DIEP 2011

@ Scubacat, I'm glad it didn't hurt!  My ps definitely made it sound like it would be 3-4 mos before nipple, and then another 3-4 mos before tats... I would think reversing the process also speeds it up - you can probably go in for nipple recon quite soon after tats?

@ XRAY - I bought my memory foam wedge pillow at Costco but it was $60... I liked the squishiness of the memory foam.  But Bed Bath & Beyond sells a foam one for about $30 (and then minus your 20% coupon of course!)  This is a good option instead of mail order just because I read from so many people on Amazon that didn't like their wedge for one reason or another but didn't return it because they are so large that the return shipping costs as much as the pillow.  Apparently some of them are stinky, or rock hard... other issues people had on Amazon.  I was SURE I wouldn't be able to sleep on my back, but with the wedge on the subtle slant with a down pillow under my head, and more pillows under my knees, and a body pillow perpendicular to my body covering my abs and resting my arms on it, I was all snuggled in and on valium and tramadol every 3 hours slept a lot better than I expected.  A LOT better the first 2 weeks than I every thought I could.  

I think you can do SOME office work quite quickly after DIEP, but after uni-mx & snb & DIEP, I would not be ready to spend 8 hours at my desk dealing with people (I do HR) and problems.  Paperwork I don't mind and I'm doing that from home.  But I just get tired, and need to nap in the afternoon still after week 3.  I'm not bringing my kids to school yet, but could if I had to (thank you DH, after 13 years of me and my Mom doing ALL the running, for stepping up  ).

For the nursing job?  No light duty, all or nothing, lifting patients... oh boy, I would think the ps might say 8-12 weeks but I'm not sure.  You'd need to work back into that for sure.  Abdominally I would be okay with lifting after 6 I think, but my flap is still way too sore to be pressed up against someone lifting, that pec muscle is sore, range of motion is a little limited... after some PT maybe.  I'd be curious what your ps recommends as far as time for you to be out on STD.

@SAMayoFL - I second what Snobird says about the CT.  My ps really had to fight with insurance to get the abdo CT for me, but finally won.  And it was worth it, they said it really helped, and my uni-mx/DIEP was still over 10 hours.  My team did not have as much DIEP experience as people here recommend, and that made me nervous in a lot of ways, but I researched the training they had, where they had it, asked questions, and ultimately went with my gut.  They turned out to be fantastic, and my new breast is adorable so far, and all the doppler checks and everything were great from the beginning.  

Yep - surgery on Tuesday and ready to move to the regular floor today, Thursday! My unilateral DIEP took 6 hours and looks great, swollen, but still great! I am so happy to have the expander out and much closer to normal breast.

My breast just has steri strips over the incisions but there is also a kind of flap thing just taped on top; so when they check me, they just lift up the flap. There was some kind of bandage on my abdominal incision but they peeled that off today . . OUCH!!!

I am so happy to have the surgery behind me and I hope that my healing and recovery keeps going as well as it has been. I'm really happy with my surgical team and all the care I've gotten so far!

treesprite, glad things went so well for you. I know what you mean about getting that expander out! Good wishes for a speedy recovery.

thank you for all the warm wishes!

If everything continues as it has, I should be heading home tomorrow, Saturday. So DIEP surgery on Tuesday (6 hours single side) in ICU tuesday night, wednesday, wednesday night, moved to a regular private room thursday night and up walking today, Friday. 

Everyone is admiring my PS's work so I feel great about my choice. Before I found this forum, I was on my own trying to research and that was difficult. I really liked the first PS I interviewed but realized that he had not done enough DIEPs on his own. 

uh oh - my dinner just arrived and it is too awkward to keep typing. 

kathy 

scubacat: That is the BEST advice! My ego gets a bit crazy and I want to show off and prove to everyone how well I'm doing and that is what gets me into trouble!

I get to go home today. My stomach isn't as tight today; I can stand up and move better than yesterday, although my back is still pretty sore from walking hunched over and my butt has a couple of hot spots from laying in the same position too long. My mouth feels raw and yucky which I think is from the antibiotics killing off all the good bacteria as well as the bad; I'll start drinking coconut milk with probiotics added as soon as I get home. I had a similar thing with my mastectomy and the probiotics seemed to help -- or didn't hurt, anyway. I'll also start taking my vitamin C.

My doctor just left - he has the weekend off but he said that he always comes in to check on his DIEP patients. He snipped my doppler wire and taped it down; he said they leave the lead in for a couple more weeks until the area has more time to stabilize. One of his residents took out the pain pump thing last night -- that was super weird! No pain but it felt like the wire he pulled out went on forever. I am going home with all three drains, two in my belly and one from my breast. My doc said the breast drain is getting very close to being ready to pull but it is better to leave it in rather than to pull it too early.

My reconstructed breast looks large at this point in the process, especially compared to my super droopy left breast, but my doc had warned me not to worry; that there would be adjustments in stage two and he felt it better to go larger rather than smaller and make adjustments on down the line. There is definitely some swelling, but all in all, it looks pretty damn good! My belly button looks a bit strange, but that whole area is swollen, so no judgments until things settle down! 

Kathy  

Hi everyone! I had a bilat DIEP flap done on March 21 in Charlotte and was discharged two days ago. I had a uni mastectomy in Nov '09, followed by a year of treatment. So the DIEP included the second mastectomy and port removal.



I am home with 3 drains (1abdominal drain failed while is was still in recovery). I had an excellent team of surgeons who trained for years with Dr. Allen in Charleston. The hospital was wonderful and treated me as if I was the only patient they had, even though the floor was quite busy. I have had less pain than I anticipated, but was glad I had lurked here to anticipate the back strain!



I look forward to my week one post-surgical follow up appointments to get the drains pulled and a few questions answered. My main question is, am I temporarily swollen and can expect some subsiding, or am I this large (full D) until stage 2 where I choose how much reduction I wish?

@mspradley Just wondering what size your PS said the result of your DIEP breast would be, providing you talked about it during your initial consult? My PS told me he should be able to provide me with 2 DIEP breasts that are close to the size I am now ( a "C"). Maybe your new breast appears to be a "D" because of swelling that occurs as the result of the surgery?  

Hi all,

What are you doing for wound care-ie reduce the amount of scarring left behind?  My PS recommened mepiform scar pads.  Curious as to what your ps have suggested.

Thanks,

V

Susan-thanks for the Vit E tip.  I am doing really well.  Last week I got the okay from my PS to be able to do a little more than walking.  YEAH to that!  It isn't much more, but he ok'd me to start walking up hills.  I live in a very hilly neighborhood, so I was super excited that I could start walking up hills.  This way I can get my cardio up and feel like normal again. 

Oh and Saturday I wore jeans for the first time since surgery 3/2.  So, I do feel like my life is coming back again!

Hope everyone else is doing well and healing fast!

V

So I am on day 7, had my uni-lateral diep last tuesday. The hospital portion went very smoothly and my breast looks lovely, swollen with lots of steri-strips, but very natural. I feel like I have my breast back. My tummy looks pretty good; I'm pretty swollen in the area around my belly button and above the incision and my belly button looks pretty funky, but it looks like it will be fine once the swelling goes down.

We had a very rocky weekend; what I was not prepared for was how FREAKED out my husband and teenage son were going to be! I ended up calling a neighbor and my sister to come in last night. By the time they got here, I was shaking and crying. I'm realizing how much my husband depends on me running this ship. After several hours I finally was able to sleep and so have spent all day trying to get as much rest as I can.

I figured out what happened and I am not going to let it happen again; my hospital experience was so positive that my goal is to keep my environment as stress free and calming as possible to keep my healing on track - so calming music on the stereo, meditation music on my IPOD and staying warm and cozy. One of the music channels on our cable package plays only meditation type music and I had that running with the tv dimmed out; commercial free.

I spent my first night home on the couch sitting up with an ottoman supporting my legs. Last night, the second night, slept in the recliner  -- much more comfortable. As everyone else says -- lots of pillows on hand really helped with some firm and some soft,.  

That would be a liquid form of Vit E sorry,

crazy, right?



I put plan B into action last night and have several alternatives ready to go if needed. No way that I'm getting that upset again during my healing.

Snobird: You are so right. My sister talked to him last night and I have a friend who can do it again if needed.



Two other not so good things: thrush which I now realized started developing two days post op but took me until Saturday to realize, so a call to the on call doc and a trip to the 24 hour pharmacy and rinsing with a mixture of liquid benedryl and milk of magnesia (equal parts, then spit out). I also had thrush with my mastectomy. I also got some kind of rash after I left intensive care. They gave me liquid benedryl in my IV which calmed it down. My shoulders, upper arms, and just below my neck are still bumpy but not itchy.



On a brighter note, I had my first shower Sunday morning - that felt super good! I did use dry shampoo in the hospital and used Olay facial wipes. My sister got me a shower chair at goodwill, which my husband washed and disinfected thoroughly. It has a little side table so I can have everything on my non-surgical side. I imagine this has to be a lot more challenging for those of you who are doing bilateral DIEP. The only bad thing about the chair was that the seat got slippery after my husband soaped up my backside! So next time, a towel on the seat for more security! Kind of funny the things you don't really think about until you are in the situation.

Hi Susan!

I am healing wonderfully and will have my first post-op visit this afternoon (I am 8 days out of surgery). My doctors are Robinson and Lefaivre in Charlotte. Both trained with Allen at Roper in Charleston for years. Although I live in SC, I am only 20 miles from Charlotte and more like 150 from Charleston, so opted to stay closer to home. Keep in touch as you make your surgical team decisions.

Vmarie, I hope you will inspire me to get off the couch and get moving again!  Before my diagnosis I walked/ran or used an elliptical 4 - 5 days per week.  I finished chemo last Wednesday and I swear walking from my house to the car wears me out.  I vaccuumed and mopped my tile house this weekend and I had to sit down about every 10 minutes or so.  It is going to take me forever to build up my stamina again.  I know I NEED to get started or this surgery is going to kick my behind.

Marci, I am going to have to look him up.  I would love to stay in Florida.  I am in Panama City so it's about 4 hours to Gainseville.  Did Dr. Rosenberg do your surgery alone?  Two of the main reasons I chose Charleston were because they are in network BCBS providers and they would work as a team to minimize surgery time.  Also, the hospital staff is specifically trained in microsurgery so they know the signs to look for as far as failing flaps, etc.  Can you tell me more about your team?  To be honest, the non-medical expenses of this surgery are scaring me to death.  A hotel for 10 days or so will be around $800, renting a car for that long is about $650, the flight to bring us home so I don't have to drive for 9 hours is about $800.  I do realize my self image is worth it but I still have to have the means to pay for it all.  Being closer to home would elminate some of the expenses.  I would love to talk to you more when you feel up to it.

Treesprite, my husband is not one to do for himself either.  Thankfully, I don't have kids at home anymore.  During the last six months of my treatment there have been many things that simply did not get done.  Just know that if something goes undone for a week or two while you are recovering it is OK.  Worse things can happen.  Focus on yourself and getting better and the rest will be there for a day when you are stronger and more able to take care of things.

Mspradley, I am so glad to hear you are doing well after 8 days!  Traveling from Florida to SC for surgery is one of my biggest fears.  I keep thinking about what will happen if something goes wrong?  I will keep you posted.  I make up my mind one day but then change it the next!

Susan