Dog Ears

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DVSB
DVSB Member Posts: 13
edited June 2014 in High Risk for Breast Cancer

I had a prophylactic bilateral mastecomy with no reconstruction, on Feb. 18, 2009 and I get a terrible tightness on my incision, feels like a rope is being pulling tight across my chest, and now

I am getting terrible pains, across my chest, burning, deep pain, which I have been told is

the nerve ending healing.............. Pain pills don't help....... and beside all that ,,,, I had very

large breast (5lbs each) so when my doctor did the surgery I ended up with what he calls

Dog Ears,.............. small (About A cups sizes) under my arms........ they still have to

be removed....... Any one else every hear of Dog ears ?

  Any Suggestion for the pain >???

DVSB
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  • Mouser
    Mouser Member Posts: 245
    edited July 2009

    Hi DVSB -- dog ears are mentioned on various posts i've read, but i never understood what they are. Probably someone else will come in on that.

    But i do have a suggestion about the pain you are having. i got a prescription for physical therapy when i had my single mastectomy -- and it has helped a LOT! The pain could be due to adhesions -- my therapist explained that the skin tends to stick to the muscle as it heals, and unless it is loosened, you end up not having freedom of movement in your arm.

    This is not just a matter of giving you some exercises to do (tho that is part of it). It involves a technique called myofascial release -- i think of it as unsticking the skin. Not much fun in the short run (it can hurt like hell), but it has made a huge difference.

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  • Deirdre1
    Deirdre1 Member Posts: 1,461
    edited July 2009

    I had dog ears and it wasn't because I was large before the surgery.. dog ears are the untidy scar ends and the doc can make the scars look a little more like say a stretch mark instead (in my case) raised ends of each scar..  I had revision surgery to "tuck" them in so to speak - turned out looking much better!

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  • bel
    bel Member Posts: 8
    edited July 2009

    Hi DVSB,

    I too had a "Dog ear" left after surgery. It made the recovery longer and much more painful and still annoys me to bits.

    The reason they leave it sometimes is that if you were to have a reconstruction later on, it helps to attach skin/fat/muscle and make a nipple out of etc.

    Mine disturbed me a lot and i couldn't seem to find out if it was normal or not. When in the hospital, a nurse was distressed by it and called a specialist to look at it, which worried the hell out of me. As you said, it is like another boob under your arm, mine is too large and has been so uncomfortable.

    I was annoyed that mine had been left though, as i had stated that i would not be having a reconstruction down the line, but I guess they think that you may chage your mind.

    I now have BRCA2 and have to have the other breast removed, so will have to have the "Dog ear" tidied up, as my breast surgeon called it. So will have pain on both sides then, - oh joy !!

    The pain you feel is known to occur with some people and if you have been given exercises to do, keep doing them or introduce gentle swimming. It's to do with the nerves and fluid.

    Did you have lympth nodes out too ?

    Accupunture is supposed to be very good for the pain also.

    Hope this helps :)

    Bel

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