DIEP 2014

Thank you for everyone's prayers and good wishes.  I am feeling good again and will heal from this surgery and then plan a new surgery for righty.  At least I ended up with at least one completed DIEP breast since it was so questionable Monday evening.  

I hope I haven't scared anyone with my unfortunate results.  Probably only a 1% chance of only finding one artery in the stomach.  I was a smoker for 40 years so that was probably the biggest reason for the poor arteries.  

K79 best of wishes for you as you prepare for your upcoming surgery.  I will be there in your pocket.

Best to everyone else wherever you are on this journey.  I will catch back up but right now can't remember what I have read a few minutes after reading it.  I am blaming drugs for right now.  Or Wilbur is watching over me.

Hugs to everyone. 

Yes, jb, love your attitude. You will turn out beautiful & be an inspiration to those that come after you in this process who have a little bump in the road.  Blessings!

s elizabeth, sounds like a PS who doesn't do DIEP and isn't educated about it.,,.unless, does your friend have medical issues you are not familiar with?  Thank goodness you are available to give some advice!

Pat

Sbe, it's frightening isn't it ?  One of my missions is to educate women in my area about options. When I started this journey, I just assumed I would have implants. Heck, that's what two of my friends did. When I saw the same PS they did, the nurse made me watch a movie first. The options were implants, tram flap or lat flap. Then he comes in the room and tells me women aren't a candidate for all of those procedures. He said he had to exam me first because there are a lot of factors that go into the decision (and apparently it was only the doctor making the decision). After he chose lat flap for me, that's when I started researching, but the clock was ticking because I still had a tumor.  Guess I was blessed to have such a dolt for a doctor, or I wouldn't have found my amazing docs. Please, research, research, research. 

Hi Everyone

I have a question and I hope I don't sound vain although I guess I am a little or its just nerves. I cant stop looking at my body in the mirror trying to image what I am going to look like.. hope I am not the only one that has done this. So, my question is more about the belly. I have a good roll under my belly button, its not huge but it is there. I am trying hard to lose it but not too much of it. All the pics I see seem to be of women that were thin or relatively thin before DIEP. For those that had some extra padding how does your belly look? I have a 8 inch scar on the bikini line from the hysterectomy and just feel like I am going to be a rag doll all stitched together. For me the flat belly is a silver lining in this journey.

thank you

Dvygirl. I am having mine in the 6th. Me, you and Lemon are all together. Yeah! 

Marty,  the only positive to implants is not having to wear bra.

Ha, Lahela, nip, not hip! I crack myself up. I really don't see that well......SO glad it's not your hip!

I just got a bra from Nordstrom after making an appt. i had no idea what size to try on. It's nice to finally wear a "real" one instead of camis or stretchy ones.  It was heavenly to be all done and with a comfortable bra in FIFTEEN minutes! I was more thrilled with the short length of time it took than with the bra, 😉 although I like the bra. 

OK, I thought I was computer savvy, but the picture forum is beating me! I can search by surgery type and get a list of users, but then do not know how to view photos. Will someone PM me with a little guidance? I'm hearing of great stories (and I could use a little encouragement courage) and would like to see what to expect.

Lemon. I had a good-size "roll" under my belly button......In fact, after nursing 4 kids, I had better projection from my belly, than my boobs!  My PS was able to make two very nice 36B-C (still not sure, as I haven't actually worn a bra except for Genie bras since Stage 1)   Don't worry-if you have it, they will find it!  

brady... once you log in, go to "women under construction".. then scroll down the the threads... when you see one you like, on the left hand column click on the ALL button and it will take you to that thread. You may have to scroll through to find the pics associated with that thread.

Goldie... I had a tdap flap added to my GAP flap (left boob... right boob is stacked DIEP)... It is like a LAT flap, except no muscle is taken and my scar does not go onto my back. It was a great option because it also removed the side boob. Then my doc removed the contralateral fat for symmetry. Couldn't be happier with that clean look.

Yesterday (March 12) was my fine-tuning of DIEP. Thanks to the refusal of my original BS to do bilateral mx, I lugged around a massive DD prosthetic for a year, so when I had my DIEP with prophylactic mx of the other side, it was one delayed and one immediate. As a result, they were not the same size and shape. I let sleeping asymmetrical dogs lie for a couple of years to get settled, but then put it on the agenda. Checked in at 08:00 am just before the wall of snow hit downtown Toronto, and discharged at 9:00pm just after the snow stopped. Didn't have to face the weather at all! 

He lifted the smaller immediate one with the funny dimple on the outside, and reduced and shaped the larger delayed one with the extra bulge on the inside. They're still shrink-wrapped in plastic dressings but they look pretty nice now. He also tailored the ends of my abdominal incision to be smoother. I feel an appropriate amount of discomfort for the amount of cutting, but I do have Tylenol 3 if I need it. I'd say the pain in my neck and throat (presumably from intubation) is about as much as the pain in the hips. No pain issues with the foobs, obviously. Functionally, I am achy all over and hobbling around but I can see being more or less functional in the predicted two weeks. I did a full 8 hours of work via computer today (granted 25% of it was stupid HR stuff about my so-called "sick leave" which I look forward to if I can actually, like, not be piled under work.) 

I was very nonchalant at the time I booked it, and then in the last week or so, I started to wonder whether I was pushing my luck, asking for more than I deserved. DIEP Stage 2 is not a standard thing here. They aim to make the DIEP a one step procedure, and just fix when necessary. I had no more DCIS and had reduced my risk of BC lower than that of anyone with breasts. I had curves and could cover up the minor bumps. I worried I was being selfish and would be punished with a bad outcome. My psychologist said "pshhh it will be fine". Okay, way to probe. So, anyway, I was really nervous when I got there, but it was calming to see my brilliant PS and the staff were super nice. So, on the other side, even so soon afterwards, I'm glad I finally did it, and in a couple of weeks, I am sure I'll be gladder.

Good luck to everyone on the upcoming schedule for 2014 DIEP adventures.

(There's no surgery check-box for DIEP revision in the profile menu, so I have not added this to my signature. I don't want to suggest I had another DIEP!)

Goldlining - Excellent timing on the surgery/snow day! And congratulations on crossing that finish line - I hope you're resting calmly and happily. But I'm curious about the length of your surgery. You wrote that your hospital stay was 13 hours, but how long was the actual surgery?

I believe that you and I have the same surgeon at TGH. (You and I corresponded privately last year, before my DIEP, and you were wonderfully helpful). I'm due for a Stage 2 this spring, and was told it would just be a few hours. Mind you - there probably won't be any boob tweakage - just nipples and dog ears. At this point I have no interest in any surgery. I don't want to go near a scalpel or a hospital gown for a long long time. I've even managed to get used to my dog ears, and dress without a waist. Because it's winter I wear a lot of sweaters, and nobody can tell that I look like Spongebob square pants underneath. 

How was the 'tailoring' of your incision? Did the procedure extend your scar further?  I'm really glad to hear that you're pleased with your results so far - plastic wrap and all . And there's nothing selfish about wanting to feel whole again. Your punishment is in the past - you deserve to feel great.

Janet

Jeannie, I am glad the bra fitting wasn't an uncomfortable experience for you.  I am hoping it goes the same for me.  I want boobs I can be proud of!!!!

bdavis, I have heard of that too, and I don't know why they don't use it more, especially for women who have had rads, and need some new skin?  I did read it is very specialized and only a few docs are doing it.  I believe I read about it on the Mayo website.

Gwenny, sounds like you need to by some smaller clothes.

Janet, I am sure you stage 2 result will please you, and the thought of surgery will be a distant memory when you look in the mirror and the results are something that makes you happy. Do you think the dog ears are enough to take away the sponge bob appearance?

Goldie - Yes ma'am! I think my dog ears are the only thing coming between me and my waist. I'm slim from the side, and square from the front. Thank goodness for 'empire' waistlines. 

Thank you Bailey, Moviemaniac, Gwenny and Jeannie

You all made me feel better, sounds like you all look great! All of your responses were so positive, just made me smile and take a deep breath. And with Jeannie showing her girls off, I think it is GREAT!

belts, perky, flat, all good things