Want BMX after 2020 lumpectomy

Depending on why you are considering a BMX, you may need both a breast surgeon and a reconstruction surgeon ( there are other choices than plastic). When I chose a BMX rather than single mastectomy in 2016, the breast surgeon counseled that there was no medical reason to remove a healty breast, but that many women choose to do this, and that it was my choice. I met with a plastic surgeon as well and just was not comfortable with the idea. In part, because it would be plastic with no sensation, and that it might need to be redone in as little as 5 years. The surgeries tend to be done at the same time to reduce the number of surgeries. DIEP was not available where I live, so I went out of state for consultation. I might have gone with that option if I had been a "good" candidate, turns out I was not, not the right kind of fat in the right places. There is no sensaton with DIEP either, but turning love handles into boobs sounded good. The recovery time is longer than for plastic. I ultimately went flat, and am comfortable with that decision. There are a couple of forums dealing with mastectomy, BMX, reconstruction, and going flat.

Hello Ladyc2020,

I had a skin saving BMX (completed by general breast surgeon) in Oct 2020 with immediate reconstruction (plastic surgeon) and did not have great results due to my body not responding well to the implants. I have since had my implants removed due to complications after an infection and decided to go flat. Although I am still healing from surgery I can already see a difference in results from what a general surgeon and a plastic surgeon may do for an aesthetic flat closure. My Mother had BC two times with SMX each time, the general surgeons left tissue/skin on the sides that formed what is referred to as “dog ears” and I did not want to have that so I made sure to bring pictures of what I hoped/expected my results to be when I had a consult with my plastic surgeon. In my research I also discovered the unfortunate cases where surgeons decided to leave skin just in case the patient would want reconstruction later on even after the patients request for a flat closure. This discovery made it imperative that I have pictures to show my surgeon what I was expecting. Whichever route you take, whether with general or plastic surgeon or both, I would suggest finding some pictures similar to what you are hoping for as far as final results and presenting them to your MD’s along with your verbal expectations so you can determine if they feel they can obtain the results you are seeking. I found multiple images online of what I was hoping for as well as what I wanted to avoid and presented all to my surgeon. Doing this helped both of us go into surgery with the same expectations and knowledge of what was possible. I wish you well and hope you are able to find a surgical team you are comfortable with and confident in.