Hi I am new to the group and I have just had DIEP Flap surgery in March,everything went well and I am now returning back to work..however I have now noticed that around my stomach area the tummy just below belly button can be very swollen or bloated at times and feels tender is this normal has anyone here had this op ..the scar feels tight too which is normal I was told,my consultant advised exercises the swelling normally goes down after 6 months am just wondering if there should be anything else I need to try to ease this swelling
Thankfully I don’t have any issues with the breasts apart from scar tissue ..yes it does have a numb feeling just below the belly button it was the swelling especially at night times but I suppose a lot of work was done and it will take time to heal internally ..thanks for your advise 
Hi PGMcc4d1da4 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 although I had breast cancer I didn't have the same procedure as you.
The online community is divided into different support groups so I'm going to recommend that you join the breast cancer group as you'll then connect directly with others who have the same type of cancer as you and may have had DIEP flap surgery.
To join, just click on the link I've created and, once you've joined, you can start a new post 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 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"
