What's it like having a natural and reconstructive breast

I had an implant placed after tissue expander in January. I told my PS many times that I wanted my breasts to be even, or if not the implant had to be smaller. I was distressed with the size and weight of the expander. He did make is slightly smaller but I am still very unhappy. My breasts were not large to begin with, and I have never had discomfort with the weight of my breasts like women with large breasts have.

But 6 months later my implant continues to be heavy, when I take my bra off it feels like it is sagging, almost like it will fall off. It is very uncomfortable. And it got me thinking, why does it have to be so heavy? Why is there no an option for people who do not care what the breast feels like to a man. Something that just fills space with little weight.

I had an over the pec implant. There were no complications.

I think it feels great! I just had stage two and a nipple made. Except for the stitch that is stuck next to the nip, it feels like me. I'm 47, a b cup. I'm going braless for the first time in Forever because everything is symmetrical. Good luck to you

Thanks for the well wishes, sm627! The only pain I had with the expander was a corner of the crescent poking out, and that went away with a couple of fills. I put numbing cream on it when it hurt bad-lidocaine. My expander was above the muscle. I think maybe the expanders poke more with above the muscle, and fills hurt more with under the muscle? So, overall, more annoying than painful. Just tried to keep busy and wear very comfy bras to get through the 4 months.

Hope this helps!

SM627 - I had DIEP flap reconstruction on the right after 15 months of treatment and recovery. I had an under the muscle tissue expander in during that 15 months. Love my DIEP breast as much as one can love a replacement. It does feel a little heavier to me than my natural breast but that may be in my head. At the end of the month, my PS will use liposuction to remove a bit of the fullness on the side as it extends a bit wide. He will do a small lift on the left one because I want the nipples even - they aren't far off but I figure that the last two years have been challenging and I ought to be able to be even. No one but the PS and I know that I'm not even - the difference is that little.

During my consultation phase, when speaking to a top-rated female PS, she was very clear - flap can be matched to natural, implant can match implant, but an implant will never match a natural breast. Since you had unilateral mastectomy, have a very frank conversation with any PS who tells you that an implant will match your natural breast.

I am happy with the path I chose. The main pro is that if I gain or lose weight, my breasts will fluctuate evenly. I don't expect to gain a lot of weight but should someone with an implant on one side, as the natural breast grows with the increase in fat, the implant side won't. Also, I am active and didn't like the expander under my pec muscle which is where an implant would have gone. Some patients are candidates and doctors will put an implant over the muscle but more often, it's under.

I'm a D cup if you are wondering about size.

My son was 8lbs, 10.5 oz, so not crazy huge. I was on total bedrest the last 3 months of the pregnancy, so got bigger than I probably would have. Now he is 17, 6’4” and getting ready to go to college. I would not say he was a huge support, but we did have some sweet moments when he’d come hang out with me when I was on chemo or recovering from surgery. I actually had to get real with him yesterday because he’s been giving his dad a hard time. His dad has been taking care of me and his mother, who died in September, so it’s been kind of a shit year from multiple angles for him. My son is not the best at communicating on a daily basis, but we had a long heart to heart, and he’s been better since. Teens are not always good at perspective taking on their own, but they are old enough to have it explained to them.

I am a school psychologist, so I am out of school for the summer. I purposely scheduled my DIEP for as soon as possible after school got out. I took a lot of leave last year due to chemo, so I’m hoping I can have a normal school year from beginning to end this coming September.

I am having a good weekend, and hope you are, too. First two days I have really felt good. Of course, I’m not allowed to do anything, but just feeling good is enough.

Question to those further along post-DIEP: I have my follow up with my surgeon on Tuesday, and typically at that visit, they will remove sutures. I was in terrible pain when they took out just one suture with my tissue expander. I’m thinking of taking a hydromorphone and some ibuprofen before, even though I’m not taking either now. Does that sound like a good plan? What was your visit like? Was there a lot of bleeding after?

Thanks,

L.