Reconstruction ?

Hi Debbie

Big decisions for you!

I had my right breast removed during treatment for IBC in January 2009. I had decided on the day I was diagnosed to have a reconstruction, and continued to believe that this would be the right path for me.

I had stage 1 of the procedure last December. The operation was a DIEP flap reconstruction. The advantage of this operation is that it leaves the abdominal muscles intact and allows a good blood supply to the new breast, romantically referred to as a flap. It also leaves your abdomen nice and flat.

The surgery is tough. It takes over 6 hours and it knocks you about a bit. I spent the night in the ICU after the op, which is standard practice. My surgeon's advice was to take a good multivitamin in the weeks before surgery. As it turned out, I recovered pretty well and was up and about within two days post-op. I have a blog on Health Central, an American based site, that describes it all in more detail.

After I had finished my antibiotics to prevent infection, I also took a probiotic to restore my good bacteria, and I think this did some good. Another tip is to use Manuka honey on the wounds to assist healing. It's fantastic.

I have now had stage two of the process. My surgeon created a nipple using a small flap of skin cut from the new breast, and did some lipo to even up the two breasts. This was just day surgery, involving about 90 minutes in the operating theatre. Eventually, they will tattoo an areola to make it look as close to natural as possible.

At each stage I have been thrilled with the results. I look at my new cleavage dozens of time every day and I can now wear deep V necklines again. At Easter, during a trip to Cairns, I bought a pair of bathers for the first time in more than 20 years and had a swim.

Personally, I would avoid getting it done publically if you have private cover. You won't have to wait and you can be absolutely sure of getting a top job. I know of one woman who was assigned a plastic surgeon who specialises in removing skin cancers and couldn't even do a DIEP flap recon.

$19,000 sounds like a very high quote for this procedure. My surgeon, who is or has been president of the Plastic Surgeon's Association, quoted $10,000 for the op. The anaesthetist charged about $3750 and the hospital bill was about $18,000. The Medicare rebate for the surgeon was $3750, and HBA paid $250. However, we only paid the excess of $300 for the hospital bill. All up, we estimated that we paid about $8,000 for my new breast.

The stage 2 op is mostly covered, and we're only out of pocket for a couple of hundred dollars for this.

If a Sydney surgeon is going to charge so much over the scheduled fee, why not go further afield? My surgeon's name is Howard Webster and he's in Melbourne. He's a really kind man who takes a real interest in you. You wouldn't spend $9,000 in air fares to get a top job done!

Best of luck

Sue