Decisions

Hi Mat a mataz, It was a purely personal choice that I chose tissue transfer over implants. I wasn't comfortable with the thought of having a foreign object in my body. I wanted to have as much of 'me' left after so much was being taken. I had enough tissue (which is a nice way of saying fat) on my tummy to use so I thought that's the way I would go. I recovered well from the surgery though it was around 4 weeks until I could comfortably lie on my sides and not just on my back. The drains came out before I left hospital so I didn't have to worry about them at home. I'd say that my recovery took about two months to feel relatively normal but I still have tightness and some residual low grade pain. The only problem for me from the surgery was developing DVT in my right calf and then the clots travelled to my lungs. One night I found I couldn't breath too well and I was taken to Emergency where they fixed me up. Not too bad really but I am on daily blood thinners injections until May and then I may be able to go on warfarin or some form of tablet blood thinners. Don't know how long but it's okay. I know they are keeping things under control. It's now just over three months since my surgery and I am feeling fine. The revision surgery will be for some nips and tucks. My plastic surgeon told me that when an immediate reconstruction is performed, as it is a long operation, they concentrate on getting form, that is a breast mound, and don't worry about perfection trying to keep the operation from being too long. They can't tell until the swelling goes down and the wounds are healed how the actual breast and tummy area will look. In my case, I formed seromas under both breasts (a small pocket of fluid) that distorted the shape so my PS will tidy that up and I also have some small puckering on my tummy scar that she'll tidy as well. Apparently it's only day surgery so nothing major. I don't know yet whether she will do nipple recons at the same time or that may be another op further down the track and that is also just a small op too. There are pros and cons for any type of recon and the cons for tissue transfer is obviously a longer operation and recovery time but once I'm finished I will be done and not have to think about it anymore. My breasts are soft and natural, feeling very much like my old ones and they will gain and lose weight as I do. They will also eventually lose their perkiness I guess as is natural but hopefully not for quite a few years yet. I'm not sure whether you've looked at my photo story here but if you haven't, here's the link if you're interested. http://www.bcna.org.au/network/groups/61026/blog/65924. The first photo looks pretty awful but believe me it wasn't as bad as it looked. If you scroll down past some of the comments, I've also posted an updated photo about two months after surgery. You can see that they are very much Improved. You can also see the seromas which make my breast have a point underneath. I hope this all makes sense to you Mat a mataz. Please ask any questions you like. I am more than happy to help if I can. Janey xxx