Author Topic: More Surgery...Awesome Technology! (Read 3576 times)

Joyce · « **on:** August 29, 2008, 01:12:45 PM »

It's no big deal this time around, lets just say that my resconstruction is not working out well with the first saline implants. (January 2008)
I have horrible scar tissue, adhesions, and disfigurement from radiation therapy on the right side.
This was all explained to me as a possible side effect from the very beginning.
And they said because I am on the thin side, it made it more likely to happen.
And it happened.
All the scar tissue is causing a problem called Capsular Contracture which is making look like the Bride of Frankenstein, if not Quasimodo.:eek1:
And all that scar tissue is very painful cuz it doesn't stretch at all like normal skin, getting more and more soilid, more and more painful.

So on Sept. 8th I am going to have it all redone, new silicone implants using Alloderm to rebuild all the scar tissue and adhesions that needs to be removed.
http://breastreconstruction.org/Section5/AlloDerminBreastReconstruction.html

So please people, fill out your donor cards...they really DO help people! :cool3:
Alloderm is being used for ALL sorts of reconstruction!

KatFish · « **Reply #1 on:** August 29, 2008, 02:43:50 PM »

Good luck to you! I'm sure you'll feel much better afterward

Esther · « **Reply #2 on:** August 29, 2008, 03:23:08 PM »

Joyce, what a coincidence. My daughter in law's mother just had that same problem and had the surgery about two weeks ago. Her original surgery was about 8 years ago. She's about 60 I think. She said it was beginning to pull when she raised her arms and also looked awful. I haven't talked to her about it since the surgery.

I hope this goes well for you.

EagleEye · « **Reply #3 on:** August 29, 2008, 06:42:12 PM »

Good Luck Joyce,

Wishing you the best.

Steve

Joyce · « **Reply #4 on:** August 29, 2008, 06:54:48 PM »

Thanks Esther and EagleEye.

Esther, I found out in May that both the saline implants have flipped over, done a 180 and the right one is actually folded almost in half.
I kept on getting these wickedly sharp pains in my right chest side if I did anything strenuous....felt burning intense muscular pain and charley horse cramps later.
Especially under my armpit and wrapping around under my shoudler blade in back. But MD says it is all part of the muscle holding the implant in place.
When I went for my checkup in May I was convinced the cancer was back, but upon manual manipulation, my doc told me what was the matter.
Part of my muscle is caught in the folded implant. Sort of like a hernia.
Whew! Also signed up for a study. One side will be sutured a new way, and one side sutured the old way. No one will know which is which except for the doctor.
Stony Brook is a University Hospital so with my post surgery check ups he will have interns that will have to guess which side got the new improved suture technique.
Also will be used to prove that the technique is indeed an improvement, which will help other women heal faster in the future.

karen J · « **Reply #5 on:** August 29, 2008, 07:58:37 PM »

Quote from: Joyce on August 29, 2008, 06:54:48 PM

Thanks Esther and EagleEye.
Esther, I found out in May that both the saline implants have flipped over, done a 180 and the right one is actually folded almost in half.
I kept on getting these wickedly sharp pains in my right chest side if I did anything strenuous....felt burning intense muscular pain and charley horse cramps later.
Especially under my armpit and wrapping around under my shoudler blade in back. But MD says it is all part of the muscle holding the implant in place.
When I went for my checkup in May I was convinced the cancer was back, but upon manual manipulation, my doc told me what was the matter.
Part of my muscle is caught in the folded implant. Sort of like a hernia.
Whew! Also signed up for a study. One side will be sutured a new way, and one side sutured the old way. No one will know which is which except for the doctor.
Stony Brook is a University Hospital so with my post surgery check ups he will have interns that will have to guess which side got the new improved suture technique.
Also will be used to prove that the technique is indeed an improvement, which will help other women heal faster in the future.

Wow, Joyce. Sorry about all the scar tissue, adhesions, and disfigurement.

All I can say is that I attended SUNY Stony Brook for 8 years, and they are really great people! You will be treated well, and your participation will be a great help to the future of treatment options.

Don't let them near your degrees, though.

That is one thing that they CAN mess up!

Jerry · « **Reply #6 on:** August 29, 2008, 09:55:40 PM »

You can handle this easily after the other stuff. yay to modern miracles. You will look great

purplepshn2004 · « **Reply #7 on:** August 29, 2008, 10:16:32 PM »

Joyce,

I hope that this new surgery goes well for you! You have been through so much! You are a great person, great personallity, you deserve a body to match! Good luck on your surgery and glad to hear it's not the cancer coming back...

Pa Nancy · « **Reply #8 on:** August 30, 2008, 07:19:31 AM »

Sorry you have to go thru all this again. Good Luck to you.

tweetybaby2005 · « **Reply #9 on:** August 30, 2008, 06:29:56 PM »

Joyce, all the best to you. I am always amazed how far we have come along in terms of technology, especially in the medical field. You always remind me of my co-worker who is battling cancer (she was in remission for 9 years but it came back last year). I'm running the Susan G Komen 5K in 9/27. I want to do this in my co-worker's name. She is an amazing lady just like you. She is always upbeat and open about her cancer.

Kuan

ponderer · « **Reply #10 on:** August 30, 2008, 08:34:02 PM »

Joyce, hope this is successful! I can empathize a tiny bit, had a breast cancer scare a few years ago . That is all it was, a scare. But it is so traumatising to hear " It could be cancer". So, all the best thoughts to you from here.

Mary

marla · « **Reply #11 on:** August 31, 2008, 12:18:38 AM »

Best of luck to you Joyce, I hope it all turns out as you hope, and then continues to stay that way. Prayers for healing.

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #12 on:** September 01, 2008, 12:11:04 PM »

So sorry you've had such problems with your reconstruction. Best wishes for the new surgery to work out perfectly.

Kittyzee · « **Reply #13 on:** September 01, 2008, 12:20:15 PM »

Good grief Joyce! I am SO sorry that this thing keeps stretching on and on...I admire your courage and spunkiness

The Alloderm info was quite interesting and inspiring also. Thank you for being so open -- you never know which one of us this will help in the future; from breast self-exams to the persistent pain that was NOT normal after your surgery telling you that something wasn't quite right. We tend to hand our lives over to our doctors when they tell us that all is well, it's very hard to know the difference sometimes.

Jonna · « **Reply #14 on:** September 01, 2008, 09:10:19 PM »

Glad this can be taken care of fairly easily, compared to what you've already been through. I don't think it is an unusual result, I have 2 friends that had to have corrective surgery because the implants either moved, flipped or fell. I'm really glad they can take care of the scar tissue and adhesions, that is a very painful situation. All the best of healing thoughts to you and let us know when you are up and about again.

Hugs,

Joyce · « **Reply #15 on:** September 02, 2008, 04:35:29 AM »

Thank everyone.

Jonna, you're right, it's not unusual. With saline implants, it has the highest rate of flipping, and capsular contraction.
SOOOO many of my family and friends got angry right away when they heard it happened, and were furious with my recon surgeon.
I explained several times that the possible complications were explained in detail to me when I choose saline.
They still are angry...I just can't be. I'm just sooo happy it's not cancer again and as far as I am concerned, something simple.

Kittyzee, Alloderm is being used in so many different kinds of reconstruction, it's really amazing! And I'm open about my situation because I have to be.
At this point the area between my shoulders and waist is just another body part...been poked, prodded, scanned, grammmed, sliced, diced,
so many times it's just a conversation piece as soon as any of my family and friends sees me. And when I am at my MDs office in Stony Brook,
a teaching hospital, usually several interns are in the room learning from my experience(s).
I am not shy any more. It's rewarding, makes it all worthwhile, that my experiences with cancer can help someone,
if not scare them into having mammos.

POINT: I put off my mammo for 2 years. How long has it been since you have had yours?

Kittyzee · « **Reply #16 on:** September 02, 2008, 05:29:26 AM »

I'm happy to say that I have mammos EVERY year and have since I was 35! Sometimes more in one year cuz I have fibrocystic disease and until I figured (and my doc) which lumps were always there and which were new, I was getting several mammos and some spot compressions a few times a year. My fibrocystic disease seemed to be triggered by too much caffeine and caused lots of pain. I eliminated most of the caffeine and the lumps and pain disappeared. Like my doc said, "bad things don't go away". It seems as I've aged that my fibrocystic disease has lessened, or my sensitivity to caffeine has, cuz it doesn't affect me like that anymore. AND it's important to do self exams EVERY month also. I still have my yearly physical too, like clockwork.

So ladies, how about you?

Julles · « **Reply #17 on:** September 02, 2008, 07:07:55 AM »

Wow, that's coming up next week, right Joyce? I'm sure everything will go great.

One of my girlfriends had the same, with similar results. I never said anything, but, after the first surgery, she looked, well, horrible. The doctor constructed breasts that were hard, square, and that sat way too high on her chest. She didn't look natural at all, and hugging her, you felt like you were hugging a concrete pillar.

Like I said, I never said anything, and no one else did, either. But she knew she didn't look "natural." Some years later, she had it all redone, and the new, better doctor created a very soft, natural reconstruction, that looks totally like it came from God.

Yes, medical science can work wonders.

Good luck next week, Joyce.

Joyce · « **Reply #18 on:** September 02, 2008, 08:05:29 AM »

Yeah, 6 more days 'til surgery.

Well, I didn't elect to get cancer and have a radical double mastectomy.
I did elect to have reconstruction so I didn't have to look at a flat chest every day as a reminder what I went through. :'(

These women who elect to get breast augmentations...to be bigger and get more attention...
I just don't WANT to understand why any women would want to make her breast size her identity: her worth as a female.

Any reconstruction will never feel llike what Mother Nature gave you.
Mine definitely are not the way they used to feel, and if you hugged me, you'd feel it too.
But like your friend, I have a few friends who had augmentations, and they look and feel ridiculous.

My goodness, why would ANYone want their breast size to be their most important asset?
That is about the lowest form of self esteem a woman could have. Friggin' ridiculous.

And it really pisses me off when people ask me why I didn't go bigger. (I am a 34A and stayed that way)
Even my recon MD is being an idiot about it. I told him if he brings it up ONE MORE time he'll be a soprano.

That's all I'm worth huh, my boob size???!!!

LeeAnne151 · « **Reply #19 on:** September 02, 2008, 09:20:50 AM »

Good for you! (on staying your natural size)

miguynmkoi · « **Reply #20 on:** September 02, 2008, 09:49:16 AM »

Quote

Also signed up for a study. One side will be sutured a new way, and one side sutured the old way. No one will know which is which except for the doctor.
Stony Brook is a University Hospital so with my post surgery check ups he will have interns that will have to guess which side got the new improved suture technique.
Also will be used to prove that the technique is indeed an improvement, which will help other women heal faster in the future. Cool

You're awesome, Joyce! Not only are you taking care of yourself, you're taking care of millions out there too! You are in great hands!

Sandye · « **Reply #21 on:** September 02, 2008, 01:59:58 PM »

Joyce, I TOTALLY agree with you about the boob size thing!

I'm about a 34B, and NEVER felt the need to subject myself to surgery to augment what I was born with just to impress others.

Good luck with your reconstructive surgery next week. I'm sooooo glad it wasn't cancer again. You've been through quite enough. $:-\$

P.S. Oh, yes, I have my mammos and my Pap every year and have had since I was 40.

Kittyzee · « **Reply #22 on:** September 02, 2008, 05:56:46 PM »

I've never understood why women have breast augmentation surger either Joyce, unless there is a disfigurement in some way; then it seems instead of it being the center point of your life, have the surgery and then forget it. But our society, (here I go again) is STUCK on the size of women's breasts....or making sure we all SEE them, ALL the time, like we'll forget they are there

And the recon MD being a soprano is priceless....

Julles · « **Reply #23 on:** September 03, 2008, 07:02:35 AM »

I got one of those funny e-mails not too long ago, and I wish I could find it.... An oooooold lady at the beach, bikini, totally wrinkly, with all body parts sagging. All, except, for her fake boobs, which were high and dry and totally bizzar sitting like cantalopes under her neck.

Joyce · « **Reply #24 on:** September 03, 2008, 08:10:34 AM »

I got that same email...bizarre! She was so proud of herself too, strutting herself!

I just was very assertive and called my MD because I haven't recieved a phone call about my bloodwork appt yet.
So they had completely forgot about it and had to schedule it for 8:30 tomorrow.

GREAT! I just love doing this to my boss!
Jamie gets on the bus at 7:25 and it takes over an hour to drive up to Stony Brook blood clinic.
So I told them thanks a lot and I'll get there when I get there.

Esther · « **Reply #25 on:** September 03, 2008, 08:51:19 AM »

JOyce I hope it all goes well. It's still scary to have to be cut open. ANd darn it all, it hurts.

Years ago I was on birth control pills. The doctor wouldn't renew the prescription unless I had my yearly physical. That became a habit. Now it has continued to be a habit to do physical + the mammo too especially since my dad's mother had breast cancer and my mother had it too. Mother's was discovered by a mammo. The doctor's office sends me a reminder letter and if I don't schedule, they send another nagging letter. I suspect that if I still didn't schedule, they'd call me.

Kittyzee · « **Reply #26 on:** September 03, 2008, 06:47:50 PM »

Jeez Joyce, why in the he$$ do YOU have to remember everything? I know, I know--if you want it done you have to make sure it gets done...

I'm sorry, but I'm ticked off FOR YOU--you have ENOUGH to worry about--Jamie, your DH, and YOUR SURGERY, not to mention YOUR JOB!!

Prayer and good wishes coming your way for your surgery, you will feel sooo much better being able to move and groove without pain

Krista · « **Reply #27 on:** September 05, 2008, 10:00:45 PM »

Joyce, I totally know what you mean about being disconnected from that part. I haven't been through anything like what you have and are going through.. but after my surgery it was like it was the surgeons canvas, not me anymore. I am so grateful for people like you who are not only positive and encouraging but willing to share your story, your experience and your life. That is so cool that you get to be a part of that trial with the new sutures.

And yes, I get mammograms every year now and u/s too on the opposite 6 months plus a colposopy every 6 month too. I have several cysts that are being watched in my left canvas so I'm very grateful for the technology that helps me to be healthy.

Hope the new surgery goes spectacularly

Joyce · « **Reply #28 on:** September 06, 2008, 04:39:30 AM »

Thanks everyone!

They finally called me at 4:20pm yesterday to tell me that I need to be at the hospital Monday morning at 5:30 for surgery at 8am.
Stony Brook is about 1 hour and 15 minutes away so I am waking up 3:30-4am to be ready.

Krista · « **Reply #29 on:** September 06, 2008, 09:42:02 AM »

Glad you got your times! Isn't it nice to be the early bird? ... well at least your team will be fresh and ready to do their absolute best.