***UPDATED 6/19/12***
Below you will see pictures of my breasts in various stages of my mastectomy and reconstruction. The purpose of this is informational for those who want to either better understand what the experience is like for me, or for those who are going through this or considering these options. If you don't want to see, don't look!!
I'm going to try to post this from the bottom up, so that the newest picture will be on top. So to view in chronological order, go to the bottom and scroll up.
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POST EXCHANGE / PRE EXCHANGE PICTURES ADDED
3 days post exchange - note the scars on the inner sides of the nipple were not reopened!! Much better clevage as well.
3 days post exchange - left side, note the definition from breast to ribs is not as distinct. drain scar still ugly.
3 days post exchange - right side (don't be deceived by the shadow...) they look kind of lumpy, but that may just be swelling and what not from the surgery, it will take potentially months for them to settle down.
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| Day before Exchange surgery - front view |
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| Day before Exchange Surgery - left Side View |
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| Day before Exchange Surgery - right Side View |
April 4th Front view showing that the left one is off center.
April 4th, Left Side after 3rd Fill
April 4th, Right Side after 3rd Fill.
April 4th - 3rd Fill (250 ccs each) Bandaids show where the injection was.
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February 18th - Left side view after 2nd fill (200 ccs) -
that dark red mark outside of the breast is the scar from the drains! |
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| February 18th - Right side view after 2nd fill (200 ccs) |
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February 18th, after 2nd Fill (200 ccs) -
after this fill they became kind of oddly shaped,
and they're a little further apart than I'd like..
Hoping we can do something about that. |
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| January 29 - After expander replacement surgery - front view |
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| See all the staple holes?? |
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| January 29 - After expander replacement surgery - left side |
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| January 29 - After expander replacement surgery - Right side |
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| January 26 - before surgery to put expanders back in - didn't change much in 3 months. |
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| October 29 - A few days after the expanders were removed - front view |
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| Front view of breasts 1 week post mastectomy |
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| Left Breast 1 week post mastectomy |
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| 1 week post mastectomy - Right Breast - still pretty iffy on whether it was going to survive |
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| This is the right breast. It looks really angry huh? It was definitely in danger of dying. |
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| This is the left breast. It wasn't as bad looking ast the right but also needed some TLC. |
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| This is after my first shower at home. So about 3 days post op. You can see I still have those markings that are very difficult to wash off, and I'm still a bit orange tinged. The string around my neck is holding up my drains, which you can see the tubes of on each side. The bandages in my arm pits are from the sentinel node biopsy. |
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| This was our first look under the bandages. That is the surgeons hand. |
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Under the breast binder I had giant surgical pads on each breast. I wore these for quite awhile.. atleast a week or so I recall correctly... I obviously didn't wear THESE ones - I bought a box from walgreens.
Here you can see though that I had oxygen on, and you can see that yucky orange tint to my skin... thats the disenfectant stuff they completely covered me in during surgery.
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After surgery I had on this lovely blue flower print breast binder - the first in my collection
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Presurgery Markings - This was done the day before surgery and I had to take two showers between then and the surgery so after each one I had to remark all of these lines.
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April 4th Front view showing that the left one is off center.
April 4th, Left Side after 3rd Fill
April 4th, Right Side after 3rd Fill.
April 4th - 3rd Fill (250 ccs each) Bandaids show where the injection was.
They look sooo much better. I hope it's not hurting too much.
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting the pictures. I am high risk, not BRCA+, but high risk. Pondering about when/if PBM. Thank you for sharing your story.
ReplyDeleteThanks, please feel free to reach out if you have questions or want to talk about it!
ReplyDeleteI'm having a mastectomy in 3 weeks. Thank you for your courage and honesty in sharing these fotos. I hope you're feeling well- you look great!
ReplyDeleteI have BRCA1 and had my mastectomy 1 week ago. Thanks for sharing youre story <3
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda, Just found your site and am very thankful. I am 41 yrs old and going for the genetic testing but with my fam history (3 gen's breast/ovarian) on one my mother's side of the family, I am not going to be surprised to be BRCA 1 or 2 positive. Lots of discussions with my husband lately about my plans if positive. How did your husband feel about the surgery initially? It will be my decision but he's having trouble with it at this point. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHe wasn't fully onboard at first. It took ME over a year to decide to do the surgery and In that time I was constantly looking at stuff on line, researching, reading blogs, etc. I took him to appointments with me. (At least the ones I thought would be informative) He was there for my Breast biopsy. I think all of that helped him to understand my decision once i made it. He was worried about how it would affect me emotionally and my self image. But I think he came around to the idea that it would be better than the constant fear, and the possibility of losing me all together.
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