Tag: DIEP flap breast reconstruction

Quality of Life: DIEP Flap Breast Reconstruction

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Do you ever consider how your quality of life has changed after DIEP flap breast reconstruction?  The study from the Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Journal compares three groups of women; those who have undergone DIEP flap breast reconstruction, women who chose no reconstruction or a method other than DIEP flap, and those in the general population who did not have breast cancer or reconstruction.  The questionnaire studies long-term quality of life after DIEP flap. A statement from the study: The DIEP technique also provides better QOL than no breast reconstruction or reconstruction using other methods, according to the study by Dr. Vincent Hunsinger of Georges Pompidou European Hospital, Paris, and colleagues. They write, “Our results indicate that DIEP breast reconstruction allows patients with breast cancer to maintain a good QOL in the long-term.” The definition of quality from the English Oxford Living dictionary: The standard of something as measured against Continue Reading →

You Come First after Breast Reconstruction

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One of the best pieces of advice I can give to those I talk to planning their surgery, “You come first after breast reconstruction.”  It is a very difficult concept and mantra to adopt when you are so used to caring for others.  It is particularly challenging for those who go into breast reconstruction feeling healthy and fit, going about their daily routine of cooking, cleaning, carpooling, mothering, caring for others, and working a full-time job.  A sudden change in that routine is hard to wrap your mind around.  Believe me, it stops very suddenly after breast reconstruction but it IS temporary and so worth taking the time to put yourself first. Daily Activity to think about after Breast Reconstruction We don’t realize how much bending, twisting, and lifting we do each day.  I have been on the phone with individuals answering questions about the recovery process.  While I am Continue Reading →

ERAS ~ Enhanced Recovery After Surgery

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ERAS ~ Enhanced Recovery After Surgery I love it when I can say, “I learned something new today” and last week it was about ERAS, Enhanced Recovery After Surgery.  I was having a conversation with the plastic surgeon who performed my DIEP flap breast reconstruction, Dr. Minas Chrysopoulo.  I asked him if there were new protocols or changes in patient care during recovery in the two years since my DIEP flap surgery.  A smile came across his face and I could tell he couldn’t wait to tell me about ERAS.  He eloquently told me about the philosophy and implementation of this protocol and I was captivated.  It must have been the look of complete amazement on my face because he smiled and said, “You should write a blog about it.”  Nothing like a little challenge from a world class micro-surgeon to bequeath a bit of pressure for my next writing Continue Reading →

DIEP flap Breast Reconstruction: Sights and Sounds of the Hospital

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DIEP flap Breast Reconstruction: Sights and Sounds of the Hospital Your senses can become fine tuned to the sights and sounds of the hospital stay after your DIEP flap breast reconstruction.  Whether you have been in hospital before or not there are many things to deal with when you are out of the comfortable environment of your own home and bed.  Our five senses, taste, touch, sight, smell, hearing, connect us to everything around us.  Let’s look at what that means while recovering from DIEP flap breast reconstruction during your hospital stay. Tastes The taste that you have in your mouth post-surgery can only be described by the individual.  My perception is one of a medicinal, antiseptic taste.  You have been anesthetized for a long period and the drugs used will linger on the tongue.  Your mouth will be dry and you will not be allowed fluids of any kind Continue Reading →

Restored Sensation: Breast Reconstruction

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I am a patient who has restored breast sensation after breast reconstruction.  As a patient advocate who educates and speaks to hundreds of women and men about all options for breast reconstruction I am aware that many who choose breast reconstruction experience numbness and a variety of new sensations in their reconstructed breasts. I am referencing a recent article in the New York Times, After Mastectomies, An Unexpected Blow: Numb New Breasts. I respect but don’t fully understand the statements from patients experiencing numbness regarding their experience with their own reconstructed breasts.  Specifically, these: The statement under the photo taken from the article Re “Mastectomy, Then Shock: Lost Feeling” (front page, Jan. 30): Dane’e McCree with her daughters, Marleigh, left, and Brooklyn, in Grand Junction, Colo. “I can’t even feel it when my kids hug me,” Ms. McCree said after a breast reconstruction surgery. Credit Barton Glasser for The New Continue Reading →

Breast Reconstruction Surgery Fears

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Breast Reconstruction Surgery Fears Why do patients fear surgery for breast reconstruction?  It’s just another piece of the anxiety puzzle after a breast cancer diagnosis.  You’re faced with the dreaded news that a best or only option for your treatment plan is a mastectomy.  Lose my breasts?  Your head starts reeling and you think about what you will look like losing the body parts that most defines you as a woman.  There will be scars, pain, recovery, time away from a job and family, anesthesia, medical and insurance costs, and oh yes, what about getting all that cancer out of my body during surgery!  The list goes.  I decided to explore some of these fears in a poll.  I asked members of a Facebook page I manage in support of those going through breast reconstruction.  What they fear and what they go through in their diagnosis and decision to have Continue Reading →

Breast Reconstruction ~ Concealing Scars After Mastectomy

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Breast reconstruction and concealing scars after mastectomy is a certainty for patients post surgery.  There are those who bravely bare their scars as a symbol of strength and what they have been through.  But for many, hiding the scars of breast reconstruction is a skill and becomes a sort of creative art. Various Surgeries ~ Various Scars There are abdominal scars and breast scars if you have had DIEP flap breast reconstruction.  LAT flap will leave you with scars on your back and breasts.  TUG flap will leave you with breasts and inner thigh scars.  PAP and GAP flap will leave scars at the breasts and buttocks areas.  Those who have immediate breast reconstruction will likely have the least amount of scars on their breasts, but scars nonetheless. Placement of scars is a topic that should definitely be brought up in the initial consult with your plastic surgeon.  A skilled Continue Reading →

Inspirational Connections through Breast Cancer

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Inspirational Connections through Breast Cancer A true blessing and bonus of educational outreach is inspirational connections through the breast cancer community.  I recently received an email from Cinde and she humbly asked to write a guest blog about how she came to develop her drain carrier after surviving breast cancer three times.  Like me, Cinde has undergone DIEP flap breast reconstruction .  Naturally, I was curious to hear her story and after reading it I am honored to share this guest blog.  Cinde is not only providing a product for breast cancer patients but her outreach became global and continues to positively impact women in Karunga, Tanzania. Thank you for sharing this guest blog to the breast cancer community, Cinde. Post-Op Drain Management and the Mamas of Kilimanjaro   I’m a four-time cancer survivor, three-time breast cancer survivor.   After being diagnosed with cancer so many times — and surviving Continue Reading →

Hidden Costs of Traveling: Breast Reconstruction Surgery

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Hidden Costs of Traveling: Breast Reconstruction Surgery No one knows the hidden costs of traveling for breast reconstruction surgery more than the patient themselves.  I just returned from recent fat grafting as part of my own my own DIEP flap breast reconstruction. The costs are fresh in my mind and I feel it is an important topic to write about. The WHCRA (Women’s Health and Cancer Rights Act of 1998) is outlined in this article. A portion of the article states: This federal law requires most group insurance plans that cover mastectomies to also cover breast reconstruction. It was signed into law on October 21, 1998. The United States Departments of Labor and Health and Human Services oversee this law. The devil is in the details.  Look carefully at the wording, especially the word, “most”.  Insurance is becoming challenging for both patients and physicians.  Costs, restrictions, increased deductibles and co-pays Continue Reading →

Breast Reconstruction Consult: The Physical and Technical Component

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Breast Reconstruction Consult: The Physical and Technical Component This blog discusses a breast reconstruction consult: the physical and technical component of a DIEP flap surgical visit with the plastic surgeon.  I wrote part a blog dealing with the emotional and psychological aspects of a consult and another one on the abdominal examination component of a consult. A plastic surgeon will work with his nurse at this initial consult to gather all the pertinent information needed to optimize the outcomes of DIEP flap surgery. Each of us goes to this appointment with unique circumstances in terms of both our physical structure and overall health.  I will walk you through my own personal case but know yours will be exclusive to the situation you bring to the initial consult for your breast reconstruction. The hope is to give you an idea of the steps done during this consult and what the purpose of each Continue Reading →