DIEP 2015

Thanks for the tip, Phoebe!

Thanks to all sisters for thoughts,prayers, and tips. I'm 10 days out from surgery now. Still hurt if I don't take enough medicine but trying to cut back. Trvler my main surgeon was Dr. Wise. Who was yours? I'm still very happy and amazed with results. Sutures almost looked healed from the beginning. I came home with one drain which I still have. The other 3 came out at last Wednesday appointment. Im foggy with the meds but trying to walk a lot. Still feeling like a turtle from time to time. Wearing the elastic girth almost all the time. Wearing the black surgical bra all the time. Have to say it's about as cute/sexy as possible! I appreciated that as my first impression when I woke up from surgery. Ladies who have had pain and irritation from the urinary catheter please ask your doctor if you can take over-the-counter AZO Standard. It helped me. Take it with food or it will upset your tummy. Still just resting and eating. Love to all.

BigSister-2015 please get as many second opinions as you can until you find the right surgeon for you. Please seriously consider using someone who does Breast reconstruction only, and a lot of it all the time. After experiencing tissue expanders and implant failure, lat flap, and now DIEP, I can honestly say I wish I had never had the lat flap and am seriously scared the lat flap pain and tightness will never go away. I did not know about options when I Got diagnosed. Was told that expander/implant was the way to go and believed it in a hurry to get mastectomy with reconstruction done. Now after having DIEP flap by very experienced DIEP surgeon I wish this was where I had started. I think I would have gotten my life back a long time ago. I'm about 5'6" and 123 pounds. I'm a solid B at least today. I say today since I'm only 10 days past surgery and I don't know how much is swelling and how much I will change after revision surgery. Again please find a surgeon that does breast reconstruction only. It makes all the difference in the world.

Bigsister: I agree with Trineg. I was told by the local PS who came highly recommended I wouldn't be as big as I was at the time (a solid b). I went to consult with NOLA (Breast Center) and Dr. Sullivan was like no problem. These guys are masters. I was 5'3 and 133 so my BMI was also at the high end of normal. I know that the first PS I met didn't do anything besides take tissue from the tummy but NOLA can take it from other places as well. Also, and this is the, to me, the most important point, they do a CT scan prior to surgery so they know where the blood vessels are they are going to take. The local PS doesn't do that so they go in and figure it out when they get in there which mostly leads to taking muscle which is much riskier in terms of pain. Ask whatever doctor you are talking to about that. It's important.

I am just back from a routine check up in Vancouver, and all is healing well and looking good. My PS asked me to participate in upcoming 'BRA day' in late October. That is Breast Reconstruction Awareness Day - 3 PS speaking on various recon procedures. I am thrilled at the thought of paying it forward at the 'show n tell lounge' after the lectures. Of all the things that were not even on my bucket list...... breast modelling, but I know how reassuring it was to actually talk to someone who had a diep several years ago and to see the wonderful natural results.

Westphal -- sooooo glad you are recovering and progressing I am guessing it's your 2 weeks-iversary today! Can't wait to hear a little more when you are up to sharing. Have you tried advil and tylenol together -- they act synergistically so better than 2 of the same kind. I still do one Emtec at night, [mostly for achy bra band area and if I overdo it] but am now going to try without, and just do over the counter.

Welcome BigSister -- I went out of town to a big city for a fabulous microsurgeon with a breast recon focus -- and Dieps are her favourite as the gold standard. I could not have had the Diep in my smaller town.... even though I need to go back for checkups I would do it again in a heartbeat. I had BMX with immediate Diep -- smooth sailing -- and am 6 weeks tomorrow.

39hip - yes oh yes, I had the back pain, often way worse[ especially first week] than the surgery! ...... but as I got straighter and not mimicking a dowager's hump so much it slowly resolved. Squeezing shoulder blades together gave some relief. Glad you have awesome results.

Hello all, I'm scheduled for the DIEP on Tuesday, October 6th with Dr M Whitten Wise in NOLA. Has anyone had this doctor before? Anyone been to breast center in NOLA?? Please share your experience with me and any tips would be amazing I have less than a week

Question how long have you all had to wear a bra 24 hours 7 days? Also how long before you can sleep on your stomach?

I had my surgery the Breast Center on Sept 1. I can't comment on Dr. Wise but I can say that the hospital is an amazing place and they take amazing care of you. There are so many little things…..like they put freeze stuff on your arm so you never feel a needle ever. You know how when you get put to sleep in the OR you know it's coming? They put you to sleep in the pre op room and you don't even know when they put the drug in the IV. You can't see it. One minute you are laying there getting ready and the next you are awake and done.

You wear the bra 24/7 for at least 4 weeks. I am now wearing a regular bra during the day and the bra they gave me at night. The only issue with the bra they give you is that it is black and shows through some clothes. Also, they give you a girdle but only one so you probably have to buy a second one when you get back. I hear Kohl's sells Spanx. They kept telling me in NOLA that 'a lot of women like Spanx' and I kept wondering why if they were giving me the girdle I had to buy any Spanx. It's because you have to take the one they give you off and wash it so you need a backup. You can't put it in the dryer. If you want to plan ahead go buy a Spanx now. Buy one that goes from just under your breasts to your thighs.

Sleeping on your back: This was hard for me. I am a dedicated side sleeper. They teach you how to arrange pillows to keep you in place. YOu put one under each arm, a couple behind you (I used a regular pillow in front of a study pillow) and one under your knees because your stomach is tight and you won't want to lay flat. They want you to do it for 4 weeks. I did it exactly 4 weeks and not one minute longer than I had to, although my breast area is still tender and sometimes side positions can be a tad uncomfortable too, but not as bad as having to be on my back all the time.

I wish you the best. I feel that going to NOLA was one of the maybe top 2 decisions I ever made in my entire life. I hope you get my favorite nurse, Jenny. She works at night. She is amazing. My other favorite was Jaime (the black one because there are a couple of Jaime's.)

G - Wow, it sounds like you have your hands full with eight kids! I'm assuming that since you have been through multiple surgeries before this that you have a good support network in place? I think only a truly reckless person wouldn't be nervous about this operation, but in many ways it hasn't been as bad as I expected. I'm truly amazed by the body's ability to heal itself. That said, you definitely should not plan on trying to take care of little ones for several weeks afterward. I just drove my son to preschool this morning for the first time since surgery (three weeks out), and that was pretty tiring (and I just had a uni DIEP). Then again, if you've been through eight pregnancies and can care for eight kids, you are probably a lot tougher than I am.

I was able to do most everything 3 weeks out. I was tired, no doubt. A lot of that was due to not being able to sleep on my side and not feeling rested. Also, they use a machine on your legs to avoid a blood clot which was annoying.

I was surprised I could drive almost immediately. They said not to drive until you are off painkillers, which I was after 6 days, I think. I thought my husband and I would have to switch cars for a while since I have an SUV. But I was able to do it.

It is now just over 4 weeks and I can do 10k steps again and do a gentle hour on the elliptical. But I think a HUGE part of it is what type of surgery they do and who does it and how many places they take tissue from. I only had an extended DIEP, so only one source of tissue. I think the recovery is longer if they take it from more places. I also exercised before the surgery, which helped me a lot.

We did have a meal support system, which was wonderful. If you don't want people 'visiting', you just put a cooler on your front porch. We got a lot of repeat meals like pastas, then chicken, but overall, not having to make dinner for a few weeks was fantastic.

@kateness - If it helps, I'm very surgery-averse, too - though you'd never know it based on how many surgeries I've had in the past five months. I guess I just had to work my way toward the DIEP. LOL. But aside from when I had kids, I'd never even been in the hospital before, so for me, being in the ICU for three days post-surgery was pretty intense. But like you, I just didn't see myself being happy long-term with an implant, and I couldn't quite get to a point where I could picture not doing recon, so it was worth it.

I'd say that wrapping presents by Dec. 20th and being off pain meds by Christmas is doable. If you can't get the presents by the 2nd (I could so not do that, either), perhaps you could order them online around, say, the 10th or 12th?

I know it's a lot to take in, and it seems fast, but for me personally, once I accepted that I had to have a mastectomy and decided to go with reconstruction, it couldn't happen fast enough. I had to wait six weeks for a surgery date, and it was pure torture. Then, my surgeon canceled on me, and I had to wait more. Even more pure torture. I think if you decide this is what you want, you'll be happy for the 'early' date.

Best of luck with your decision!

Dear Tmgilbert1071, you will really like Dr. Wise and your results. I had lots of complications for him to fix too. At the consultation I wanted assurance that he had experience with fixing complications like mine. He gave me confidence that he fixed complications like mine all the time. Be prepared with your questions, but if you are like me he will probably answer them for you before you ask them. He spent a lot of time describing what would happen. My incisions are so incredibly fine and I barely see his stitches. I am healing well and have scheduled my second surgery. I think you and I are on the way to having beautiful realistic breasts again. Best of luck to you. Love to all sisters

Please ask the hospital how to be comfortable and well on your way home. I had to wear TED compression stockings and a little machine like the one you'll use in the hospital to inflate around your calves every so often to prevent blood clots. (I have to wear it at night for 30 days as well, and then drop it in the mail to return it to them.) The hospital will know best. And they will overnight you any prescription you may need after you have left. They really know what to do with out-of-towners. So please don't worry about your travels. Ask them. They will tell you what to do. They won't let you hurt. I found that this recovery is big but doable, and easier than some things I already had at home

Hi, all. I have an area of what looks like broken capillaries under one of my flaps in the skin of my torso. Looks like varicose veins but red not blue. I'm one year out from Stage I and 5 months from Stage II. I can't remember when I first saw it Has anyone had this or know what it is?