Before I begin this post, I'd like to give fair warning that I do plan to go into some details about tomorrow's surgery. Some of you may or may not be comfortable with the details - but the purpose of starting this whole blog site for me, aside from keeping family and friends informed of my progress, was to provide information that other women who have been diagnosed with breast cancer can easily find for information/reference.
With that being said... tomorrow I go in for my 2nd phase of breast reconstruction. At the time of my double mastectomy I had tissue expanders put in the space where my natural breast tissue was removed. The purpose of the expanders is to fill the pocket and basically act as a place holder for breast implants to be put in once the tissue has been stretched and can hold the implant. When the doctor initially put in the expanders, they were filled with a small amount of saline solution to begin the process. Over the past 5 months I have had two expansions where the doctor injected more saline solution into the expanders to stretch the skin out enough to hold the implant. The doctors will typically wait until all chemotherapy and radiation (if any is needed) before performing the 2nd phase where the expanders are swapped out for breast implants. This is where I am now.
This afternoon I will head to the doctor for my markings prior to surgery. He will draw onto my body the diagrams of where he will be cutting, etc. Tomorrow morning I go in about 2 hours prior to the scheduled surgery time to be prepped (I.V.'s, pain meds, etc.). The surgery is expected to take about 4.5 hours to complete and will be done in an out-patient surgery center. This operation does not require hospitalization. The surgery that I am undergoing is removal of the tissue expanders, breast implants with tissue matrix material inserted and some fat transfer from my thigh area to the breast area. The reason for the fat transfer is because with no natural breast tissue, there is not any excess tissue mass to make the breast implants appear as natural as they possibly can. Therefore, removing fat from another part of the body and injecting it around the implants gives a softer, more natural appearance (along with the tissue matrix material that will also surround the implant).
After being prepped and put to sleep, the doctor will begin the liposuction to remove the fat from both my inner and outer thighs. The fat is then processed in some way - which I understand takes a good deal of time - to reduce it down to the good fat cells that have the best chance of surviving the transfer. The fat that takes is permanent once injected. While waiting for the fat to process appropriately, the doctor will finish suturing/dressing the wounds on the legs and will then begin the operation on the breasts. The tissue expanders will be removed. The doctor may have to do a little work to enlarge or reduce the pocket size that the implant will be placed in. The dermal tissue matrix is then sewn into place and the implant inserted. The breast area will then be sutured and then the fat gets injected around the breasts as the doctor deems necessary to create a natural look. Everything is then dressed and bound - and after recovery time I will be able to go home.
The recovery for this surgery is anywhere from 4-6 weeks total. I will have to wear special compression garments for the legs for 3 weeks as I recover from that part of the surgery. I will be able to do light walking after 10 days, floor exercises after 3 weeks and no restrictions at all at 6 weeks.
I've been told that there will be a significant amount of discomfort, mostly from the liposuction, and have been given pain medications to help control this. I am anxious to get all of this behind me and am not looking forward to more recovery time as I am feeling so good at this point of being past chemo. I have been off of all medications for a few weeks now and hate the thought of putting more meds back into my system - but, I know this is temporary and hopefully the last part of recovery for me.
So, there you have it. I'll post during recovery and let you know how things are progressing. Until then - stay healthy and take good care of yourselves.
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