Hi everyone.
Can anyone help with my decision on type of reconstruction to have. I would prefer the more natural appearance of a tummy tissue reconstruction but am worried about extra trauma on my body and particularly worried about mesh being put into my tummy. I've heard some awful stories about people affected by mesh movement and tangle with tissue in other types of surgery like prolapse. Does anyone know or have experience of mesh in tummy surgery and reconstruction of the breast?
Yes I would ask today. Where are you? Are you in the UK? I’m in Lancashire.
I got diagnosed with TNBC so I’ve already had 6 months of chemo. I then had surgery and I start radiotherapy next week.
Okay so my DIEP actually failed. However, in the days it did survive - 5-6 days it ‘looked’ great.
Failure of DIEP is rare and most survive. I was just really unlucky where it didn’t.
I am glad I did it though cos I tried. The recovery time has still since been the same as I still had the surgery for it.
The wound around breast area was fine.
It was the abdomen area which was painful. It restricts you a lot but for a short period of time.
I defo would opt for belly over implant. There are a lot more complications with implant than belly.
I underestimated the trauma but it was more frustration that I couldn’t do anything after.
The wound is literally one side to the other so it is quite large but I got a tummy tuck out of it 
Please don’t let this put you off. Do what’s right for you
We take risks walking out our front door every day xx
Hi Amy321 and a very warm welcome to the online community which I hope you'll find is both an informative and supportive place to be.
I’m Anne, one of the Community Champions here on the Online Community, and I was diagnosed with breast cancer in April 2022. However, my surgery was a lumpectomy so I don't have the experience you're looking for.
The online community is divided into different support groups and I can see that you've already found and joined the breast cancer group, which is a great place to ask your question, share experiences and get support.
When you're ready, you can start a new post there in the same way as you did here and join in with existing conversations by clicking on 'reply'.
It would be great if you could put something about your diagnosis and proposed treatment into your profile as it really helps others when replying to you and also when looking for someone on a similar pathway. It also means that you don't have to keep repeating yourself. To do this click on your username and then select 'Profile'. You can amend it at any time and if you're not sure what to write you can take a look at mine by clicking on my username.
"Never regret a day in your life, good days give you happiness, bad days give you experience"
