DIEP 2013

Marcie.....aloe is a great moisturizer! I use the cream I always recommended to my burn patients....called Glaxal Base. I'm sure there are other good, affordable products too. 

I am almost ready to do scar treatment so I am listening to this discussion. Is there any ingredient in the moisturizer that is important. What kind of massage should we be doing? Are you talking surgical compression or shape wear over tummy incision? I am 3 weeks out of scar revision and glue is 90% off. I would like to start next week.

I was one who always sucked it in while I was walking or had to stand in front of any groups to speak. When i sat down, the rolls came out (3 of them!) Now post op, I no longer have any (fat rolls) and I look so much thinner, like I always wanted to look. This was my silver lining in all of this, besides getting to stay alive.



I'm wearing the same clothes, but the are definitely looser in my abdomen area and I'm sure that I'm still swollen. I've always carried my extra weight in the middle, so big changes for me with the way I look in clothes. I'm about 5 pounds less since surgery, but I probably look 10 pounds lighter due to my middle being flat. I no longer mind sitting down because my (3) rolls are gone.



Hope that helps and I'm praying and sending positive thoughts not only to all of us who have had our surgeries, but those that coming up soon!!



Hope everyone has a great Sunday!!

Janet M, Heavenschild, Sweetpickle, Sherbab...for me, even though it was stressful, I was anxious, and not looking forward to yet MORE surgery, waiting for my DIEP was like waiting for Christmas morning.  It was my reward for slogging through all that was necessary to save my life.

I have a soft, warm breast where I once had a lumpy and painful scar.  Like Lmo, the belly rolls are gone and I look younger and thinner. 

An enormous step in putting BC behind me!  Blessings--Katy

Reading such positive posts with my morning coffee is just awesome! 

Cherrie...no real magic moisturizer ingredient that I'm aware of. Everyone is different, so you want something that your tender skin tolerates well, and that keeps the skin "lubed" for a long time. Massage means firm pressure with hands/fingers moving along the scar..along it, around it, circular and linear motions. You're tying to literally move the scar and the skin around, to keep the tissues "loose". Compression is compression, there's just different degrees of it. If you have surgical compression garments that you want to keep using, no problem, but you'd probably be just as effective in shapewear that gives medium to firm compression. Again, compression on tummies and breasts.....don't have the "internal bones" to press against, so although helpful, not 100% effective. If you can see a significant difference in the colour, flexibility and "raised look" of your scars, after not wearing compression for awhile, go back to wearing it, then compare again in a day or two. You should be able to see if it's making a difference for you. I'm now 7 weeks out from surgery, and I can definitely see and feel the difference between pressure/no pressure.

What guidelines has your PS given you?? Like everything else it seems, opinions and protocols can be so different! Even amongst the surgeons I worked with there were differences on what they ordered for their patients. I found the ones who wanted massage and compression were the surgeons who seemed to want the absolute best result their patients could get...they never settled for "acceptable". 

jakig:  tattoos.  This is probably the only part of my journey that has been touchy with my hubby.  He has a tattoo, I have a tattoo.  So, it's not about that.  Early on when I knew I was losing my nipple/areola, it was actually my mother in law that said "I don't think I would do recontruction of the areola, if your not having sensation anyway, why not just a nice flower or something."  I agreed. He did not.  He seems to think it is very important to have areola.  I do not. I am so prone to surgical complications and infections, etc, I just do not think areola reconstruction is for me.

For 18 months now I have been progressively and actively researching my future tattoos.  At first it was a lovely rose bud/small blooming rose where the nipples would be.  Then it was the same rose bud with a little vine over the longer scars.  Now with DIEP, I'm 90% sure I'm going with a sort of bikini cover up.  Such that about 60% of my breast will be covered with florals, with vines over the linear scars, and something along the pubic/bikini line as well. Imagine the area covered by a bikini top, like cup your hands at each side of your breasts.  This way, they will be covered when fully clothed, but somewhat 'peek-a-boo' should I choose to go a little lighter in my clothing.

I will work with a GOOD tattoo artist to design this and apply it.

Sweetpickle, I am praying you get the best possible news tomorrow.  I am keeping my fingers crossed for you.   I am so ready to get my DIEP too.  Only a little more than a month to go for me....yeah!  

We will be waiting to hear your news tomorrow.  I know the waiting is the hardest part.  Try to find something to distract you.  I know, I know....easier said then done.

Sweet pickle: it will be interesting to see what they say. I had 1 node with involvement, And my tumor was 6 cm long so I had no choice on rads or chemo. I was really bummed, but it's all about saving my life so I can't complain I suppose. Keep up posted!

Thank you for the well wishes!

Morwenna- sorry you are in one of the "hard parts" (ok, it's all hard but some more than others). It does take a long time....much longer than our patience for sure. But it comes! The days when you more often feel good than bad....and when you almost always feel good, draw closer and closer. I started biking again not long after rads and started running 5k races (my first race was a Warrior Dash!) the summer after. I ran my last one 5 days before DIEP.



You will get where you want to be when your body is ready.



Thinking of you!

Who is this "movie" and how do we find her?

Seventeen days post DIEP, and still have some steri strips on the new boobie. They're supposed to fall  off by themselves, but I'm soooo ready to be rid of them. Tummy strips all gone now, and it looks good. My pants are really loose in front, and although still a little swollen around the incision, I am really flat there where I previously had a hefty roll of fat - yes! This was soo worth it, and it's my reward for all the cancer crap I went through. I was fit going into this, but amazed at how easily I get 'winded', and need to rest. Even singing in church was exhausting this morning, so I kept quiet - lol. My back gets so tired when I'm standing/walking, but I guess it will get better soon.

To those of you going for surgery this week, it is sooooo worth it to do this for yourself. I count my blessings every day that this surgery is available to women like us who have lost so much. What a gift!

Movie is going to have a ball reading all the speculation re her trip to Japan . . .  LOL.

Congratulations, liefie. I am 9 days post op and haven't seen my incisions yet.  Which raises a question, again.

Why is it that some doctors, like mine, send you home, no bandage changes, no bathing/showering, until your follow up appointment or drains come out, and some others alow showering, bathing bandage changes, etc... right away?

I'm particularly interested in what different PS say about bandage changes and showering.

When I had my exchange surgery from TE to implant, I was not permitted to change my bandages, nor shower, until after my f/u appt.  Well, that appt was 9 days post op.  I had horrible raging infection in one breast.  I could see from outside teh bandage, and the way it sloughed around, that it was not right.  By the time I arrived at my f/u appt, 9 days post-op, there was raging infection, high fever and I ended up 10 days in the hospital and losing an implant.

I decided this time that, despite what my doctor said, I was peeking inside my bandages. I have also removed the gauze stuffing that appeared 'dirty', but was not stuck to anything, just floating around in the surgical bra.  I firmly beleive that, if I had done this last time, I would have seen the infection and gotten treatment sooner.  

My PS also does not allow showering until all drains are removed.  I actually agree with this, due to what appears to be direct access to internal cavities in the drain insertion.  Frustrating, but I agree.  Some PS allow patients to shower right away. I'm ok with the sponge bath with these antigermicial wipes they provided.

And, then, nothing feels as good as that first full body shower, washing hair, shaving and putting on fresh clean clothes!!!

I WANT OUT!!! Trying to get hubby to take me grocery shopping.  I can use the electric cart.

I had a wound vac and wasn't allowed to shower or get the covering wet - DH went to the store brought me a dozen white washcloths, I sat with three bowls , soapy, rinse and empty to hold the wash clothes when done washing and rinsing! Felt sooooo good! Then he had the PS office arrange for a wash and dry at a very nice salon - it had been over 3.5 weeks with no hair clean!!!! Wow was that nice! Can feel your pain, Shechirple!