Swelling - how much and how long?

jintie

Hi.  I was diagnosed with stage 2B breast cancer in July 2018 when I was 40.  I have completed 6 months of chemotherapy and 5 weeks of radiotherapy and 2 weeks ago today, I had a bilateral mastectomy with DEIP reconstruction.  I have been home a week now and still have a drain.  

Prior to my diagnosis, I was large breasted (DD/E cup) which I absolutely hated.  One of the bonuses I thought about having to have a bilateral mastectomy was that I would be able to get smaller boobs, and my surgeon told me that I would either be A or B cup after surgery.  This was something that I was looking forward to after this C journey and my first question to him when I woke up was - what size am I?

Right now, I am nowhere near B cup size and I am really disappointed with the size of my boobs.  I know it has only been two weeks since surgery and I still have a drain.  My boobs are hard to touch, which would indicate there’s a fair bit of swelling.  My question to those who have had bilateral mastectomy with DEIP reconstruction - how much swelling did you have and how long did it take for your boobs to settle?  I know I am sounding selfish, but I chose to go down this pathway as a ‘reward’ to myself for undergoing treatment.

My pathology results shows that I have no viable tumours - which is a great news, but the size of my boobs weighs really heavily on my mind.

Thanks

lrb_03

Welcome, @Chev, I'm afraid I can't offer too much advice on that front. I'm sure one of our other members who's had that, or similar will be along to offer support & advice. @kmakm, @melclarity , I don't remember specifically which you had, but you may have so e knowledge
Another suggestion is to request to join the "choosing breast reconstruction"  private group. Once you submit the request, it's a matter of waiting until one of the group admin is online to approve your request

Great news that there was no viable tumour left. That's what everyone who has neoadjuvant chemo hopes for.  I'm going to have to research radiotherapy before surgery, too. I've seen a couple of references to that recently. I had surgery between chemo and radiation a few years ago, when even that didn't seem very common 

Take care

kmakm

Hi @Chev, and welcome to the forum.

My plastic surgeon said it would take 6 - 8 months for my foobs to properly settle and I think he was right. It's a long wait.

I get your disappointment about size. But I'm unclear, are you feeling they are too small? Sorry if I'm being dopey!

My BMX and DIEP recon was exactly one year ago today. My plastic surgeon is a very peculiar man who I don't like at all. One of the reasons was that he first told me I couldn't have a DIEP, which I wanted as I didn't want implants. After telling me I could, he said he'd get me As to Bs. I had sagging E cup boobs and while I wanted to go smaller, I didn't want to go that small. By the time the op came round he said large Bs to small Cs. I'd done a LOT of psychological work to get adjusted to having a BMX, and having considerably smaller boobs, so I was pleased to hear this.

When I first saw them afterwards I thought they looked considerably larger than a small C. I asked the PS when I first saw him the day after the op, what size he thought they were. He said "You tell me". I really didn't know what to say. After a lengthy silence, I said, well I can't really tell right now and from this angle. He goes "Well you can tell me when you work it out." He's such a nasty man, but he is technically brilliant.

They have ended up being non-saggy D cups. A little larger than ideal. But as it's stomach fat, they gain and lose weight much easier than breast tissue, so if I can lose some more weight, they'll shrink a bit.

I don't love them, though I do like that they're my own warm flesh. I'm getting used to them and will get nipples at some point. Then tattoos! You've got a way to go so hang in there. I believe some plastic surgeons do an implant after a DIEP to increase size, so you should have options. Big hug, K xox

jintie

Hi @kmakm

Thanks for your reply.  I feel that they are too big (I wanted to be A or B cup).  It is 2 weeks post surgery so I guess I will have to give myself time.

kmakm

Definitely @Chev, at least six months I'd say. And if you're still unhappy, my PS said it's always easier to takeaway than add. K xox

Jane221

Hi @Chev, two weeks is still very early days and as @kmakm said, it can be a good six months or so before your new breasts are settled into place and all the fluid and swelling that happens with the surgery has gone. As you've also still got a drain in that does indicate that there is still quite a bit of fluid to get rid of.

After all we've been through having reconstruction can add a level of extra anxiety about whether we've done the right thing, how will the new breast/s look etc and I know I was second guessing myself quite a bit in the first few weeks. I'm now 5yrs on from my DIEP recon and am happy with how things turned out, although there were a couple of revision surgeries that followed the initial one and I also opted for nipple reconstruction down the track. Hang in there, hopefully you'll feel more confident with your new look in the coming weeks.

Feel free to seek more support via the choosing breast reconstruction group (which you are now a member of ) Jane xx

melclarity

@Chev a big welcome to you! I've been down this road with a single mastectomy/diep flap recon. I am now 2yrs post surgery and super happy with result. Like you I wanted to go much smaller unfortunately they didnt which is an annoyance,but the surgery itself is great. It does take months for things to settle and too difficult to tell just yet.

I'm happy to talk further if you'd like to join the Breast Recon group, only as it is a Private Group and the main forum is public.

https://onlinenetwork.bcna.org.au/group/1-choosing-breast-reconstruction

Cheers,