DIEP Surgery Done

Hi Heather, I too ended up with mixed messages from the different Drs. I saw Dr Pennington, and he said he could give me 2 small breasts using the DIEP, but really wasn't keen on me having a mastectomy at the same time. He felt that increased the time under anaesthetic and also loss of blood was an issue for him. I know of 2 people who he did DIEP and TRAM on. Both were done some time after the mastectomy. The DIEP looked great, but I never saw the TRAM. The TRAM happened as a result of poor stomach muscles that needed mending. I really liked Pennington, and would have been happy to trust him, but didn't fancy having another mastectomy and waiting another 3 or 4 months before he would operate. I believe that Megan Hassell is excellent, but she only does the TRAM. In the end,I decided that since I hadn't had any radiotherapy that I would be a good candidate for the more simple procedure of tissue expanders and implants. The Dr I chose, Dr Cope at the SAN, was excellent, and I saw some of his work too, prior to my surgery. My exchange to silicone was 4 weeks ago, and I am very happy with my new boobs. Implants were 495g each, and I am about a 14B which is much the same as before. In hind site, I think that what Dr Pennington said about delaying the procedure till after the mastectomy settles is great advice. 20 days following my prophylactic mastectomy and insertion of bilateral tissue expanders, I had a sudden haematoma develop on the new mastectomy site that required emergency surgery. ( I was on holidays in Perth). I did nothing to my knowledge that triggered this bleed, and surgery was required to remove the expander, cauterize the bleeder and wash out the 800mls of collected fluid. If this had happened after the DIEP, it could mess up all his work. Also, maybe you don't have enough fat to do 2 breasts. Sometimes they can still do it but will add small implants as well. Where are you at the moment with your thoughts on what to do? Have you been able to see what the different options look like in the flesh? Love Chris xx