DIEP 2014

Too funny.  We tried to bring our mini dachsunds in our canoe but they thought they could walk on the water.  That was last time they came with us.  Our oldest one loves to ride on the ATV. 

Great news! New surgery date: July 21. Didn't expect to get back in so soon; my doc only does one per week.  I was also heartened to hear that my surgery shouldn't last as long as originally predicted, since it is only unilateral.

Aff, I had cording also, and it surprised me how long it took to resolve (3 months). It does go away eventually, though!

Feeling much better, and ready to move on. 

Hello all,

Had my PS  7 wk appt today. My Righty Diep breast is doing extremely well, no evidence of any fat loss or swelling. It is soft, warm and supple.

Hip incision also got a good review, small areas scabbed over and healing. Belly Button is healing slowly. Was instructed to place gauze inside to keep it dry and change 2-3 times a day as needed.

Lefty report. I don't have enough skin to support any type of implant. The skin is very thin and the fear is of a tear if we attempt to stretch with a TE. I have a history of multiple infections and wound openings from prior surgeries. It will not be a one surgery fix.  Recommendation is the lat flap to create a sling and support and to hold the shape. I apparently don't have as much fat in my back as I thought I did.   During this surgery a small TE will be placed to hold the shape of breast.  If I come down in size, breast envelope can be filled with fat grafting instead of implant. That would mean a reduction of DIEP righty.

I asked about internal mammary artery for a possible free flap, my PS is aware of study. It is recent and involves a few women. He says he is not comfortable accessing until a few more years have passed and the question is if the women have need of that artery due to a cardiac issue , How did it perform. There is no evidence yet.

I asked about a stacked free flap on  top of a pedicled flap? Hasn't been done. he would have to see how well pedicled flap adjusted and what the blood flow was from it (says interesting idea and will research).

I have a tentative date of 8/6.

I hope all are recuperating well and feeling better.

Processing all of this,

Vivian

Hi Everyone!  I have my surgery date... August 1st.  So happy to have a date to plan around.  They called while I was on vacation at the beach last week and it was nice to know that they are still thinking about me when I am gone.  I have five doctors appts before we leave for our trip to Guatemala in 12 days, then home for 5 days before the surgery.  Wow.  Things are moving quickly.  So much to do to prepare for the trip and the surgery, and did I mention my daughter is leaving for her freshman year in college in September?  Life moves fast, but I have my seat belt on and am saying "bring it on!"

I have enjoyed getting updated on everyone's progress!  Gotta love the staring at your breasts comments.  So true.  I also love the people who ask me about my surgery then get embarrassed when I start talking about my breasts.  Well... if you didn't want to talk about it, why'd you ask?  I never know how to get out of that sticky situation.  Oh well.  My teenage daughter says it would be better than talking about testicular cancer. Interesting perspective!

4acure - Good luck tomorrow! 

pzercher - congrats on your new date!  I know how you feel with sending a child off to college in the midst of all this.  When does he leave?  I will be a little over 6 weeks when I go help her move in. 

I forgot to add that I have a biopsy tomorrow morning on a cyst they found my right breast during an ultrasound to determine if they would need to take any lymph nodes.  Hoping for good news and that it is not as painful as the stereotactic biopsy (this one is ultrasound guided).  

Trish, sorry to hear about your short term dis. running out.  I stupidly (so healthy) didn't have that so I had to use sick time and then vacation time.  I am now ineligible for applying due to having had bc.  Sigh.  Yet I am grateful that I had never called out sick prior to BC and have worked there for a long time so had 5 weeks of sick time accumulated, and used one additional week of vacation time.  So grateful I could have off from work that long, it was nice to recover.  I too work in an office and they did take it a bit easier on me the first week or two.  

Kb33, good luck with your decision.  DIEP was started by I think a Dr. Robert Bell in New Orleans, in 1992 was the first performed surgery based on what I read.  There are no long term published studies that I could find on outcomes for patients, but as my ps said "you cannot get breast cancer in abdominal tissue".  There will be some scant breast tissue remaining, my ps said 10%, but that may vary among surgeons.  All I can tell you is I love my new breasts.  And I have only had stage one.  There have been some with flap rejection, and a pretty rough road but I have not heard anyone yet say they regret getting it done.  There is a picture forum but you have to establish serious intent on the discussion boards and then they have to let you in to be able to open the site.  

Off to nutrition class.  Have a great day everyone.  PS talk went fine, she gave me a DSW gift card for doing it which was very nice of her.  Audience was nice.  They want me to come back and talk on breast cancer.  Yikes.   

oh happy day!!!  Dr office staff must have finally submitted compelling info to ins.  I'm approved for leave thru July 20.       Kb - I'm 4 weeks out from uni diep.   My new boob will never be truly like my original but it's hanging pretty darn close to how the other is hanging. .  Ps did a wonderful job and it's 100% me.   No regrets here. 

Pzercher - congratulations on the surgery date. My PS does DIEP one day a week (Tuesday) and is booked til the end of October! That really surprised me. Walk inside and stay away from chiggers!!

Lahela - so glad to hear you like your fipple. I'm 100% ready for mine but want to see them before I decide about any tattooing. 

Shine - I like the way your daughter thinks.

Kb33 - no weird questions here. Implants and my pacemaker weren't going to be really compatible and I liked the idea of my breasts still being my tissue.My new breasts are better looking than the bad girls. I was saggy and am perky now. I'm not a finished work of art yet, but getting closer. I will be having nipple reconstruction, some scar revision and fat grafting soon and look forward to an even more normal appearance. TEs were hard and uncomfortable and no one likes them. My new breasts are soft and warm. It's still strange to hold something cold like my water bottle between my arm and breast and feel the cold on my arm but not breast. DH can still "cop a feel" but my sensations aren't the same. Still adjusting on that front. As for looks, I'm still adjusting to that, too. I think it will be better for me once I have the scar revision. For some reason my incisions that we refer to as crop circles on the breasts are still quite red and that has bothered me more than anything else. My PS has told me to give it more time and I am now using silicon scar pads and believe they are helping. Someone I had not seen since before surgery said she didn't mean to diminish what I was experiencing but she couldn't tell I had had a bmx because I looked better than I had last fall. I think that was because my stomach is flat and my breasts are "younger."  I don't think doctors just show their best work and you can ask to talk to other patients of theirs. I've done show and tell for several of my PS's patients who wanted to see what they might look like. Even though I'm not complete yet, it helped them see what to expect from DIEP. One is not having her DIEP til later in September but we are having a reveal lunch so they can see the results of stage 2. As for the future, I know gravity will settle my breasts just like the rest of my body and I won't worry about cancer in my breasts because there is such a minute amount of breast tissue there. Getting the diagnosis, making decisions, and waiting were the most challenging aspects. Recovery ranges from relatively smooth to challenging, but is doable and so very worthwhile. Other than that we look forward to putting this journey behind us and living life to the fullest. 

Pzercher - so glad you got a new date and do not have to wait too long

Trish - so glad your disability was approved

M_Mah - thank you so much. I start PT tomorrow afternoon and rads Thur morning. I think I will be ok for rads. The cording is not terrible. According to my BS "it's not bad at all". Easy for her to say It actually feels much better after I do the stretching exercises my PS gave me and then it tightens up again throughout the day. 

Kb33 - I certainly can empathize with the stress of the decision making process. While I always knew I wanted DIEP reconstruction, I agonized over UMX vs BMX for months. Once I finally made a decision I was completely at peace but getting there was difficult for me. I can tell you that at only 5 weeks out I am thrilled with my new breast. The shape is so close to my natural breast. Granted I had a skin sparing MX but the feel is great too. I have one area on the inside that is hard but it is getting better with daily massage. All of our decisions are so personal and every choice needs to be the right one for each of us. I am so happy to have a soft (mostly), warm breast that is made of my own tissue that I know implants would not have been right for me. You may end up deciding on implants for reasons that make it the right choice for you. What I do know is that you have found a place where all questions will be answered without any judgment. These are truly amazing ladies. There are no weird questions.

Trish hurray! That is good news and now you can get back to healing.

Kb33 I love my foobs. They are soft and warm and jiggle! None of that would you get with implats. This is the closest I have felt to my pre dx self. Hubby a,so likes them. My kids find them more comfortable to lean on. I am just done stage 1 so it is a good start but they would not be confused with origianal breasts yet.

Lili if the area is small (i dont know what is a crop circle) then will likely debride in office and then dress with so.ething appropriate and have you continue a dressing regime at home. Are you doing anything to it now? You might try a white non scented lotion or aquaphor or even coconut oil with gentle massage to stimulate circulation.

Jen, best wishes to you!

Gosleyj-  Hope your surgery went well and your recovery even better!!  Hugs (gentle of course )

Ally

Well my PS confirmed I have a seroma above and behind the ab incision on the left side and he drained it with a needle and syringe in his office. Good news is that he said this is a minor complication and not to worry, although he did say it would likely need to be drained again and compression is unlikely to prevent that.  I asked if I had caused it by sleeping on my left side and he said not at all, it just happens sometimes. 

It was especially nice to see his expression when he saw my incisions- he asked me what I was doing to make them heal so beautifully. I told him I was putting on aquaphor but switched this week to bio oil. He was really impressed with how great they look. I really haven't been doing much at all,just moisturizing once of twice a day, but I guess the moisturizing really works. 

Going back to work tomorrow. Wish I had more time off - but need to work to pay the bills! Stage 2 consult in a couple of weeks. I am nervous about that! 

To all the new folks, welcome and glad you found us ( if you have to go through this, this site and board are wonderful places for support and information- you are not alone!). 

Good Luck Jen! You are in my prayers!

Thanks Heidi and The1toC! I have really not touched the areas. No creams or oils. PS has not advised me too. I am actually afraid to touch.......

Should I be massaging scars?

Thank you.