I had nipple sparing/skin sparing bilateral mastectomy with DIEP flap on March 26th. I had a couple complications during surgery. An artery in one of my breasts clotted after they closed. Ended up having to open back up and correct....surgery took 16 hours. I was in the hospital for 5 days and have been home now for 10. I was a D cup before surgery and was hoping for the same. Unfortunately, they didn't estimate correctly and did not have enough abdominal tissue to fill my breasts. I am facing another surgery within the next couple of months for implants.
I still sleep a lot, but I have been getting out of the house for neighborhood walks or quick errands. Due to the long surgery, I have faced a lot of numbness in my feet and fingers. This is slowly coming back, but has been frustrating.
Honestly, my stomach has been pretty pain free. Outside of the tightness and inability to use it in daily activity, it has been very tolerable.
My nipples starting peeling, so I am applying burn cream 2x a day to help with that. I've been told they will survive, just may be a little discolored. Overall, I'm glad I did it.
I'm really anxious about my future treatment plan. Still waiting results on my Oncotype test to determine if chemotherapy will be necessary. Just ready to be active. I am able to shower independently using a shower chair and a hand held shower head. I keep telling myself I'm just 2 weeks out of surgery and need to be patient, but I'm so ready to get back to my normal way of life :)

Nipple sparing/Skin sparing. Yes ma'am yes the 2

I did not have immediate reconstruction but I did have the Diep ( belly fat and skin transfer) on February 4th... It's a tough surgery and recovery but thus far I'm fairly happy with the results. I will need 2 more smaller surgeries in the next few months ( this is generally the norm) just to adjust things and transfer some fat from my hips to Breast to balance out a bit. I am 46 with no other medical issues.. My surgery took 11 hours and I spent 5 days in the hospital. Some minor wound issues but overall things are good.

@A MyBCTeam Member - I don't know how it works state to state but here in NJ, insurance companies are required by law to pay for reconstruction if a woman has a mastectomy. I would think it would have to be done correctly too. Have the PS office check into it for you. Whenever I need anything done, my doctors office always deals with the insurance companies. Good luck!!

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A MyBCTea...

One of my breast implants is much lower than the other😟 I would really love to have this redone or lifted.....I then would feel much better about my reconstruction........I hope my insurance will cover this and my PS agrees😊
Joan johnson