Beware: Athletes who choose reconstruction may regret it

Gran · March 2013

Hi. I am writing this just to help women who are into rigorous athletic activities think clearly about what having implants could mean for you. I can only speak from my own experience. I had bilateral mastectomies in 2010 with tissue expanders and then placement of silicone implants in July 2010. I believe that for me, the implants were a mistake and I am considering having them removed. Here's why:

Whenever I use my upper body (even for simple things like pushing down the hatch back of a car or opening a heavy door) my 400cc silicone implants distort and feel horrible. More times that I can count in a day I feel this sensation of contortion and also "iron bra syndrome" if I do anything remotely athletic (I used to be an extreme athlete) and it is an almost constant reminder of the cancer and of my new limitations. The PS says this is called an "animation deformity" when the pec muscles are strong enough to distort the implant. He said that about 5% of women (I would guess most being dedicated athletes who use their upper bodies) have this distortion problem and have their implants removed.

I am an ex-bodybuilder, a spearfisherwoman, an ice climber, a caver, a long-distance cyclist, and a woman who likes to do hard manual labor (cutting trees with my chainsaw for firewood, etc.) and I feel that the implants were a big mistake for me. I have also been left with severe pain in my neck, trapezius muscles, rotator cuff impingement pain, and depression related to my inability to do the things I love to do and the pain that accompanies my present situation. I am no longer able to do the things that I love to do and am now considering taking the implants out. I cannot do even one push-up, when I used to bang out 30-40 in a row. I cannot do dips, bench press, rock climbing, and all other activities involving a lot of pec involvement because I had sub-pectoral implants put in and the pecs were cut to accommodate the implants.

I am writing this with the desire to save any other extremely athletic women the frustration and depression I am going through. I am not saying don't get implants, what I am saying is think very carefully about it and ask a lot of questions before you have them put in. And make sure you go to a PS who works with athletes.

It is also important that the mastectomy surgeon NOT injure the nerve that innervates the serratus anterior muscle, or you will have shoulder instability and be prone to rotator cuff problems for the rest of your life. I am going to have that nerve tested in 2 weeks to see if it has been damaged, as my serratus anterior muscles on both sides of my chest have disappeared and I am having a lot of shoulder instability. The serratus anterior muscle is necessary for shoulder girdle stability.

Just my thoughts on the matter. Every woman must make her own decision, but I wish I would have had more info when I made mine.

Gran

argynis · March 2013

Hi Gran,

Thank you for your posting!

I am an avid climber, mountaineer and skiier and I will have to go through a masectomy soon (maybe even both breasts) and have to decide if I want to get a reconstruction or not.

NatsFan · March 2013

Garn - I'm so sorry for all the issues you're having!!I think you raise a good point about making sure our surgeons are fully aware of our lifestyles when discussing recon options. It seems apparent that in hindsight, implants were not a good recon choice for you, and it's not right that your PS didn't give you better info at the time you were making your decision.

I had a BMX with DIEP flap recon and have no issues whatsoever - I can even run my chainsaw (we have a cabin in the woods). I hike, do yoga, lift weights, and run - I'm in training for my first ever half marathon right now. I do have some restrictions, but they are because I have lymphedema so I avoid certain yoga poses, have built up my weight lifting very gradually, and always need to wear compression sleeve/gauntlet when using my arms. But those are restrictions because of my LE, not my DIEP flap. I have no pain or other issues, and honestly forget most of the time that they are not the original "girls". But I also had a couple of consults with PS - the first did only implants, and guess what - never even mentioned the option of flap surgery. I then went to a PS at a major cancer center's Breast Center - a surgeon who does breast recon all day every day. She laid out all my recon options and thoroughly discussed the pros and cons of each.

I would highly recommend that anyone making the recon decision take the time to meet with a couple of PS, and try to get an appointment at a NCI-designated cancer center Breast Center. It was my co-workers who encouraged me not to just go with the first PS, but to get a second opinion. I'm so glad I did.

Shrek4 · March 2013

Totally with you there - ex-gymnast and ex-swimmer, very active. Made the mistake to not only go for implants, but for LD reconstruction. I have major issues, 40% of arm strength, shoulder impingement, can't do any abs becuse my serratus anterior messes up (bottom 1/3 of implant is covered by it), can't even drive more than 15 minutes as my back muscles start to spasm.

islandmom · March 2013

Gran, sorry to hear that you cannot do the things you love to do. I had a uni mx with a lift and implant on the other side and I am able to do weights and push ups with no problem, of course I am not nearly as athletic as you. I think a lot depends on what the breast surgeon does at the time of the mx. There have been some ladies that had the implants removed and they still felt pain so I hope you can find what is causing your discomfort.

pamelahope · March 2013

Thank you for your post. By no means am I a super athlete but I love to swim and was thinking about this very issue. Ihave decided against the lat flap for this very reason. I am totally flat though, dislike prothesis, and am wearing the same three t-shirts everyday. I have an appointment with a ps next week and will take your post into consideration.

I am truly sorry about your regret. Don't let it bring you down though. Pam

exbrnxgrl · March 2013

Sorry to hear about your situation but you make a very good point of making reconstruction decisions based on many factors including lifestyle. I have no problems with mine but I would never consider myself an extreme athlete. Hope you find some good resolution to your problem.

Blessings2011 · March 2013

Hi, Gran... so sorry you are having these issues.

I am NOT an athlete; in fact, I am a lifelong couch potato, and I am having the same issues you are.

I'm getting regular myofascial release therapy massages, which help with the "Iron Bra" feeling somewhat.

My PS said my pectoral muscles were very lax, which is why I felt no pain with fills. Unfortunately, now they seem to be strong enough to greatly distort my 700cc saline implants whenever I flex them.

I have considered implant removal and replacement with smaller implants, augmented with micro-fat grafting... but then again, there are no guarantees that this would solve the problem.

Hope you find some answers - and some relief - soon!

ginger2345 · March 2013

Gran,

So sorry about how your reconst turned out for you. You are super athletic and probably at the upper 5% that PSs care for. I swim front crawl 45 minutes or more every day and have a umx with immediate implant reconstruction. I've been pleased with how things have turned out for me. I use my arms a lot but not nearly like you would. I hope the testing you are going to do and any followup will help with your problems.

argynnis,

I too climb mountains and I feel comfortable with my implant, generally hike with poles. Just finished some snowshoeing in the mountains and that went well too. One thing you might want to ask the BS and then the anesthesiologist is how your general anesthesia will be administered. Mine was very attuned to my swimming and activity level and used a method called LMA which sets a box in your throat to deliver the anesthesia rather than intubation. If she had intubated me, she would have had to give me a muscle relaxant to help me accept the tube. But the muscle relaxant would relax all my muscles and the surgeon would not be able to see muscle movement to avoid cutting into muscle. (Anesthesiologist said that I would be able to have the LMA because I'm in good health, and a normal weight, and hadn't eaten or drank anything for the requisite time.)

Davy · March 2013

Gran, thank you for bringing up this important aspect of reconstruction with implants. I considered this when deciding which recontruction was right for me. I have been an avid weight lifter for a few years and worried about the pain of stretching my pecs to accommodate implants. It seems PSs in general do a poor job of laying out all the options - if they don't do it, they don't tell you about it. My thin frame meant that I was not a candidate for DIEP, so the PSs I consulted said implants were the way to go. Thankfully, I learned about the other flap options on BC.org and last week had a BMX with SGAP reconstruction. Only time will tell how these will pan out but I am hopeful I will be able to return to my active lifestyle.

Good luck in finding an option that allows you to live life to the fullest! After surviving BC we deserve at least that much!

mdg · March 2013

I am very athletic. I have been an aerobics instructor for years and I also run and do yoga a lot. I did TE/implants and have had no issues. I do yoga a few times a week. I do push ups, tricep dips, etc.... with no issues. I believe I did so well because I did the exrercises and stretches provided by my breast center for MX patients faithfully. I started them 2 weeks after surgery as I was told to. I started proactively working with an physical therapist at 4 weeks post MX to help me regain range of motion and decrease tightness. That really helped. I also stretch for 15 minutes after my workouts and do a lot of yoga positions to help with that. I personally feel ALL mx patients should work with a PT post OP. I asked for a PT prescription from my PS right after surgery. I found one that had experience with MX patients. I know that really helped. I have no tightness at all and am not restricted in any way. Have you worked with a PT at all? It may be worth a try before you have them removed. Good luck!

farmerlucy · March 2013

Gran - I am sorry you are having so much trouble. I am by no means a super athlete but I do like to do a lot of manual labor at our 15 acres, including a lot of chainsaw work, hauling branches, moving heavy objects. I was quite concerned about my pecs pre-implants. I discussed it with my PS beforehand and she said I should be fine unless I was an olympic rower. Hmm. Anyway, I had 421 mid profiles put in ( two fills one at MX of 200cc and one 5 weeks later of 150cc.) The fills and the tissue expanders were very hard for me. My pecs did not like the idea of stretching at all. I was not to move my elbows from my side for 4 weeks post mx. I had about three weeks of PT for issues related to my pecs and neck including "nerve cleansing" and stretching. The entire time I had the expanders, I could do nothing very physical or my pecs and neck would hurt. I seriously considered removing them before the exchange.

I decided to go ahead, and once I had the real implants, the pecs settled down. They don't hurt at all any more (I spent three hours with the chainsaw today), but they definitely distort the implants when I flex them. I figured that was normal. I am back to doing all my regular activities including yoga and pushups. I am very happy with the results. I'm starting to forget what the real ones felt like and don't mind the new ones at all. I actually like them.

Gran I hope you get things resolved. If I had the issues you have, I'd probably have the implants removed as well. Best of luck.

MartyJ · March 2013

Gran - I had implants for 27 years. I was very athletic, but implants definitely changed things. With regard to implant distortion from pec muscles - I would suggest that he is thinking more about implants used for augmentation. For reconstruction, it is a frequent complaint. I certainly am familiar with that syndrome and it prevented me from doing a lot of things. My first set of implants leaked and I have a feeling it was from physical activity - I could certainly feel tiny shooting pains whenever I used my pecs. My second set were just distorted from scar tissue, etc and impaired all types of movements. And yes, iron bra was an ever present feeling all the time. I hated that feeling of a strap wrapped tightly around my chest.

4 months ago I had the implants removed, the scar tissue broken up, pecs repaired and had DIEP reconstruction. Best day in years! No more iron bra, soft warm breasts. No implants to replace. Now I get to rebuild my pecs. A goal is to learn to paddle with a dragon boat team. Pick up a golf club again. Do a push up.

While you may not have enough tissue in your tummy for DIEP, a really good flap surgeon will be able to harvest from the buttocks without messing with any muscles. Look at Marga Massey, Breast Center in NOLA, Kline/Craigie in Charleston, Levine/Ahn in NYC. Just some suggestions.

minxie · March 2013

Not an athlete, but I was an artist. I can no longer paint because of what the surgery has done to my upper back, arm, and shoulder. And it makes me very sad...

Gran · March 2013

To all 12 athletes who responded to my post, I want to thank you. I feel on one hand very supported by all of you, and on the other, I feel as if I may have prevented some of you from making a mistake or at least not asking the right questions. I surely did not know what to ask. We need to stick together and help each other and other athletes facing this breast cancer/reconstruction dilemma. There is little to no information on the internet about this, so I guess we can become the source of information for women who are looking. Thank you again. I hope we can all keep in touch and continue to support one another.

I will write again once I have my EMG studies done to see if my serratus anterior muscle has been damaged. Between the physiatrist (rehab MD) and a good physical therapist I am hoping to strengthen my shoulder girdle and decrease the pain I feel. After that I will decide whether or not to take out the implants. Between the distortion I feel and also the "iron bra" syndrome that may be a great choice for me.

Gran

ElizabethInPA · March 2013

Gran...thank for starting this thread. I wish I had found it two years ago. But like so many others, I was given information only on the procedures my PS performed, and I knew I didn't want a TRAM.

Minxie, I am so sad for you...I am an artist too, and don't know what I'd do if I couldn't create. Have you worked with a pain specialist?

Marty...did you go to Dr. Massey? I just called her office and am trying to find out if she is in network with BCBS.

I am not an athlete, but am a big gardener, and can no longer dig or sling huge shovel-fulls of mulch. My implants are painful, distort, and the iron bra feeling comes on daily after a few hours. Any bra seems to set off the iron bra feeling...sports bra, banded bra, whatever.

I have been to a pain specialist after seeing Dr. Michele Manahan in Johns Hopkins about a DIEP three weeks ago. She didn't want to do anything until she investigated the pain more, and also said that I most likely didn't have enough belly fat for a bilateral DIEP.

When I asked her about an SGAP, she said she'd rather pull me really tight and use my belly fat than the SGAP because it created a hollow at the top of the buttock. I can't say I liked that idea of being pulled super tight, and have much more rump fat than belly fat.

I have the feeling that Johns Hopkins does not do the lipo and fat grafting to the extent that Charleston and NOLA do. And since Dr. Manahan doesn't like doing SGAPs, I certainly don't want to ask her to do one for me!

The pain management doctor gave me Neurontin, which seems to help a little. I make it to a little later in the day before the iron bra feeling drives me up the wall. But I am taking a high dose now, and the meds never got me through the day pain free. The doctor had said if this doesn't work she would try an injection for the nerve, and if that worked she could ablate the nerve. I return in a week to see her.

I am encouraged that some people have had the implants removed and have had the pain cease. It isn't guaranteed, but the pain severely affecting my life at this point.

blanviper · March 2013

Wow Gran- Sorry that you are feeling that way with your implants. Activity level is definitely something to consider. I looked into DIEP but couldn't get a guarantee that I wouldn't wind up with a TRAM due to a childhood surgery. The incision placement and old school surgical style (large incision through muscle vs laproscopic these days) could've been problematic with blood supply to DIEP. Being really active, I couldn't take the chance I'd wake up with a TRAM. That sounded like a potential nightmare for anyone active.

I was a UMX and I remember being very, very clear with my doctor as to what activities I wanted to be able to do after surgery. I definitely outlined that I expected to lift reasonably heavy weights, do a serious boot camp class, crunches and most of all, play doubles beach volleyball with all the strength and range of motion required for that. I don't know if my PS really took that into account while working on me, but I am not experiencing the severity of problems that you are. It is definitely not the same as before, though. I think there is a certain amount of pec distortion no matter what. I had revision surgery and that is lessened with a different implant but still there. At a certain point during everyday I just feel the implant - not iron bra but naggingly there. My PS said that roughly 5% of people just always feel it - he calls them 'more body aware'. Most become don't notice it anymore. It was the same with the last implant, so I think I'm one of the 5%.

Certain exercises are not as easy as they used to be, but I think it's a strength vs pain thing at this point (I had surgery 12/17/12 so not all back yet.) I can do dips, chest press but working slowly up to old weight. With this last surgery, I do feel uncomfortable in the upper abdominal area, right under my breast, doing some types of crunches. Will be asking the PS if that is permanent or not. It will suck if it is. Any other pain, strength or range of motion issues have gotten better with time and are better with the new style implant than the old. I hope things continue to improve. It would be interesting to talk to other really active people who had other types of reconstruction - they may have a completely different set of issues. I am starting to realize that things will never be truly 'normal' though.

mdg · March 2013

This is an interesting thread and I agree so little is known. The funny thing for me is I saw two different PS's before I decided on anything. They both told me I was only a candidate for TE's and implants. I did not have enough body fat for DIEP and neither surgeon would do any reconstruction that involved muscle on me because I exercised so much. They both told me the thought it would not allow me to continue with the level of activity I am use to. I was bummed and did the TE's and implants. I was worried about losing range of motion and my ability to exercise and did not know what to expect. Through the first year I did have some pain, spasms, tightness and it did bother my upper back during my TE's fills. I am fortunate that I did work with a great PT and am thankful for that. I don't know how PS's can do reconstruction and put implants under muscles without recommending PT to every patient. When you think about it, how would a muscle just be "normal" after you stuck a softball size implant under it? If you don't stretch it and lengthen the muscle, it will effect your posture and no doubt cause pain. Maybe some people would experience pain regardless of working with a PT - everyone's body is different. Who knows, but it just seems odd that doctors would think this would NOT cause tightness and pain. I hope you get some relief.....hugs!

MartyJ · March 2013

Elizabeth - yes, I did go to Dr Massey. I adore her. She does all stage 1 in NOLA. After that Stage 2 is in Chicago, Charleston or NOLA. She is a perfectionist. Can't wait to see the changes with stage 2.

lisa-e · March 2013

I am a rock climber and was quite concerned with possible impact of implants on my ability to continue climbing. (Implants were my only reconstructive option unless I was willing to travel for surgery). I opted out of reconstruction after consultations with several physical therapists and a doctor of Osteopathic Medicine. I also listened to my gut - I got nauseated whenever I thought about putting something under my pecs. I highly recommend that anyone considering reconstruction talk to several physical therapists before for additional input before making a decision.

Outfield · March 2013

Gran,

I am so sorry this has happened to you. I'm an athlete (mainly ball-sports, but will do almost anything active), and I chose not to reconstruct at all. Made sense for me. I still ended up with problems in my left arm, but that's from the axillary node dissection and radiation - no choice there because I had a locally advanced cancer.

I know that we all have different feelings about reconstruction, but I would rather be flat than risk damaging my body more.

I really hope you find a resolution that works for you.

eine · March 2013

I had terrible pain from TEs and unfortunately blame myself for not getting a second and third opinion. I had a lumpectomy and radiation and delayed recon that was a total disaster. Eventually had the implants removed. The enitre expansion process was extremely painful and I had many issues with my pecs as I am very active too and was in constant pain. Never once was physical therapy recommended. I had a fantasy the other night that the only people who can treat women with bc are women who have been down that road themselves. From start to finish. There should at least be a third party consultant available who may not necessarily be a medical professional but someone who knows what this all feels like. I feel like we are in the dark ages still when it comes to treatment. The care needs to be integrative and physical therapy should be just as much a part of the process as the removal of the breast. Otherwise we don't heal. I still have crazy popping feelings when I do some weight using my pecs and it has been almost a year and a half since the removal. All my ps told me while I was in his care was "go hard" and work out as much as you can. Obviously there is much more needed than that. I wonder if physical therapy would have allowed me to keep my implants. Thank you for creating this topic Gran, and wow you put me to shame. You are a superstar athlete and an inspiration!!!

farmerlucy · March 2013

Amen eine re: third party consultant. Someone needs to tie the team together (I'm not sure if that is what some facilities call the Nurse Navigator). I definitely could have used some counseling early on. The BS and PS were basically done, the onco said "maybe you should talk to your pcp". I pushed for my own PT because I'd heard about it on these board. There should be a checklist of resources in one spot for the newly diagnosed patient.

Gran · March 2013

Wow! Thanks to everyone who has posted. This is obviously an overlooked topic among surgeons because look at how many of us have problems! We need to bring this to light.

When I had my bilat. mastectomies with TE and later recon, I felt as if I was being placed on a conveyor belt by the docs. As if to say 'Don't worry your pretty little head, dear. The mx surgeon will do her part and then the ps will come into the same operating room and immediately place the sub-pectoral tissue expanders.' It all sounded so easy and I had so many reassurances that I would be fine and that they had not heard complaints from athletes. I had a nagging feeling that I shouldn't do the TE's, but pressure from all sides made me disregard my gut feelings. My biggest mistake -- not listening to ME!

lisa-e: Congrats on your decision not to have implants placed. I can tell you from my own experience that I cound NOT rock climb with these cut pecs. The only reason I can ice climb is that ice climbing is mainly a leg dominant sport with your arms only providing some stability and balance, but not necessary for strength in climbing.

mdg: I totally agree that EVERYONE should have physical therapy post mastectomy. It was not offered to me -- I was told there was no need for it.

blanviper: My ps didn't listen to me either! I told her over and over what my lifestyle and quality of life issues were, and she just nodded her head and didn't advise me to give it more thought or do more research. I thought since she was a triathlete herself she would understand. NOT!

Elizabeth: I was a little concerned reading your post that they may be considering ablating a nerve that involves muscle function and you would lose all function of whatever muscle that innervates. I would ask about that. However, if it will help your pain then maybe it is worth having the injection and possibly the procedure. Also, it may be a sensory nerve instead and have nothing to do with function. Just some possible questions to ask so you are sure what you are getting into. Good luck and keep us posted! I hope you will be pain-free very soon!

minxie: Would it be possible for you to see a PT about your shoulder, back and arm problems? Mx can damage the nerve that controls the serratus anterior which would put you at great risk for shoulder instability, impingement and inability to use your arm. But if the nerve is just atrophied and not damaged then PT may be able to help you strengthen those areas and get you back painting again. You sound so sad -- we must get you back to painting again!! Please keep us posted.

argynnis: You have to ask yourself whether function or cosmetics is your most important concern. If you have the implants done, most likely you will have some or all of the side effects these women have shared on this thread. Especially if you are a rock climber, you will almost certainly not be able to rock climb after implants. If you want to private message me we can talk further. If I had it to do over again, I would have the mastectomies and wait on reconstruction until I found out all the answers. I kick myself every day for having these implants.

marty j: Have a great time paddling that dragon boat! So glad you are doing well and have big plans. I don't have enough fat for any procedure that requires it for recon.

farmerlucy: I am so glad you like your implants! What can I say but "good on you!"

Davy: I hope your SGAP recon works out well. Keep us posted!

Ginger: I am a nurse, so I know what a LMA is, but that was not an option in the teaching hospital in which I had my surgeries. I had never thought about a muscle relaxant making the muscles more difficult to differentiate. Interesting. It's also the nerves that they have to look out for when doing mx, especially over near the latissimus dorsi area.

Pamelahope: Let us know how your PS appt goes!

Day: Have you tried PT to strengthen your shoulder girdle and thus decrease the impingement and spasms? PT can do so much! That is the direction I am heading to deal with my own impingement and shoulder instability problems.

Love and blessings to all who have written! Together we are a strong voice for women just facing BC and all of the recon decisions. Athletes are an overlooked group, so we must make our concerns and outcomes known publicly. I am thinking about ways to do that constructively. Hugs.

Gran

mdg · March 2013

I also was given a booklet of exercises by my breast center to do in the weeks following my BMX. I did them twice a day faithfully and they were painful at times. It was not fun but I KNEW I had to be proactive. I was treated at an NCI and have the booklet. If anyone wants me to email it, send me your email in a PM and I will send it to you. Obviously I cannot recommend anyone do these exercises, but it is worth talking to their PS about and showing them the booklet before they do BMX.

I also agree that the doctors really don't understand what our needs are after they do their part (the surgery). My PS was great though - he thought I would benefit from PT but was so worried the PT would have me do things he didn't want me to do. Maybe they should work directly with a PT so they know what patients should/should not do. I found a great PT so it worked out well for me. This discussion makes me so glad that I pushed for a PT and have had great results, but it deeply saddens me to see so many others suffering in pain and having to remove TE's and not have reconstruction after they have made the decision to have a BMX. If they knew reconstruction was going to be a disaster, perhaps they would have chosen lumpectomy. I realize there is no guarantee in any of this, but it's just wrong because some of this could have been prevented with PT in my opinion.

Not-Me · March 2013

Damn...I am sorry to read these posts. I am fairly athletic...a runner, hiker, backpacker, snowboarder, ice skater, and lift weights. I wondered if I would be able to go back to weight lifting? I just got done with the double mast three days ago, and was told I could start walking in two weeks. Who knows?

I was an A before and thought I might go to a B if I can. But these posts scare the hell out of me. I currently have TEs in. Yikes!

Gran · March 2013

Hi Not-ME:

I agree with many of the women who said that early physical therapy by people trained to work with mastectomy patients is key. Physical therapy was not discussed with me. I think it is imperative to keep your muscles toned and in symmetry once you get the okay from your PS to to PT. I also think that if you are going to go with subpectoral silicone implants (that's what I had) then going smaller will cause less distortion of the implant when you use your pecs. I told my PS that I wanted 300cc implants and wanted to be a B cup, so she put in 400cc implants and made me a C cup. She actually said that they sat me up in the operating room and that all in attendance thought the bigger implants looked better on me. ???!!! I was so shocked when she said that -- I had no reply. Apparently MY opinion didn't count.

From your post I am assuming that they put in subpectoral tissue expanders like mine. I remember them well. My pecs pushed them outward so that I had a good 5 inch or so space between them. They practically sat in my armpits and it got worse with every fill (to 360cc). They didn't hurt, they just looked ridiculous and even now my silicone implants fall into my armpits when I lie down. It's particularly attractive the few times I have tried to go to the gym -- they hang partway over the outside of my bra! A bit embarrassing to say the least. They look like old lady boobs!

Anyway, I hope this isn't scaring you too much. I created this thread to try and make athletes aware of the things that I was not aware of when making these life-altering decisions. And thankfully so many other women with other types of surgeries have chimed in about their experiences. If we can save even one woman from the pain and anguish some of us have felt, then we have succeeded.

It is a journey, and the more we share our respective journeys with each other, the more knowledge (power) we have as consumers. I now interview doctors and treat them like any other person I would hire to do a job for me. They must treat me with respect, spend the time to explain things in a way I can understand, and have a good reputation with other women or I move on to the next one. We are hiring them to do a job and damnit, I wish I'd had that attitude when I first got the cancer! I would have moved on to a different PS.

Gran

MartyJ · March 2013

Gran - I had to laugh about the implants falling to the sides when you lay down. Sorry, but mine were always perky - standing up or lying down. That too looks kind of weird. I do think that even though they sit us all up during surgery to see how things are hanging, they should have respected your wishes and given you what you requested - a B cup. The PS should happily change them out for you at no charge, but then I am sure I am dreaming on the no charge.

farmerlucy · March 2013

Gran - Did your PS use Alloderm?

Gran · March 2013

Hi Marty and Farmerlucy,

Yeah, for all that money you'd think she would position them so they wouldn't fall out of my bra!

The doc did use an Alloderm sling on both sides, and I made sure she left enough room on my sternum for me to load my speargun! That was a big concern of mine. I know some PS's put women's foobs close together and I needed mine to go where the original breasts had been so that I could load my speargun there with ease.

The new PS said that if I choose to take out the implants because of the distortion problems that my pec muscles will just lay down on my chest wall again and over time will shorten to the right length (now they are stretched from the implants). The muscle will never grow together again where it was cut, but I think I would be happier and get more function back. We'll see. Trying to go one step at a time.

I met a woman at the Iditarod sled dog race in 2010 (she was a musher) and she said that because she chose no reconstruction she was back to lifting her dog crates in 3 weeks and has never missed a race. She said she is as strong as ever. I should have followed her lead! Very cool woman!

Gran

blanviper · March 2013

Gran- I didn't mean to imply that my PS didn't listen to me. I think he did but he probably realize the impact that some of this may have on a more serious athlete. He also had my other breast to match so didn't make me bigger than I expected. I would've been pissed if I were you! Given the average age of BC patients and the relatively sedentary lifestyle most of this country enjoys, I'm guessing the amount of truly hardcore athletes these surgeons see are few and far between. Given all you do, you are more the exception than the rule.

Since a study came out about the age of younger women being diagnosed is increasing, the PS community will have to address this issue more and more. I'm only 2+ months out from my last revision and think this time around is better than last time. I am working my way up to former activities more slowly this time and that's working out better too. There are a few nagging things, but smaller in scope than before the revision. Less pec distortion for me this time. I notice the implant less and less as time goes by. I don't think I'll ever just not notice it at all. The kind of burning pain when doing crunches is a definite concern, but I had a lot of pocket work done. Last time out I did get the green light to do all my activities but I think going too hard, too fast left me in the position of the old implant pocket slipping down too far. I don't really think my PS had the best grasp of how much I'd be extending myself as his frame of reference is sedentary patients over 55, but I do feel he was listening.

I'm going to give it more time and see how truly I heal before my final verdict. I definitely made an improvement swapping out my implant for an anatomical one which wasn't even available when I had my first exchange. I can't blame the guy for that.

Beware: Athletes who choose reconstruction may regret it

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