Bilateral Mastectomy for DCIS Recurrence

[skibunny]

Hi! I am going to have a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction (DIEP) for DCIS recurrence Monday, October 30. I have seen that many of you have had mastectomies but I have not seen any comments about them. Has anyone had a bilateral mastectomy with reconstruction (DIEP)? Although my doctor's nurse has walked me through what to expect, I think hearing about it from someone who has been through it will be more valuable.

I finished the vaccine trial I told you about that creates antibodies to combat HER2. Hopefully, this will be protection so the DCIS does not return again or become invasive.

Thank you for any information you think I should know.

Skibunny



Dx 12/03 DCIS Left Breast ER- PR- HER2+ Grade 3
Lumpectomy 1/04, Re excision for clear margins 2/04
Slides sent for second opinion 2/04 - Dx DCIS with microinvasion Left Breast
Sentinal Node Biopsy 2/04 - All clear
Radiation 3/04 - 5/04
Local Recurrence Left Breast 7/06 (found by MRI, missed by mammogram)

[tousled1]

Skibunny,

I had a bilateral mastectomy but could not have immediate reconstruction since I had extensive lymph node involvement and knew that I would have to have radiation. I can tell you that with the mastectomy I erperienced very little pain. I guess it's because they are not cutting through any major organs or muscle. There are women on this board who have had immediate reconstruction so I'm sure you'll get more responses. As a matter of fact, there was a recent thread on this subject.

[Lauriemn]

I did not have immediate reconstruction, but I did have diep recon done 6 weeks ago. It is a big surgery. I have had c-sections in the past, and the abdominal incision is alot less painful because they are not cuttting through muscle, but it is still a huge incision. I had 4 drains in, 2 in the breasts and 2 in the abdomen. I was in the hospital for 3 days.

If you want more info about my experience, pm me.

Good luck with your surgery. I am very happy with the results and would do it again.

Laurie

[sarah]

I had immediate reconstruction and I found it too painful - the stomach area was very painful. the morphine drip hardly eased the pain at all. The reconstrucition looks and feels natural but I would never go through it again. The women I talked to beforehand all said it was fine! I was in the hospital for 6 days and it took a long time to get better. They were very kind in the hospital and thorough They had me breath into a tube about every hour to avoid pneumonia and had leggins on me that massaged my legs to avoid thrombosis.
I wish you all the best. It's a hard decision.
sarah