Reconstruction Part 2 Pictures

For those who are interested I am posting pictures of the different stages of the reconstruction process. This first photograph was taken pretty much straight after surgery with the skin expander inserted but not filled. As you will see the drains are still in.

This second photo is taken a few weeks later when I had the first of my saline injections to start expanding the skin expander.

Here we have the skin expander after it was injected a second time. It is now taking on a more breast-like shape.

Third and final saline injection. My poor skin was so dry and stretched my this time, that it was decided not to do any more saline injections after this. The scar runs along the centre of the breast.

This photo was taken almost three weeks after the operation. The scars will eventually fade.  The underside of the breast still is a little bit firm and bruised.  This is just an accumulation of dried blood in the skin underneath. This will also soften up as time goes on. It is also still a bit swollen so the new one is a bit bigger than the  other. My new nipple will be created once all this has healed in approximately three months. I now also have a 'new look' tummy button where a hole had to be cut out over the original one and stitched around the outside of it.   I am due to start chemotherapy on the 15th April for six months  and am most probably going to shave off my hair the weekend previous to that starting.

                                                     

First Day As A New Woman

Today I woke up so hungry that I couldn't wait for the breakfast to come round. It had been 24 hours since my last meal. If you think for one moment that you get a good rest when you go into hospital for something like this, then let me tell you, that you do not. Hospital life is very busy and begins at 5:30am with painkillers as a pre-breakfast appetizer.  Then once you have drifted back off to sleep, you are woken again for a nice jab in the upper thigh with a sharp needle full of anti-blood clotting drugs. Not a pleasant way to start the day I can tell you and each day you get another nice bruise to prove it.

The plastic surgeon's visit was next. He told me that the surgery had gone well but my poor breast skin was so stretched and thin from the skin expander that they were unable to keep it intact and had to use all of my stomach skin to reform the breast. He also said that they had run out  of skin so there was a little bit of a gap on the underside of the breast next to my arm. I'm buggered if I can notice it; it looks pretty good to me. It is still quite swollen so is a little bigger than the finished product but the swelling should subside by the 3rd week. After breakfast, the nurses came in and gave me a bit of a wash and brought me my toothbrush so I could feel a bit more refreshed. Once that was done it was time for exercises with the physio and my first attempt at getting out of bed. This was extremely difficult to do. I had to bring my knees up, roll onto my side and then push up with my arms, at the same time swinging my legs off the bed. Once I had done it, I burst into tears and blew snot bubbles everywhere. I didn't really know why I was crying because it didn't really hurt. The nursing staff said it was the morphine and anaesthetic that causes the tears. They then bought me a walking frame which I grasped for dear life and pulled myself to half-standing with it. I could not stand up straight and was crouched over like an elderly woman. The pain I felt on standing was almost unbearable. It wasn't the operation site that was the problem; I felt like I had been smacked in the lower back with a piece of 4 x 2. I was able to manage one step forward and two to the side (bit like a waltz really) and then I sat back down on the bed exhausted....what an effort! They then left me to sleep and said they would be back for more exercises in the afternoon.  Hmmm...I couldn't wait!

Visit to the Plastic Surgeon

17th November 2009
I never wished to have anything altered, except for maybe my nose. Darren and I are truly amazed at the choices out there for reconstructive surgery.  We met with the surgeon who is going to be remodelling me after I have finished my therapy. He drew all over my belly with red felt pen to show me one of the proceedures and where the scarring would be.   Because I am going to have radiation the medics prefer not to reconstruct the breast until afterwards because in plain English, the radiation can undo all the work by cooking it and making it rubbery.  After they have removed the breast they are going to insert a skin expander.  I call it a space saver.  It is a round bag with a port in it.  It is inserted under the skin and every week it is topped up through the port with saline to the desired size. Basically I have four options:-
1. To not have any reconstruction.
2. Silicone inplants
3. Tummy muscle and fat used to recreate new breast
4. Back muscle used to recreate new breast.

The doctor placed a silicone implant into my hand.  I was surprised at how heavy it was but it was the same weight as a natural breast.  For me having something foreign in my body does not appeal. Once the skin starts to heal and scar tissue forms it can squeeze around the implant causing it to pucker and then I would be back to square 1.

The tummy muscle recreation is called a TRAM flap.  They slice your tummy from hip to hip and around your tummy button, roll up the skin and push one side of your tummy muscle up into the chest to form a breast.  They then replace the muscle with mesh, I guess, to hold everything in. He said that I would only just have enough fat to make one, so if I have to have a double whammy, then this won't be an option.  The upside of this is that I get a FREE tummy tuck.  May as well make the best of a bad situation, I say.  One problem with that, he informed us is that it raises your public hair line a little when they pull the skin up.  I have visions of pubes, peaking over the waist band of my jeans.....not a particularly attractive look, is it?  The scar is really low down and will eventually fade to white.

The last option is probably the one I will take in the event of having both breasts off.  They slice along the back below the shoulder blades and push the muscle around the sides to form breasts. Because there is no fat there they have to insert a partial implant which isn't as risky as having full implants.

Once all that is done, they create a nipple from a fold of skin and then later on tattoo the areola on.  Bloody amazing!  I told Darren that he doesn't need his nipples, so he may as well donate them to me. When I had a look at what I'd be getting I decided against it.....far too much hair for my liking.  So, it all hinges on what surgery I have to have as to what option I will take.

PS: Thanks to all my friends for offering their extra tummy fat...I have been inundated with offers.