Prophylactic mastectomy

I'm so sorry you are here..I just had a prof mastectomy and tissue expanders inserted last week..I have 4 drains..hoping to get at least 2 removed todsy..that's the hard part to deal with..the pain from e mastectomy is minimal in my case..the only thing is you can't use our arms for pressure..like moving in the bed and getting up and down..you need to rely on your legs..but at pen week that is much better as well..after the mastectomy it's pretty numb so the pain was very toerable

Hi,

I had a prophylactic bilateral mastectomy May 26, 2011 with immediate reconstruction and I didn't have much pain at all, but I everyone's pain threshold is unique. The hardest part was not being able to eat before surgery, and the Patience required to heal properly---you can't go swimming, but its winter now. The drains are not bad you just have to drain them as they fill up with fluid, but I am sure your doc will answer all of your questions. Good luck to you!

Amy

If you are considering reconstruction at the same time you might want to check out the DIEP 2011 or NOLA in September threads for information and experiences of women who chose that route.

Lisa, I'm 27 and just had mine done yesterday. I had nipple sparing and skin sparing bilateral prophylactic mastectomy with immediate implant reconstruction.



Pain: it's not that bad in my case, the closest example would be if you ever worked out your chest in the gym x 5 soreness and limited use if arms. I today is only 24h post surgery and I am already alternating prescription pain meds with over the counter Tylenol. Drains don't hurt but you are always aware they are there. I think if you have a good pain management plan and stick to your meds, pain would be manageable with lots of rest.

Fyckr2003 - sorry to hear you are BRCA+. I HIGHLY recommend you venture over to the Facing Our Risk Empowered (FORCE) forums. Many women there have had PBMX with or without reconstruction, oophs, or who choose surveillance, or both, and so on. Also, look into their conference coming up in June in Philadelphia. There is info on the site about it, but it is a great way to meet other previvors and get lots of VERY good information whether you choose PBMX, screening, etc. They have lots of sessions on all sorts of topics associated with hereditary risk, from genetic testing to preventative surgery, to reconstruction complications, to new research. 

As for generally, it REALLY depends on whether you get reconstruction, what kind of reconstruction, and your own body. You can read the Surgery and Breast Reconstruction forums here, as well as look over at FORCE to get a good idea. I also recommend you pick up a copy of The Breast Reconstruction Guidebook by Kathy Steglio (I think that is her last name!). Very good. I have leafed through my copy several times and will do so again as my surgery approaches and think it is great for your partner, caregivers, etc to read too.

I am doing a one-step to implant surgery, and recovery for that to the "usual routine" is expected to be about 6 weeks, but of course everyone has a different usual routine. As mine involves quite a bit of intense physical activity I expect it might be a while longer before it is really back to MY usual, but I do expect to be able to do light routine things by 3-4 weeks, and back to decently normal by 6, but will let my body let me know

Pain of course can vary again depending on the surgery and YOUR own pain tolerance. Generally you are given narcotics, but many do wean themselves off them quickly and use muscle relaxants or over the counter pain relief. But, yes, it will be uncomfortable, painful, sore, restricted for a while.

During surgery I hope you don't feel any pain, you should be knocked out, ha! And before you also should not feel any pain, because it's before

My experience with a prophylactic mastectomy was in 2009. I am BRCA 1 & 2 positive. I had the surgery, and expanders were put in. I healed for about 1 month, then began expansions to let my skin stretch to receive implants. I got 8 expansions over two months. Next, I got my implants. After a few months, I had fake nipple reconstruction, then healed for a month and got tatooed to add color. Throughout the whole process, I took pain meds  and tapered off to Advil. I can now relax knowing I put breast cancer fears behind. I hope things go smoothly for you!