hi halza
i've had neoadjuvant chemo (finished in march) followed by a skin sparing mastectomy with exapander of the right breast in april.
i will have 5 weeks of radiotherapy starting in june. i will be having a DIEP recon (using tummy fat). my plastic surgeon's preference is that recon takes place 3/6 months after radio as it gives the skin and underlying tissue time to settle down so that he knows what he's working with, so to speak. i understand this is particularly important in relation to the blood vessel in the chest area that the transplanted tissue from the abdominal area will be connected to.
i believe that some plastic surgeons do immediate DIEP recon after radiotherapy (reverse sequence), but my surgeon preferred not to and i'm happy to go with his recommendation. at first i wanted to get it all done in one op, but i actually feel a bit better that i have them spaced out as i felt things were moving rather quickly (even though my treatment path has been over the last 6 months!).
this is just my experience and understanding, but i hope it helps answer your question somewhat :)
lvlw
xxx
