Reconstruction options & your opinions plz

Hi there, whilst I don't personally have the experience to answer your question, I noticed your post has slipped down the forum, as the site is quite busy. My response will bump you back to the top and hopefully someone with the right experience will be along soon. Best wishes 

Hi Frogface, I’m sorry to hear about your breast cancer diagnosis. I thought I’d drop you a line as I was in a similar boat in May, needing a mastectomy and wanting reconstruction using my own tissue if possible. It sounds like we have very similar builds and plastics weren’t quite sure what to do with me! I didn’t have enough tissue for a DIEP, so initially they suggested a TUG reconstruction using a piece of my thigh. However as the mastectomy was one side only the surgeon felt this may leave me lopsided (both legs and chest). I too was offered the LD option using tissue from my back but in they end was guided towards a flap procedure called a SLAM (superficially low abdominal mini). It’s like a mini DIEP using a small flap from the lower part of my abdomen. Unlike the DIEP, there’s no repositioning of the belly button. Because I’m small they managed to get almost enough tissue during surgery to create a good match. I’m due to go in next week to have lipofilling to refine the reconstruction. This is still major surgery and recovery is lengthy like DIEP. However I’m really pleased I opted for it as it was the right solution for me and has put me back as close to my original body shape as possible. Like you I’m a younger patient so I faced having to have implants changed if I went down that route. It might be worth enquiring if you are a suitable candidate for a SLAM, although not every surgeon does them. It’s also worth noting that they may be able to top up an LD reconstruction with a bit of lipofilling if you go down that route - if you’re petite you won’t need much from the donor site! In any case the booklets only tell you so much, the most important bit is the in-person assessment where they look at what’s possible for you, and talk to you about what you want. Hope this helps, and I wish you all the very best for your treatment whatever you decide. Rosie xx

Hi,

i had PAP flap reconstructions last year (PAP -profunda artery perforator) during the same surgery as a bilateral mastectomy. The flap comes from the back of the upper thigh. The recon is great but one thing to flag is that I had radiotherapy two months after surgery, and the full impact of radiotherapy treatment wasn’t visible until about 4 months later -  it does cause shrinkage and requires follow up fat modelling surgery. Overall I’m happy with the route I took.
Sending you best wishes for your treatment xx

Could you please tell me a little about the fat injections and how well it worked?

Hello, Sure but I haven’t had the fat modelling follow up surgery yet!  I’ll be having it in the next few weeks so Im happy to pop back on here and share more info with you then