Hi! Our stories sound so similar. I had a double mastectomy with bilateral reconstruction with implants, 2 weeks later on my 49th birthday I had a second surgery to remove the implants and necrotic tissue. Shortly afterwards, because the wounds had healed I started chemo and it was just a week or two later that a hole developed in the center of one of those incisions. It remained a hole and I had to pack it and redress twice a day for about 2 months and seeing my surgeon every week to check this. 2 days after Christmas I wake to the most nauseating smell coming from my chest and when I go into the bathroom to check it out in the mirror titling forward liquid pours from this hole. I call the surgeon and go in immediately and I'm sent to the hospital where I find myself going into surgery once again. This time I spent 4 days in the hospital with a massive group of doctors trying to find out what was going on. Turns out it was staph and strep and I was one sick lady. Chemo put on hold and I finally finish it and radiation two days before I left for Florida to see my son marry the love of his life. I have been so scared and so miserable but have finally decided that I need to have the reconstruction and next month I'm doing it; latissimus flap reconstruction. I should add that this is a different surgeon too. Please let me know what you decide to do and how it turns out. Good luck!!

-I had lattimus dorsi surgery July 2013 - Ask your doctor questions about loss of muscle in back and how it will affect you - if you have kids to pick up and carry this might be a problem for a while. I was told other muscles will compensate after 6 months of healing.
-(I had had a tissue reconstruction that failed first.) Unfortunately I got an infection and the tissue expander had to be taken out... waiting a year to see what happens next, if anything - I'm gun shy now.
-I saw someone ask how they determine tissue vs. implant: I believe it is determined by how much tissue you have available to work with, skinny=implant. Also what your PS specializes in makes a difference.
-I recommend breastcancer.org for more info - and they also have active message boards.

Yikes Sallyz - it's crazy what you learn about on this journey! Good luck with your surgery. I'm on antibiotics until April, then they want me to wait at least 6 months before any surgery - so mine is way off, if I opt to go that route again. If I do, it will another plastic surgeon because she specializes in certain procedures - she has suggested one of her associates. I like my surgeon - I think my body is the problem! :-)

@A MyBCTeam Member her unaffected side healed great. I also didn't need chemo or radiation only surgical intervention. Initially I had an infection on my affected side and had to go back to surgery and have the tissue expander swapped out. I drank lemon water and lemon juice and didn't have anymore issues. I use my surgery date for the mastectomy which is 8/31/2011. Over two years out. I envision 2014 will be a great year for me including a new marriage to a wonderful man I met online.

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A MyBCTea...

I'm going through something very similar... a week after my bilateral mastectomy/ expander a redness started developing on my skin between the nipple and the incision under the breast (right side) , they thought it was an infection. Antibiotics didn't do anything. Unfortunately I had to do two re-excision surgeries a week and half apart from each other, and the redness still didn't go away. A month after the 3rd surgery, the skin hasn't improved. We waited for two weeks no improvement. 2 big blisters developed- deflated my expander and put antibiotic ointment 5 days later, fluid is oozing , blister is getting bigger. They took fluid from my expander and discovered that there is a bacteria - I will be on antibiotic. But i don't think it'll address the redness and deteriorating skin. and what is most concerning is my radiation is around the corner i have until mid October to resolve this; i'm afraid the skin will just get worse.

Thoughts? Recommendations?