DIEP 2011

A COW bell  . . .that is so funny! OMG . . . ! My DH carried his cell phone around and I would call it . . . mostly he paid attention, although he had Bose headphones on during my actual surgery; the doc and nurses couldn't track him down until they could ask me when I woke up l. . I told them to look for the guy with the big headphones one! I can laugh at it now but I was pretty pissed at the time!

Kay . . I don't love that I have one side with a nipple and one with a big blank spot (i'm a uni), but I am making the best of it. It is weird to look in the mirror (or look down) and see no nipple. Also on my 'normie' side, the nipple is permanently out after the lift (don't know if that will change or not), but it makes it hard to wear anything that allows that nip to be seen . . it looks too weird with one headlight on and one off, maybe no one else notices, but it bugs me. I think the nipple and tattoo will provide camoflage . . . our brain will probably fill in a lot of the details it expects to see . . of course we'll always know! I think it was such a relief after the mx and TE to have a mound that was all me and looked a lot more normal!

Kathy

yeah, not thrilled with the uni-nipple either, but i have to admit that the natural girls gave me the same problem in shirts...had one innie & one outie.  maybe i could take a sharpie & draw in the bullseye for now...what do you think??

With my uni- DIEP I was able to spare the nipple that my BS had said would be possible, but when I told the PS, he wasn't so sure as he's seen them die and thought it might be better to just plan on not saving it.  We also talked about banking it somewhere on my body, but that sounded to weird to me.  He said he had a vitality device he uses during surgery to be able to tell if it has a good chance of survival.  It did luckily.  I have a partial round scar on the top of the areola where my BS had gone in for my previous lumpectomy so my PS said it may have injured the nerves too much also. My nip is now somewhat perky at times, although a little more sleepy than the other normal nip.  It does make me feel more whole to see my own. The incision for the flap is on the side where the incision went up to meet the areola.  I have an 'eye' shaped spot where he didn't cover (belly skin) to be able to monitor the flap instead of the round incision on the areola/nip area, like others have.  It looks very strange, but I know in a few months he will remove that 'eye' patch and close the incision for a small scar again.  My DH keeps saying I should put eyelashes on it.  Right.  My step-daughter is having a Halloween party soon and he thinks I should go as the Frankenbride.  He has a warped sense of humor ;  I'm not going along with that, maybe next yr.  

sig2130: you are posting already -- good for you! It is wonderful to wake up and have the TE's GONE! That was one of the best parts for me. Yep, the belly is way more sensitive but each day you'll feel better, although the first few times standing up aren't much fine but it does feel good to be out of bed and mobile again. Try your best to rest and recover and let everyone wait on you and pamper you!

kathy

Sig, keep in mind that you're using the abdominal muscles and moving the abdominal wall that was cut, even when you try not too. So of course, this part of your body is barking at you!  Your foobs on the other hand, are just hanging out. Do what you can to avoid using those abs.  You'll feel better and better each day.  Walking ( slowly, and stooped over at first) speeds up the healing. The worst is over by now, it's downhill from here. You will be amazed at how much healing progress you make every day.

Went to dinner with some girlfriends last night (while my husband watched the AL champion Rangers - just saying....), and ate a TON of Italian food - and said to my friends, 'what, I am just growing boobage (for my DIEP)... LOL

ReadingMama - So sorry to hear of your new diagnosis. Please don't automatically rule out traveling to NOLA.  Check out the organization called Breastoration.  They may be able to offer assistance with travel, or help you find some other funds available.  Also Mercy Flight or Angel Flights.  And as for accomodations, the American Cancer Society has a very nice facility called Hope Lodge.  Lodging is available for free for anyone who has to travel for their cancer testing or treatment.  It is just outside the city, but if you go through the Center for Restorative Breast Surgery, they provide limo transportation at no charge to and from the airport to the lodge, and to and from the lodge to all of your appointments. The Center has someone who can help with all the arrangements. So as I said, please don't rule out anything yet.

Thanks.  i decided it will be impossible to read all the pages, so I started on page 89 and am now on page 96.  It is very helpful to read others stories. 

Snobird, thanks for the recommendation.

Hi again, Thanks for all the information, although I only read from page 89, it's been very  helpful.  I am leaning toward staying local as I absolutely LOVE, LOVE my BS and really want her to do the mx.  I don't want to delay and want immediate recon, so am leaning toward a PS here locally.  I liked the PS I meet on Monday, he has done a fair bit of DIEP and my BS works with him frequently.  I may meet with Dr. Levine as well, was recommended to me twice so far.  A few questions:

 - He said 8 hours for the surgery, mx and DIEP, is that about normal.  Seems from reading I saw from 4 hours to 17.

- For those that work, how soon before you went back?  I have a long commute on a train, but could start off working from home so I could stand/lay down on breaks if I had to.

 - This is my 2nd bc in a little over a year, both in the left.  I am considering a Uni.  But if I later get BC in my other breast, then what would my options be?  I guess I could go more specialized to NOLA and do hips or an implant, though I would rather stay away from that.  Still deciding about UNI vs. BMX, is there a thread on that?

- The PS did not mention a CAT scan.  What is that for?  I'm getting one on Saturday, which I told him, so that may be why he didn't mention it, but can they really tell if the blood vessels are good from the CAT scan?

I'm sure I had more questions, but can't think of them now.

ReadingMama, I had a uni.  It was much easier to recover from than a bi would have been.  I could use my other arm normally, if I had had a bi, I wouldn't have been able to do much on either arm.  Also, it reduced the time in surgery by half which comes with less risks.  That being said, the abdomen is exactly the same whether you have one or two (as long as you have enough fat there for two).  And the recoup time is about 3 weeks of real limitations with the arms, 6 weeks for being able to lift more than a half gallon of milk (for me any way).  Those 3 to 6 weeks are limited vs. the peace of mind of not worrying about a new occurance in the other breast.  Also, you won't be able to get the DIEP again, so that is a thought to keep in mind as well.  I can't answer what the other options are.  For me, the uni was the right call (and I did not have enough fat for two breasts which made the decision easier), but I can see why a lot opt for doing both.  Good luck and if I can answer anything else, let me know.

regarding post surgery clothes . . a big yes to soft comfy stretchy yoga type pants, either low or high cut undies (just not an elastic band sitting directly on incision), i used shelf camis that I could step into  - so bought them roomy enough for easy in and out but not so big that they wouldn't hold my boob/noob up. Some women loved a dress or skirt to make the bathroom easier (skirt might be easier to deal with drains). Check with your doc about if and what kind of compression for abdomen . . .  light compression seems to help comfort with abdomen. I shopped thrift stores for tops and discount stores for lighweight compression. Thrift shops and/or craigslist are great for a shower chair (really good to have one on hand for after!). There are some great camping type recliners that might make for comfortable sitting/reclining after surgery if you don't already have a recliner - they are easier to move by shifting weight and not having to use your arm to operate a lever.

best wishes for great outcomes for all with upcoming procedures!

Kathy

Just_V, I read a suggestion somewhere in these forums that turned out to be fabulous for me: get some white T shirts, a bit big, and cut them up the front so you can put them on like a button-down. Then you can use them as liners for other button-down shirts, closing in a few spots with safety pins.  You can pin your drains to them, they absorb some of the oozing, and they're not pricy (I bought a men's 3-pack at Target).  I lived in these things for about two weeks, just in the T-shirt when home alone or with close family, and put something over them just when out and about. 

 After my t-shirt-chic phase, I found that camis with shelf bras were most useful.  I had some skin areas on both breasts that died, and it took a while for them to heal. My PS suggested using an absolute minimum of paper tape to hold gauze in place, because all the skin is fragile for a few weeks. The camis with shelf bra did a pretty good job of helping to hold the gauze in place with minimal little tape corners, and I slept in them, too.

You'll do great....

 Carol

For the drains, I got a scrub top with pockets in the front that snapped down the front. I put the drains in the pockets. Yoga pants were useful, except mine kept riding up and rubbing on my incision (which was VERY low, just above my "hairline"). I couldn't pull them up over my drains too well because it hurt. Basically, I went "commando" around the house and tried to hold the yoga pants off my incision when I went out. Dresses would probably have been a better idea in retrospect.



L

 KRISERTS... to answer your question, my flap failed because my incision opened up and was leaking... and go bigger and bigger...The reason it opened is because from my MX, the skin was too thin on the right side and I had to use A&D ointment to help heal the skin... the incision stayed moist and when the glue came off, the incision opened... Luckily for me, New Orleans flew me back down (on their dime) to do a wound surgery and re-do the right side... using my abs for the re-do. When they re-did the right side, they needed to replace the damaged skin, so my scar on the right looks like an upside down U... on the left it is the vertical scar. So... hip flap surgery July 21, wound surgery Aug 18, DIEP surgery Aug 23... I had a wound vacuum on me Aug 18-23.

ReadingMama... I encourage you to at least submit paperwork to NOLA and see what they say about cost... If you don't have enough ab fat for two breasts, which was my problem, they have options... I had the hip flaps first and later when they re-did my right side, they used my abs for that... And kaitsmom (Amy) is right... they transport you everywhere important and the Hope Lodge is a great hotel option... I too really loved my BS here in NJ, but I also wanted a doctor who had done 1000s of DIEPs and had what seems like 100% customer satisfaction... So I went to NOLA.

I also chose BMX because I needed it done and did not want to later endure another recovery... no regrets.