Recon choices
Hi all. Im torn and need to make a decision by wed I have 2nd recon appt before surgery masectomy on 7th Aug. Im starting a new job role monday too. 3 month contract to prove myself. recon surgeon ...
Forum Discussion
Hi Megs04, all bc decisions are difficult and it maybe that you need to ask more questions from your medical team.My motto is that if you’re not sure then don’t do it until you are. Are you having a full node clearance or just the sentinal node? This alone can make for an easier or harder recovery. Hopefully the surgeon will get clear margins but this doesn’t always happen. My friend had to go back a week later for more surgery due to non clear margins even though she’d had a mastectomy.You need to ask your surgeon about this.
With any surgery,it may not go to plan. I recovered in about 3wks after a mastectomy but even so,had to have a seroma drained twice a week for 5wks.Both types of recon can be done later(years even).Flaneuse is right, you need to ask if you need an expander prior implant because that takes time to fill.A straight out mastectomy will get you back to work in about 2-3wks - not much pain involved unless you have a full aux node clearance as well.If new work is the priority then this is your quickest option.But if you can’t get your head around being lopsided then an implant is your next quickest option.I can only speak for myself and I’ve coped ok with a prosthesis as I couldn’t make my mind up about recon either!
With any surgery,it may not go to plan. I recovered in about 3wks after a mastectomy but even so,had to have a seroma drained twice a week for 5wks.Both types of recon can be done later(years even).Flaneuse is right, you need to ask if you need an expander prior implant because that takes time to fill.A straight out mastectomy will get you back to work in about 2-3wks - not much pain involved unless you have a full aux node clearance as well.If new work is the priority then this is your quickest option.But if you can’t get your head around being lopsided then an implant is your next quickest option.I can only speak for myself and I’ve coped ok with a prosthesis as I couldn’t make my mind up about recon either!