*******WARNING.....I talk A LOT about boobs in this post :)
Almost one month ago I went to consult with a plastic surgeon at OHSU about reconstructive surgery post mastectomy. First of all, I must say she was AMAZING. I totally LOVED her. She was honest, funny, bubbly, caring, and confident. She TOTALLY reminded me of Mindy on the Mindy Project (a super hilarious show...seriously, you should watch it). She asked what I wanted and I said, "What are the possibilities?". She said, 'Whatever you want." So I then changed my answer to, "WAY, WAY smaller AND PERKY...no more old lady boobs!!!!!"
After learning all the options and basics of breast reconstruction she basically flat out told me what she thought was the best option for me & my body......I 100% agreed with her.
She told me I did NOT have enough fat on my belly to do the tummy tuck, make a breast surgery. Not enough fat???.....silly girl. She also said my previous surgeries on my abdomen made it not an option. BUMMER.....would have been nice to have a super flat stomach once again (it has been a long time). But, actually I think this was good news. The surgery is an 8 hour surgery AND the recovery is extremely painful and LONG (you are in the hospital for 7-10 days!!).
She also told me she does NOT want to do surgery until I am OFF my anti-coagulants (blood-thinners). There is just too much risk for bleeding with the surgery and the expander. It will be 6 months since my pulmonary embolism the first week of July. So that means I could have my surgery sometime in July IF my oncologist lets me stop taking my blood thinners. I wish I could have it today!!!!!!!!!!!
So without doing a CRAZY long post (not in the mood today).....here is the plan.
SURGERY #1: Latissimus Flap and Tissue Expander (right side)
- A section of muscle, skin and tissue are removed from the mid-upper back (right above the bra line....this is called the latissimus flap) and transplanted (along with its blood supply) to the chest area.
- Blood vessels from the donor tissue are tunneled under the skin, and the tissues are then shaped to form a new breast mound on the chest.
- A tissue expander will be placed under my skin and muscle. The tissue expander is like a deflated balloon that you can slowly add saline to over-time to stretch your skin & tissue out.
- The surgery will take about 4 hours. I will be in the hospital 1-3 nights. The recovery is anywhere between 3-6 weeks. She said this first surgery will be the biggest and most painful of them all with the longest recovery.
I will need to go into the plastic surgeons office every week to get my expander "pumped up". They will inject a little saline into the expander each time. You keep doing this each week until you reach the desired size. She told me since I live one hour away from her office that she will teach my husband how to pump up my breasts.......sounds pretty nasty, huh??? :)...every man's dream come true.
WAIT/RECOVER...Keep on Pumping Up Those Breasts for 2-3 months......then
SURGERY #2: Change to Implant and Breast REDUCTION!!!!!!!!!!
- Once my right breast is at the desired size it will be time to do the surgery I CAN NOT WAIT for!!!!!!!
- They will REDUCE my ginormous left breast to match the size of my MUCH smaller right breast!!!! Woooooooo Hoooooooooo!!!!!!! Happy day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- They will replace my expander on my right breast with an implant.
- It is a 2-3 hour surgery, with a one night stay in the hospital. She said it is about a 1-2 week recovery.
WAIT/RECOVER for 2-4 months...then
SURGERY #3: Make a Nipple:
- She said she can do this in her office as a simple out-patient procedure.
- Basically, they pinch the skin together where your nipple should be a sew it together.....ouch!!!
WAIT/RECOVER for 2 months...then
SURGERY #4: Tattoo
- Probably shouldn't call this a surgery...more like a little procedure. I will get a tattoo to match the color of the nipple of the other breast and to create the areola on my new and improved right breast.
Soooo 6-12 months later I should have my FABULOUS, smaller, perky boobs...
This also means....
- I will no longer be The One Boob Wonder
- I will have a bra burning party.....I am seriously going to burn all my ridiculous H and I and J cupped bras
- I can shop for bras and swimsuits in NORMAL stores
- I can quit buying huge shirts just to fit my big boobs
- It will take a TON of strain off my crippled back
- I can go bra-less and not look like a freak of nature!!!
Some of my regular blog readers are probably wondering if I decided to go back on my Gleevec medication. I have decided to go back on it. I truly believe I need to be on it. BUT, I am waiting until I am off my blood thinners before I start. Gleevec is not a good drug to take with Coumadin (my blood thinners). My doctor was going to have me do a CT scan in July after being on blood thinners for 6 months to see if my clots in my lungs were fully resolved.
BUT, after my oncologist talked to the GIST expert he decided that I should get a CT scan now and if the clots are gone I will go off blood thinners EARLY and start Gleevec.
This also means I can have my surgery EARLIER!!!!!!!
So I have my CT scan tomorrow (Monday) morning. So I am hoping that the scan will be clear and I can:
- stop taking Coumadin
- start taking Gleevec
- call my surgeon & schedule my 1st reconstruction surgery...hopefully there are some openings in her surgery schedule that don't conflict with my obligation of being the key-note speaker at The Dalles Wahtonka High School's Graduation.....what was I thinking when I said yes??????? and will also allow me to go to my Granny's memorial/family get together at a resort in AZ in July (wait....AZ in July - what dummy planned this one?)
**** My echo cardiogram looked good....no real worries there. But, I will have to get more frequent ones while I am on Gleevec
**** One last side note: I had a PET scan a few weeks ago to make sure there was no cancer in my body. There was no cancer....they think. There was an irregularity on one of my ribs, right below my shoulder bone on my back. They did an x-ray to get a better look. The irregularity was still there. My oncologist told me he was not worried about it. So I didn't worry until I read the reports myself and googled some of the terminology (dang you, google). I found the same exact wording on my report to sometimes be associated with metastasized breast cancer AND sometimes multiple myeloma (my aunt died of this nasty one). But, it also said that it could be nothing. So, my doctor told me it is fine, but what if it is not. My CT scan tomorrow should let me know one way or another on this little problem that has been in the back of my mind. So if you want to say a prayer for me or send some good vibes, I would appreciate it.
Peace out!
The One Boob Wonder
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