Removal of 2nd breast when no recurrence

For the first 5 years I only had a mammogram on the remaining breast.  After advice from ladies on here I now specifically request a referral for the mammogram plus an ultrasound on the mastectomy side as some breast was left !!!!!  My understanding is that it is difficult for the surgeon to remove every bit of breast.

A friend told me that she still has ultrasounds on the mastectomy site yearly  as there can still be 'some' flesh left on the chest wall - she went double prophylactic as her mother died from a rare & nasty form of BC ... and sadly, even having a double doesn't insure against recurrence elsewhere :(   So everyone (and the medical team) needs to be very vigilant to any changes, and new aches or pains, if they persist.

@Michelle_R

Good question! My surgeon does my annual mammogram (he has a 3D machine) and checks my mastectomy site by hand and eye. Side, armpit, all around (he does the same on my right breast after the mammogram). An ultrasound is also an option although he hasn’t felt the need for one for the last couple of years. 
The gravity quest may be an issue for me too. I’ve had some shoulder twinges lately. Any stress tends to go to my shoulders, I’m in COVID riddled Melbourne, in my 7th lockdown counting mandatory isolation after being overseas so a bit of stress is not entirely surprising. I also have a benign schwannoma squatting in the nerve sheath of my upper arm muscle, near my armpit, that unhelpfully moves occasionally. My surgeon thinks the twinges are caused by lopsided weight (I wear a prosthesis though) and has a choice of surgical interventions at the ready! I’ll give that some thought but surgery right now has no appeal whatsoever. 
Best wishes. 

Heres a question:

If you have both breasts removed how do they do a yearly test? 

Ive actually wondered this for single mastectomy too.

I had a mammagram on lefty but my right mastectomy gets no attention from a machine.

I asked my oncologist and he said monitoring for symptoms with your team.

From what ive read mastectomy doesnt mean you free from a local recurrence on that side. The risk is probably low given chemo and/or radiation but not 0%.

Im not advocating one way or another just curious.

I had an aesthetic flat closure on right hand side mastectomy site yesterday. Very impressed with recovery time, lack of significant pain and finished (though unhealed) scar. Granted id already had mastectomy and just had skin removed to finish off, but id consider the other one coming off at some point if i needed to. 

Im perfectly happy being a uniboober but my left boob continues on its gravity quest and i may change my mind later.

Any ideas or experiences?

@Julez  When I wanted my remaining breast removed, my surgeon quoted similar statistics to me. Earlier on in the consultation, she had told me that the likely 'cause' of my breast cancer on the left side was a combination of factors. Gender, age, lifestyle (weight etc), alcohol use (minimal) and so on. She also wanted me to go on after chemo and surgery, to have letrozole. I flipped her argument over and said something like..."Well whatever factors which came together to cause cancer on the left side now, apply to the right side in future, with the added statistical risk of previous breast cancer. Also, you're very keen for me to have the letrozole, which you say will give me an added approx. 6% additional safety. Fair enough, but why is the 6% for the letrozole a significant number, yet you pooh pooh the 10% of a new and seperate cancer forming in the remaining breast"?...I added a lot more, using an analogy I've used before regarding my perception of threat in the remaining breast and she agreed to remove both. As it happened, the pathology on the removed right breast, showed a number of areas of abnormal cells which had a reputation of 'going bad', so I was very glad I pushed for it.

Sorry I wrote Arpie I meant @Afraser

Yes Arpie is absolutely correct , the statistics support not removing a perfectly healthy breast if you don’t have a genetic predisposition to breast cancer.
My breast cancer surgeon told me my chance it getting cancer in the other breast was about 10 percent.
He also said “ are you one of those people who always take out extra insurance not to have to pay excess in the event of a car accident when you rent a car”?
The answer for me was YES - I am in fact very risk averse and even though statistically I would likely be safe from cancer coming to the other breast I had the double mastectomy.
My breast cancer surgeon also said it was a very personal decision  and he would support whatever I decided.
I don’t regret my decision one little bit but can understand a decision the other way as well .

In difficult times, a clear mammogram is a plus. I can quite understand why removal of a second breast might be chosen. But having kept mine, given no particular reason why another cancer might be in my breast in preference to anywhere else, a clear result today is a good thing! I’ve kept seeing the same surgeon and oncologist for nine years now, happy to keep doing so. 

Hi @bookworm, I am late to this thread but wanted to check in with you, perhaps you've had your surgery?
I was in a similar situation to you. I had two single mastectomies seven weeks apart as my surgeon wanted me to be sure of my decision! Very glad to be free of both.
Best Wishes x