Please don't lose heart in reading stories. I think we mostly talk about the negative stuff as a warning to others or so that we don't feel alone in it. I had a BMX in 11/14 with placement of expanders, and did my swap in 6/15. While the first surgery was challenging, I didn't have the level of pain and fatigue that I expected. It wasn't a walk in the park, but overall I think it went well. My swap was very easy in comparison, and it felt so great to get those expanders out. I didn't have complications from either surgery that required additional surgeries.

Use these stories as a guideline, to help you ask the right questions of your doctors and approach any reconstruction in a positive frame of mind. There is no right choice to make - only the right choice for you. Educate yourself about your options, find a doctor that you connect with, and keep a positive attitude. You can do this!

I do think though that the reason there are so many negative stories here about reconstruction is that this is a very complex process and the doctors are not telling us about the high percentage of problems that do occur. They don't want to discourage us from doing reconstruction. They are plastic surgeons and they don't stay in business if they don't do surgery. Recent research reports that I've found indicate that complications from reconstruction occur in 80% of all mastectomy patients. This is a huge number that I wish I knew about before I started this adventure.
I think if I could do it over again I would just do the mastectomies and then wait a year and heal. And then later on decide how to handle the reconstruction. Techniques improve every year, on the shoulders of all those who have gone here before us. For me this is a road I would like to be easier for everyone else than it has been for me. My advice is to take your time and not rush into any decisions about reconstructing.

I had a DIEP flap reconstruction immediately after my bilateral mastectomy. I did a lot of research and asked a lot of questions of my plastic surgeon, oncologist, and other women who had the same surgery, so I knew the risks and complications associated with this surgery/reconstruction procedure.

I will not tell you it was a walk in the park, but for me, it was better than I expected. My first surgery was November 2014 and the second was in February 2015. I had fat necrosis (fat died) with the second surgery and my left nipple (newly constructed LOL) did not heal correctly and left a small hole that had to be packed for a couple of weeks to heal from the inside out. After each surgery, I was walking within hours of the surgery, lifting my arms, combing my own hair, and walking for exercise outside within the first week. Pain meds Co trolled the pain and I was off of them within the first week of surgery each time.

My PS is the best, he did not like the way my scars looked so in October 2015, he operated to minimize the scarring and even out my breast. TodayI look TERRIFIC and am happy with the results.

No matter which reconstruction method you use, it will require more than one surgery - as Karen said earlier, each person will heal in their own way. What I can tell you is (1) trust God, he helped you make it this far and you beat cancer; (2) get referrals for a great Plastic Surgeon -- if you are in the New Orleans area, I recommend Dr. ALI SADEGHI; (3) ask a lot of questions and do your home work; and (4) trust God to guide you and help this part of your journey to have few complications and pain.

Praying for you, keep us posted.

I only had one surgery (bilateral mastectomy with immediate reconstruction). I am very happy with how my breast look now.

Every person is different and try not to let other people's complications make your decision for you.

Good luck!

Reconstruction does not replace a breast and I think going into it knowing this full well will help reduce expectations . Had somebody told me this before my experience maybe it wouldn't have been so disappointing.