Keith and I met with the plastic surgeon this week to discuss breast reconstruction options after the mastectomy.
There were a lot of options, but they boil down to two choices...
Tissue flap procedures or implant procedures
Tissue flap procedures use your own fat tissue, muscle, and skin from your stomach, or back to recreate the breast.
Sounds appealing because you get a tummy tuck and new breast all in one.
However, it's a 8-10 hours operation, and 3-6 month recovery. Also a lifetime of weak stomach or back muscles due to the surgery.
All scary and not really available to me, right now in my life.
Implant procedures starts with tissue expanders and the use of fake skin (cadaver skin) to stretch the skin out into the desired shape/size of the breast.
Also you have these horrible drain tubes that everyone says is a pain.
It about a 2 hour surgery and 3-6 weeks recovery with the expanders and drain tubes. Then a small procedure to replace the expanders with silicone implants and a week or so recovery.
The doctor explained to us the advances in silicone technology, particularly over the past five years. If punchered, they don't leak and cause the problems of the past.
We both feel like we received good information and feel pretty good about the doctor, now we have to make some decisions. Which I feel is most likely silicone implants.
For me, the low point of this appointment came when the doctor was examining my stomach and back to see if I was a candidate for tissue flap procedure, he said, "You have plenty of extra fat and skin on your stomach to replace both breast."
What! This after I've lost 25 pound during chemotherapy!
There were a lot of options, but they boil down to two choices...
Tissue flap procedures or implant procedures
Tissue flap procedures use your own fat tissue, muscle, and skin from your stomach, or back to recreate the breast.
Sounds appealing because you get a tummy tuck and new breast all in one.
However, it's a 8-10 hours operation, and 3-6 month recovery. Also a lifetime of weak stomach or back muscles due to the surgery.
All scary and not really available to me, right now in my life.
Implant procedures starts with tissue expanders and the use of fake skin (cadaver skin) to stretch the skin out into the desired shape/size of the breast.
Also you have these horrible drain tubes that everyone says is a pain.
It about a 2 hour surgery and 3-6 weeks recovery with the expanders and drain tubes. Then a small procedure to replace the expanders with silicone implants and a week or so recovery.
The doctor explained to us the advances in silicone technology, particularly over the past five years. If punchered, they don't leak and cause the problems of the past.
We both feel like we received good information and feel pretty good about the doctor, now we have to make some decisions. Which I feel is most likely silicone implants.
For me, the low point of this appointment came when the doctor was examining my stomach and back to see if I was a candidate for tissue flap procedure, he said, "You have plenty of extra fat and skin on your stomach to replace both breast."
What! This after I've lost 25 pound during chemotherapy!
Don't feel bad, if you could make new breasts, I could make a whole person! Glad this round is a little better, love you, still praying.
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