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Louise O'Brien · 12-21-2008, 02:54 PM

I asked whether or not they used part of the muscle and they said no. What they do though, is make one small cut in the superficial fascia which is a membrane between the tissue and the abdominal muscles. Has something to do with the blood vessels.

And that's where I still feel it today - not pain as much as a pinching sensation. That's where the pain originally came from. Considering that I have a scar from hip to hip - one side is totally pain free - and the other is almost there - it's just that one spot that bugs me.

I wanted to add something about implants as I wasn't really an ideal candidate for that. I was quite concave and sunken in on the left side after my mastectomy. An implant would not have corrected that.

That's another thing that affected my decision. I didn't want to wake up disappointed with the results.

That caved-in look is all gone now. My husband was amazed at the difference.

I even had a new belly button constructed and the old one closed off because everything shifted after the operation.

One last note - I'm really finding the reaction to my getting this surgery interesting. Not as supportive as I thought it might be. I've been asked why I would want to do something like that to myself - almost as if people assume it's just plastic surgery and it's all about vanity. Just call me Joan Rivers!

I'm fairly open about talking about it - in case there's someone out there who needs to hear the positive side. There's so much support for people undergoing chemo and surgery - much less so for this final step.

And I guess it's because they have no idea how someone looks after a mastectomy - and why it's so important for some of us to take that step. It's not about vanity - it's about trying to recover and recapture a part of ourselves that we lost when we were hit with this disease.

Edited to reinforce something Flori said:

This is an operation to have when you're feeling well and strong. I waited until I was through treatment - and added six months for good measure before undergoing this. The surgeon also thought this was important.

12-21-2008, 02:54 PM	#10
Louise O'Brien Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 75	I asked whether or not they used part of the muscle and they said no. What they do though, is make one small cut in the superficial fascia which is a membrane between the tissue and the abdominal muscles. Has something to do with the blood vessels. And that's where I still feel it today - not pain as much as a pinching sensation. That's where the pain originally came from. Considering that I have a scar from hip to hip - one side is totally pain free - and the other is almost there - it's just that one spot that bugs me. I wanted to add something about implants as I wasn't really an ideal candidate for that. I was quite concave and sunken in on the left side after my mastectomy. An implant would not have corrected that. That's another thing that affected my decision. I didn't want to wake up disappointed with the results. That caved-in look is all gone now. My husband was amazed at the difference. I even had a new belly button constructed and the old one closed off because everything shifted after the operation. One last note - I'm really finding the reaction to my getting this surgery interesting. Not as supportive as I thought it might be. I've been asked why I would want to do something like that to myself - almost as if people assume it's just plastic surgery and it's all about vanity. Just call me Joan Rivers! I'm fairly open about talking about it - in case there's someone out there who needs to hear the positive side. There's so much support for people undergoing chemo and surgery - much less so for this final step. And I guess it's because they have no idea how someone looks after a mastectomy - and why it's so important for some of us to take that step. It's not about vanity - it's about trying to recover and recapture a part of ourselves that we lost when we were hit with this disease. Edited to reinforce something Flori said: This is an operation to have when you're feeling well and strong. I waited until I was through treatment - and added six months for good measure before undergoing this. The surgeon also thought this was important.