DIEP 2011

bdavis  I had only 1 lymph positive out of 27 and a lot of docs are saying maybe no rads...but my surgeon thinks i should given the size and number of tumors.  I see the RO on Thurs to discuss all my options, I will keep you posted.

I am also curios about stage 2, I see PS on Monday, that will be my question for him.  I am not too fussy about the appearance if it sits well in a bra and bathing suit, which at this time, it is not.  Feels like a lot of boob tissue under my armpit and wearing a bra is extremely uncomfortable, but I am only 4 weeks post-op, and have not been given the go-ahead to wear a bra. Its hard to dress since I am feeling great and going to functions.

I would think that as long as we don't do anything CRAZY, sex should be fine - 4 weeks sounds about right or 6 to be sure. I see my doc tomorrow, I can ask the nurse -- my PS is so cute, I just can't imagine asking him; it was bad enough having him draw all over me right before surgery.



After my MX, we took it nice & slow with me doing lots of coaching because I was worried about it. Once I felt secure, I could relax. I'm sure for those of you who had chemo, that had to be tough.

@Bdavis I was 37 at DX and was staged at a IIb. The IDC was 2.5 cm, cribiform, some LVI, grade 3, micromets in the S-node only (7 others were neg.),multiple areas of DCIS, and triple positive. I had a lumpectomy at first - before the surgeon knew about the DCIS, and a MX 2 days later. According to my Oncologist (whom I adore), I did not need and rads. I did the AC and T and 52 Herceptins. That was 6 years ago so maybe the protocol for the type of BC that I had has changed - treatment-wise.

Re: the S*E*X. I will not be asking my PS about that topic...I am far from a shy gal when it comes to just about any topic of discussion, BUT my PS is very easy on the eyes and I would probably feel goofy chatting him up about it. Usually there are restrictions written on the discharge paperwork that is given from the hospital. I'll probably just go by that and how I'm feeling physically afterward.

x-raygirl I bought a few pair of yoga pants from Lucy and they are SUPER. Very well made and they look great. I'll be loving them when jeans will be out of the question for a while. 

Have a happy Easter and week-end everyone... 

I had a biltmx and they said I defiantly needed radiation and it depends on the margins I even had 2 opinions even though I had 3 small tumors and mulitfocal, 1 of the tumors was at the rib and really no margin.

x-raygirl, I'm with you on the frustration level.  I actually feel pretty great (since my set-back pain last Tuesday) and I'm ready to go go go!  My body still hurtsbutit is more annoying pain.  But my energy level is zilch!  Even off vicodine, I still need naps throughout the day.  I can see my arm muscles sagging more and more by the hour!  My arm movement is great - it is only reaching/stretching high up that gets me and my abdomen is fine IF I don't sit for a long time.  If I sot for more than 2 hours, it tightens up and I have to do some painful stretching.  

I had stopped wearing the abdomen support, but after a few days without it, I felt uncomfortable, poochy and was afraid I'd develop a hernia (although it is rare with DIEP).  So, it is back on and It feels "safer".  My "dog ears" are also showing up more each day.  Man, they're ugly!

My breast drain hole wounds are itching like crazy. of my many scars, they're the only ones that are bugging me.  The scars on my left arm and shoulder (where they took out the additional vein for my unplanned emergency) are healing great!

I went to a party on Saturday night and wore a top that made me look like I have clevage.  After having either flatish mounds or the sports bra uniboob look, it was nice to look like I have actual breasts (at least in clothes).  I just don't have as much clevage as I used to.  Something to get used to.

Sorry for tripple posting, I'm getting caught up....

About sex, I don't feel my abdomen could handle it right now (it will be 4 weeks on Tuesday).  And, unless I dye my abdomen support black and add some garters and stockings, It is definately NOT sexy bedroom attire!  I definately don't want my DH touching my breasts at the moment.  I think it might be a little to painful.   This may be a bit TMI, but I have offered up some alternatives.  There's just so many restructions on lifting and arm usage that I've had to be creative (and not creative in a fun way).  

 

@Carberry...OMG! I wonder if I'm going to have to stand buck naked in front of my PS for him to draw with a Sharpie on my bod! What's up with the standing? And can't I at least wear a pair of bikini panties while he is drawing? This is madness. It's not like he isn't going to see me in the full monty at some point, but I would rather be knocked out first. I'm DIEPing (new word there, haha) at a teaching hospital but I hope my PS will not decide to "teach" a medical student the fine art of body marking on the morning of my sx.

@Notafraid...LOL on the creative alternatives. Since I have no clue how good (or not so good) I may feel after my sx., I'm not providing my DH with a time frame of when our "quality time" will resume after the fact. I am so intent on achieving a good result with new DIEP boobs that I do not intend on giving them even a test run in the romance dept. until I know they have settled into their new home. I am taking 11 weeks off from work so will be home for most of the summer. All I am telling DH is that we will get busy before I go back to the grind. (I am hopeful about that). 

Do you think the "dog ears" are becoming more evident because your abdominal swelling is going down? And when you say you don't have as much cleavage as before, is that because your DIEP breast(s) - if you have a bilat., are smaller than your natural breasts? How high is your abdominal support - does it go from your pubic area to under your breasts ? Kind of like a girdle? Did your PS say how long you would be wearing this binder thing? 

@LadyM13... LOVE your hair and new avatar! That style looks great on you. 6 weeks and counting for me means 7 and counting for you. Off for a fitness walk on my day off......

 

OMG, if my husband reads this thread he will throw the DIEP idea out the window for sure!!  We are slowly and awkwardly trying to get our mojo back after 5 1/5 months of chemo.  If he finds out DIEPing will keep us from mojo-ing it ain't gonna be pretty!  LOL!!!

I am trying to get up the nerve to move my November surgery to August.

Susan

@treesprite TY, that makes sense as to why I would have to be standing up when the marking of my bod commences. I'll try to zone out and think good thoughts (highly unlikely) - but I can assure you that I will NOT be watching the marking, HA HA. I'll def. have my DH stay in with me, even though he'll probably be horrified. I wouldn't be if the shoe was on the other foot - but that's me. I won't mind having the DIEP-boobs checked out and probably will welcome it. As long as the medical professionals have my welfare in mind in a positive way, they can look, touch, whatever. As far as the hand-washing - you bet I will be on top of that. I work in the medical field and if I had a dime for every time I have washed my hands over the years, I could retire wealthy right now, never mind at age 67. I have no plan on going into the hospital for boobs and coming out with boobs AND MRSA, if you get my drift.

This question is for any DIEP gal who has had or will have a bilat:

Am I the only one is has fear of one of the flaps failing? My PS failure rate (when I asked him) was 1 to 2 %, which I thought was pretty good. Now that I'm 6 weeks away, I am starting to get worried (why, I don't know exactly) about one of the flaps failing and the other being ok. I am already lop-sided and have been for 6 years. I certainly don't want to come out of this sx being lop-sided again. I am hoping that my chances of flap survival are decent since I am otherwise healthy, am done w/chemo, don't smoke/drink, never had rads, etc...but who knows? Was anyone told that they should do something specific to stay as healthy as possible pre-surgery? I'm already eating a low-fat healthy diet and exercising every day - what else is there? TYSM   

@XRAYestinMA - I had a bilat DIEP.  I had a unimx in December of 2009 and then went through chemo and radiation + 52 weeks of Herceptin + Avastin.  So, 4 weeks ago the left side was reconstructed and the right side was given a mx before being reconstructed.  

I also worried about one side's flap failing, but my PS (who's failure rate is below 2%) said that it would be extremely rare.  I am what he calls "the perfect storm" because of the condition of my radiated skin (very damaged), a full year on Avastin (has a long term blood thinning effect), and so little time to bounce back from chemo (finished 1/5/2011), yet he told me that he felt very secure in going full speed ahead in order to do the DIEP at the same time as my unexpected 2nd mx.  

He did warn me that I would heal much more slowly than others my age (46) due to the Avastin still in my system, but I would still heal properly.  He also warned me that I might have the drain in my radiated side a little longer.  Had I not needed the 2nd mx, he would have encouraged me to wait at least 6 months to 2 years longer to allow the radiated skin to have more time to improve and allow the blood thinning effects of Avastin to subside. 

Well, my left side drain actually came out first (week 2), but my left hip drain was pulled a week  ago (week 4) even though it was still putting out over 60ml a day.  He was worried about infection in the abdomen if he left it in any longer.  I hate to be gross, but the center 2 inches of my abdomen have 2 small openings that are allowing the seroma fluid to continue to drain - very yucky, but I just slap on a maxi pad over the incision and change it frequently.  I think everyone else seems to be fine once their drain is pulled.

I did get an infection (week 4) at the most stressed point of the new foob on the radiated side - under the armpit at the tip of the football shaped flap.  This really made me worried about flap failure because the skin was red and had lots of hard fat necrosis and tons of drainage, although the drain had been pulled weeks prior.  My PS reassured me that the flap was fine, we just needed to get the radiated skin repaired, so I have to pack a knuckle sized crater he dug at the incision site (again at the tip of the football shaped flap - under my armpit) with a wet dressing and then cover with more gauze - or another maxipad if I am in a hurry.  He also put me on Bactrim for the week.  

I am not trying to scare you, if anything I want to reassure you that even with all of this going on the flap (both flaps, actually) itself is doing just fine.  Both my BS and my PS feel my results and issues are a result of the Avastin and lack of time for my body to heal since chemo. His stage one seems to be what I call "chop and plop" to get the tissue moved and established, and he will refine the shape during stage two.  In clothes, I just look like I have a sports bra on, so I could easily skip stage two, but I've gone through so much, I am looking forward to getting the girls "just right". 

Susan - sounds like you're no rads, then?  Very cool for you - jealousy on my part! 

Hi SAMayoFL, things are pretty much the same for me.  I have two large cavities in the left flap.  One from where they removed the hematoma 2 days after the DIEP, one from fat necrosis bursting through the skin.  These are still packed and require daily in-home nursing care.  There are two newer smaller holes which also ooze; however, they are not big enough to pack.  Some of the swelling has gone down but the left flap is still quite a big larger than the right flap and is still quite firm.  The infection is finally gone, thank goodness.  The ab wound still requires daily dressing as well.  After 8 weeks, I am certainly not where I would like to be; however, given the trauma of the post-surgeries and hospital experience (leeches, 12 transfusions, etc.), I guess things are sloooooooowly progressing.  PS says it will be 'a few months' before it's all settled down.  He is a well-renowned surgeon with about a 1 % failure rate and for some reason I have had multiple complications which I won't reiterate.  Sometimes things just go wrong.

@treesprite About the taking of fat from somewhere and injecting it into the DIEP-boob area: how does that work? Is it kind of a liposuction, where the PS sucks some fat from a place with extra and then injects it in the breast area? Sounds pretty wild. If I need that, I sure hope my PS can take some extra fat from my outer thighs or derriere. I could certainly donate a few pounds of fat from those areas.

Gosh Marxi, I am bummed out for you.  8 weeks is a long time to deal with all of this!

Treesprite, I am the opposite way!!  I have said for years I was going to have my tummy fat vacuumed out and stuffed back up in my boobs so they would be up where they were supposed to be.  When I said that, however, I didn't know that doctors were actually doing it and it NEVER occurred to me that it truly might happen to me!

What I want to know is will they cut more off than what is needed to rebuild my breasts.  I want them to cut off, lipo out, fat graft away as much as they possibly can.  I am all about them throwing my extra fat in the garbage can or flushing it down the sink or whatever works for them!!  LOL!

Marxi and Mspradley, I hope you both are having a good day today and that each and every day brings you closer to being fully healed!

Susan

My PS took all of my belly fat; it feels like the fat is gone from just under my rib cage, down to my pubes and over to my hips; still fat on my hips though (and butt and thighs and . . . .). I have a pretty good waist right now. My dog ears are teeny but if I drop weight off my hips, they will grow.



My PS said July is a likely date for stage 2. They did remove a couple of remaining stitches that hadn't dissolved - they were irritating, so I was glad to get rid of them.



Today was my first day back on the elliptical and also for yoga. I only did 10 minutes on the elliptical, not very strenuous and I didn't really use my arms, but it is a start. I modified the yoga so I wouldn't strain my DIEP side. It did feel good to MOVE! (5 weeks out).



SAMayoFL: I did always say I wanted a breast reduction; I guess I should be careful what I ask for!



I am doing my best to love every cell of my body as it is . . . work in progress!