I had my exchange surgery in August, where they removed the expanders and placed my "permanent" implants. It was a day surgery, so Tom and I were home by 11:30am. It was nothing like the mastectomy. I was back to my normal physical self within 5 days. Emotionally it took me a little longer to regain equilibrium. I, like many women, placed a lot of importance on doing exchange surgery and sort of held it up as the end of reconstruction. It's disappointing to learn that for most women, including myself, there are more surgeries needed to make everything look right.
I ended up with Gummi Bear implants which are anatomically tear-drop shaped and are semi-solid, so if you cut into one, it won't leak everywhere. When you get a mastectomy, they remove all of the tissue so you're left with skin that's as thin as your forehead. So, unlike recreational implants that have some tissue to buffer them, mine do not, which leads to some rippling under the skin. My next surgery will involve fat grafting to fill in those ripples.
All in all, it really hasn't impacted my overall happiness. I'm grateful I'm cancer-free. Let's keep it that way! I also don't have any pain associated with my implants as many women do. I'm adjusting to the Tamoxifen (hot flashes aren't that bad).
And I look normal in clothes.
And I can hug people and I don't have those hard tennis balls on my chest anymore.
And Alice thinks one of my scars looks like a smiley face. She thinks the other one, which is a straight line, looks "serious."
Here's to life and sending prayers to the people who really need them in the Philippines and other disaster-stricken areas. May they find shelter, food and a place to rest their heads.
Love,
Lisa
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