right out and say it, but my reading between the lines is that there is just excess fat on the outer edges that is not removed with the breast tissue. But if that's the case, I have no idea why there is so much more on one side than the other. You'd think that since I'm right handed, that side would have less excess fat, not more. Anyway, I now have an appointment with the plastic surgeon for his opinion.
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Yolanda,
I feel for you as I've been through the same. Hope I don't get any flames, but:
Breast surgeons are not plastic surgeons. They are trained in cancer oncology, not aesthetics like plastic surgeons....like an architect isn't necessarily a civil engineer.They perform two separate functions.
Insurance laws (depending on state) mandates that both mastectomy & follow-up revisions (whether reconstructions or scar revisions) be covered by your health plan. My breast surgeon actually referred me to a plastic surgeon before getting my bilateral mastectomy (although + nodes ruined the recon plans).
As for pathology report - not entirely the surgeon's fault
Why? Surgical TouchPrep is superficial & less sensitive than Pathology. The problem is Pathologists require at least four days to create the slides before they can analyze them under a microscope. The TouchPrep is akin to the waving wand at airport security versus getting a private full body cavity search (aka Path result).
- Day 1 On my double mastectomy, surgeon performed TouchPrep on sentinel node & removed 3 nodes. At the time of surgery, the TouchPrep revealed I had no + lymph nodes.
- + 1 Wk Path report revealed + lymph node and not a complete margin.
- + 1 Wk 1 Day Back to OR for my 3rd mastectomy!
Aesthetically, my scars are twisty as they ripple between the hollows of my ribs. As for armpits, I have a dent from where lymph nodes were taken topped by a pooch right under the armpit. This appearance is expected & have seen many surgeries of other women that are similar. I'm in my 30s and Californian - & told reconstruction can't begin until after chemo + radiation, so this is devastating.
I have a clinical background so I understand your frustration but I'm afraid that you will spend a lot of money trying to sue the doctor, & it will be very, very difficult & you will feel even more bitter and unvindicated.
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HI, i would love to see your photos. I too had a mastectomy (mid JUne) i have pockets of fat as well as humps and bumps. I think this is normal? i see my doc next week and will get him to check on how i'm healing...omg your so right when you say" i hate the "empty spot" more then hearing "you have/had breast cancer' .. thanks to the lady who shared her picture..... i too hate looking at it....
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Sher, I hope someone answers you about those hunks of tissue under your arms, because I'm three wks. post unilateral mastectomy and have it under my arm too. I have to put a soft cloth over it under my bra or else it bulges out over the top. Didn't expect this, nor such an angry looking scar. When my hair falls out from chemo that will be the icing on the cake.
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I have the Dog Ear Flap "Leftover" issue, too. Mine is very uncomfortable and painful. Wearing a bra irritates it and it's so tight that it feels like it's going to break open the skin sometimes. It feels like a big rolled up washcloth is under my armpit.
I can't rest my arm at my side without my hand sticking out about six inches more than my other hand, and this is causing me a shoulder problem due to my change in arm posture. It also looks horrible - but my main concern is the pain.
I don't mean to be gross, but another issue is that there's a "tuck/fold" of skin on the topside of the Dog Ear bump. It's not even part of the incision! I use cornstarch instead of deodorant on my mastectomy side but it falls down and just sits in the fold. I always bathe sufficiently and use Dial soap, but then the water and soap sandwich into the fold. This is an area with a lot of bacteria! I have to stretch the skin open with two fingers and clean it with a Q-Tip or twist up a washcloth. It's reminds me of how uncircumcised males need to keep the area under the foreskin clean because of the fold trapping bacteria. Moving right along...
I went in two weeks after surgery to get the area aspirated when I believed it was a fluid buildup. Imagine my surprise when the nurse told me that the doctor sometimes leaves extra skin there to make reconstruction easier.... When I reminded her of my wishes for no reconstruction, she began backtracking saying something like, "You're tramatized and not always thinking clearly before surgery. You might change your mind and then be happy that the extra skin is there."
Prior to my mastectomy, I advised my surgeon that I did NOT want any more surgeries and specifically told him that I wasn't doing ANY reconstruction - period - because I already suffered with chronic pain issues from previous injuries. I also signed paperwork immediately before being wheeled into surgery stating that the surgery was to be done on my right breast and that I did NOT want reconstructive surgery.
All of that being said, I'm having a real problem understanding why the flap was not cut off at the time of the mastectomy??? My surgeon has been doing mastectomies for 30 years. Maybe I should have gone to someone younger? Wouldn't you think that if he knew I didn't ever want reconstruction, he could have put a little more thought into my surgery appearance? How could I ever have known to ask him to cut off the Dog Ear Flap?
Now the only way to get rid of this deformity is another surgery or procedure! What part of NO MORE SURGERY did my surgeon misunderstand?
Sure, I understand that insurance will cover fixing it under "Reconstruction or Scar Revision". - but I still have to be cut again, possibly anesthetized once more, pay copays, schedule recovery time and experience MORE PAIN!!! Who'd ever think that this would be a problem? I researched a lot before surgery, but never read anything about this apparently common problem. This is not only causing me anxiety but extending my recovery!
On my last follow-up visit, I asked my surgeon to explain about the bump again. He said that if he didn't leave extra skin there, I wouldn't be able to stretch my arm above my head. (!@!) About two sentences later, he was telling me how the plastic surgeon could make it nice and flat! Hmmm, I wonder how I'd ever get my arm above my head then???
Let me know what you think about these MASTECTOMY PHOTOS WITH NO RECONSTRUCTION, like, "Is this normal?" http://www.flickr.com/photos/39053051@N04/
(More photos will be posted soon - June 2, 2009)
Thanks for listening. Best Wishes to all of you! Sending healing vibes your way.
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I am so sorry to hear about your unsatisfactory results and so angry that your surgeon apparently felt he knew better than you did what was best for you. Just one comforting thought: a second surgery to eliminate the extra skin would not necessarily entail pain. Typically the nerves are cut in the original surgery, so the pain should be minimal. Best to you ...
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I had an incision revision on my cancer side as there was enough tissue left to actually droop over my incision line! I was adamant that I was not doing reconstruction as well, and was pretty annoyed that he left too much breast tisue on the one side - esp the cancer side!
I had my quick revision. Not a problem. No drains or any hassle. I'm glad I did it! Now I want lipsuction on the bit of fat over my ribs so I look flatter....
(My incision line, looking at it from above does have bumps, but strangely it gives me a bit of cleavage when I bend over!)
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Charlotte: I am so sorry you have had to go through this. I did want reconstruction so I can relate to most of what you've said. I lost the expanders due to infection and at some point I think I want reconstruction. But it sounds to me like you were pretty adamant about what you wanted. I think Nagem and Barbe are right. Even though you don't want to go through another surgery, scar revision might be necessary for you to feel right again.
Hugs and prayers.
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I am having scar revisions in October. I need to have the dog-ears flattened out on my abdomen from my failed TRAM, fat removed from under my left arm, scar tissue and a mole removed from the left side of my chest and the right side flattened out, as my surgeon did a skin sparing mastectomy on my right side after my second diagnosis. I don't want to attempt reconstruction and want to at least have my chest "leveled". I've lost 20 pounds of the 30 I gained during chemo and as I lose weight, the dog-ears stick out worse...
Linda
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I have had my fair share of surgeries. I do not want reconstruction because more surgeries would be involved. Told my BS no reconstruction, he seemed so surprised and was pushing me to have it done.
So I am really concerned that after what you have been through, and all, you still ended up with Dog Ears.
I do not want them in the least bit, and do not want to go through another surgery... So many here on the board, complain about having them and to only go through Another Surgery... This shouldn't be... Makes me mad.
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I completely understand what you mean. I, too, have had a lot of surgeries and have decided to forget about reconstruction. I had hoped that would end things once and for all, but I also have small pockets under my arms, that I assume are “dog ears”. I want to have them removed because, although I feel greedy to say this, I feel really unattractive right now. I had my most recent surgery about 2 weeks ago and I know I still have healing to do, but I feel like I don’t even want to shower because I don’t want to see my chest. I feel bad saying that because I know things could be so much worse but I can’t stop feeling this way. It is a very painful situation, not only physically, but emotionally also...
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Christene and Christy, although I don't really understand it, I have heard that dog ears sometimes are left unintentionally. I too have extra flesh left on my chest after double mastectomy but mine is in the centre rather than under my arms. I want to have revision surgery so that I can end up with a better looking chest.
Christy, please don't feel guilty for wanting revision surgery since you are not happy with how your scars look. That is a very common feeling! I feel the same way as you do.
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I thought my breast surgeon did a really good job no uneven areas clean line but my plastic surgeon wished he could of had input. Plastic surgeon exceeded my expectations with the wonderful DIEP. So happy but there was a small area under my arm where the scar lines come together. Have to lift up my arm to see it. But now that all looks good too. I think the best situation is when bs and ps work together.
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I wonder why some plastic surgeons leave the extra skin under the arm? Do they worry their patients might end up with post-mastectomy pain syndrome (PMPS)?
PMPS is thought to be linked to damage done to the nerves in the armpit and chest during surgery.
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