Breast Reconstruction

Hi poppy7,

thanks for your response. I had the reconstruction of my left breast in June 2012 and that went well. Had a week in hospital to recover as it is major surgery. I was really happy to have two breasts to put in a bra again and the breast looked great but did not have a nipple (which was ok anyway). As I had had radiation and was very brown over my left chest, the new breast looked a bit odd with a big patch of white skin, taken from my stomach, but that was ok too. Was very pleased and surprised with my stomach as it just disappeared but I was left with a scar that runs from the side of my left hip across my lower abdomen to the side of my right hip but is quite low down. It was surprisingly painless afterwards. I then went back to surgery in November to have my right breast adjusted to match the new left one. For a while I had the left breast of a 20 year old and the right breast of a 50 year old. I also had a nipple constructed on the left breast. I am having a bit of an issue with the right breast now as it is showing signs of a type of lymphoedema but my surgeon says it should correct itself in a few weeks. Until then I am a bit red and tender in the right breast (have to hang onto it when I go over speed humps in the car).

I can now have some tattoing done to make the new nipple the right colour (it is just white now). At first I thought I wouldn't worry about it but now I think I will, just to finish off the whole thing.

All in all, I am glad I had the left reconstruction and right reduction. I feel much better about my self image and don't have to worry about that horrible external prosthesis I used to wear (I hated that thing). I feel so much like my old self BBC (before breast cancer) again.

The whole reconstruction thing has been an ordeal for my family, what with me going into hospital a couple of times and the seriousness of the surgery, but they are happy that I am happy and that's all good.

Whatever you decide to do, I wish you luck. I hope you have a great surgeon. Mine was Professor Wayne Morrison and he is fantastic at what he does.

I would love to hear how you went if you do decide to go ahead with it.

love

Joanne

PS: FYI: I was diagnosed with breast cancer of the left breast in March 2010. I had a full left mastectomy and axillary clearance in April 2010. My tumor was very big (9cmx7cmx4cm - yes cm's) and therefore I was diagnosed with a stage three cancer.  I had six cycles of very aggressive chemo, six weeks of radiation therapy (from which I received severe burns) and developed lymphoedema in my right hand and arm. I don't think my breast surgeon or my oncologist thought it would be a good outcome for me due to the size of the tumor but I told them I only had one option and that was to get better and that is what I have done. I bet you will too.