Bilateral mastectomy and prepectoral breast reconstruction

I wish I'd kept better notes but my recovery was something like this. Surgery day + one night in hospital, home by noon the next day. Heavier pain meds for 2-3 days, they made me nauseous and feel worse so switched to Tylenol (or whatever the dr had okayed for lighter meds).

Drains in for 1 week (some people it's longer, depending on their output), you'll feel a lot better and more mobile once those are out. Another recovery tip, get a zip up hoodie and wear it inside out so you can put the drains in the pockets. The one I wore was sewn in a way the inside sort of had pockets. Bathing with drains isn’t fun. I had my mom and husband help with washing my hair and sponge me off. Once the drains are out you get a shower again (you’ll still suck at attempting to wash your own hair for a bit)

My doctor was pretty adamant about me not doing anything but sitting in the couch, definitely no lifting for 4 weeks. I was back to knitting by week one and by week two I felt good enough to want to do things for myself again but lacked the range of motion (couldn't reach higher than raising my arms out from shoulders, so getting a bowl out of the cupboard wasn't happening) and then discovered that it also hurt to try, so I just kept it parked on the couch. I waited for a month to drive, probably could have at three weeks but didn’t have anywhere I needed to be that someone else wasn’t with me.

I'd imagine that as long as you're comfortable you won't be out too long. I'd suggest starting with whatever you think you're up for at 2 weeks since you’re at homebut then cutting it in half to not overwhelm yourself. Because a lot of that area is numb/lost sensation and healing, I wouldn't always realize how sore things were getting until later and then needed to focus on resting.

Make sure to support your arms well. I always felt better with some extra pillows tucked under my arms to prop them up and out of the way.

I’m sure there’s more I’m forgetting, but that’s also a good thing. My surgery was Feb and have done two fat grafting surgeries since (currently recovering from second), but it seems like ages ago already — even though it’s a lot happening, I hope the next two weeks pass quickly for you and your recovery as well! It’ll be a blip on the radar soon

yes, I did pre pec, direct to implant, teardrop silicone with alloderm. I stayed the same size but with what they had to remove (nipples are gone) everything got lifted back up and look firmer, which I appreciate after 2 kids as things have healed and settled there’s a little bit of dimpling that happens on the outer and top edges with certain movement (mainly if I bend over to get something and probably only noticeable to me since I’m aware)but after some fat grafting it put some cushioning back in there and has gone away.

I had a very similar surgery story - stayed overnight in the hospital and back home the next day by noon. I took the lower dose of narcotic and muscle relaxant on a schedule. I had drains for six days but was allowed to shower with them. I used a lanyard to hang them from and sat on a bench in the shower.

My surgeon had me start seeing a PT by two weeks to regain ROM. I was off any narcotics by then and able to drive myself but was nervous about driving for a bit. I was home alone during the day by then as well.

If you work remotely, you'll probably be fine to return to some work by around two weeks if you have no complications. Keep in mind that you will most likely continue to be pretty tired for a while - there's some mental as well as physical healing.

I had the implants placed at the time of the mastectomy. It was a possibility that I would wake up with tissue expanders - depended on the health of the skin that was left and the coverage. Thankfully, all was well and that saved me a second surgery.