Removal of synthetic medical mesh ?

I would take the BC nurse up on that offer @Flaneuse  Even if nothing happens until your onc appointment, at least you've flagged a concern.

@primek Thanks for those thoughts.

I guess the trouble is you haven't finished your reconstruction so how it will be when finished is unknown. Yes it may well be affected by the radiotherapy but during change over surgery this may well be sorted. The pain may be the pocket shrinkage from tbe radiotherapy. The pockets are often cleaned up at this time to improve the space.  The option may also be to replace with acelluar matrix at time of changeover. It will feel uncomfortable again until the stitches dissolve and movement improves. 
I'm not saying you shouldn't go flat...I'm just saying you can't guess the final look, feel and comfort by what it feels like now straight after treatment and still with an expander in. 

Sounds like a good idea. At least to get another opinion. Enjoy your time away in January, decisions can wait a bit longer! Happy Christmas. 

Thanks @Afraser and @Zoffiel. I thought I'd researched reconstruction options fairly thoroughly before making my decision. I was keen to have a shape there. Maybe that was an emotional thing, something to do with timing: being 74 and only very recently having ended my last relationship by mutual consent, I think I was keen to hold on to some semblance of the female form I'd had that had given me a lively intimate life.

I had made a documentary 20+ years ago about reconstruction, with some amazing woman and doctors. Breast mesh was never mentioned then.

I knew nothing about mesh. My original surgeon (who would be the world's worst communicator) never mentioned mesh. She never looked at my breasts (her registrar did that) and she never touched them until half an hour before my surgery. In my bitter moments, I think she should have thought, "A woman of 74 might have fragile skin and perhaps mesh might be necessary to support an implant so I should raise the topic with her". Nope. Maybe it was buried in some of the fine print. After surgery was over and she informed me that the skin on the lower side of my breast (skin was all that was left after removal of the tumour) was so fragile "you could spit peas through it", so mesh was necessary. If I'd known beforehand, and known about the discomfort it causes, and that it's vulnerable to being damaged by radiation (as I've learned today through researching British studies), I think I wouldn't have gone ahead with it.

I've often thought during the past months that I'd like to opt out of the process. With the increased pain/discomfort I've had in the past week or so, that feeling has grown stronger. 

I'll hold out over Xmas and then in Jan I'm going to the Blue Mts to my daughter for three weeks. Of course, if it gets worse or starts to discolour or get inflamed or whatever - indicating that something serious is going on - I'll go to an ED - even in NSW.

Other than that, I'm seeing my oncologist on 24 Jan for a review of my reactions to Letrozole, and shall ask her to facilitate an appointment with a surgeon (not the original one) to discuss the situation with my mesh. Currently, my next surgical appt is set for in March to plan for the changeover surgery. But I'm increasingly feeling I just want to get rid of it all and go flat. I just hope it's possible for them to remove the mesh. I don't want to call the BC unit because the nurse manager there has an attitude problem too.

Actually, a thought has just occurred to me: I was diagnosed at a private hospital, but couldn't afford to go to private for treatment. When I transferred, the BC nurse at the private breast clinic, said to me, "At any time if you want to call and discuss anything, feel free". I may do that in the meantime, before I see my oncologist.

Fran, I think some of us are just irritable. I've had a hell of a time with my implants which predate any mesh. My body just hates them and I now wish I'd gone without.
If you are going to bail out because you think the mesh doesn't agree with you, do it now. If you are building scar tissue around the intruders it will get worse not better, perhaps ask for an ultrasound to see what is going on.

I don't know about mesh for reconstruction (I stayed unreconstructed) but while there has been a lot of publicity about bad results from the use of mesh implants, it would nevertheless seem that a significant number worked OK. I never wanted reconstruction but if I had been interested one of the questions I would ask now (and would not have known to ask six years ago) is about reversibility. That at least would seem a valid question if you have any doubts. Clearly lots of women find reconstruction valuable and productive. But I'd still want to know about all my options. Best wishes to you @Flaneuse.

@Sister From the British studies, it seems fairly common. ADMs are very expensive. Synthetic mesh is cheaper, and that's what I have. It also has had more complications than the ADMs. The studies talk about rates of complications and satisfaction. They don't mention removal.

Yes I've read about the pelvic floor mesh problems.

I don't know anything about it @Flaneuse but interested to hear responses.  Mesh supports were used for pelvic floor reconstruction issues a few years ago and have been stopped due to ongoing issues that women have suffered.  I don't know if mesh is usual for breast reconstruction.