Anyone Radiation and then Reconstruction?

I had lumpectomy and radiation 2002 on left to very small bc, has anyone had reconstruction  after radiation to breast.  I was refused reconstruction to right breast where i had radiation  to mastectomy area in 2004.  I want to have a mastectomy on left before bc returns but would like to elect a reconstruction at time of mastectomy; however, have had prior radiation to that area and wonder if they will now refuse .

I do not know what is standard for reconstruction and it seems all you ladies say you had chemo but i do not see you had radiation.   Please let me know.  I was told after radiation tissue dead and skin will not take, any comments?????

 

 

 

I am a 2 time bc survivor, and the first time I had lumpectomy with radiation.  That was 15 years ago.  Three years ago I had DCIS in the same breast and had double mastectomy with immediate DIEP reconstruction. You are the second woman this week who has asked this question, and I have an email request to my recon. surgeon about it, so when he replies I will tell you what he says.  Keep the faith.

J.

 

 

On 12/4/2008 aimeejay wrote:

I am a 2 time bc survivor, and the first time I had lumpectomy with radiation.  That was 15 years ago.  Three years ago I had DCIS in the same breast and had double mastectomy with immediate DIEP reconstruction. You are the second woman this week who has asked this question, and I have an email request to my recon. surgeon about it, so when he replies I will tell you what he says.  Keep the faith.

J.

 

to Aimeejay:  How did your recovery go to the radiated breast go?  Did you heal properly and did all areas "take";   how old are you?  I am 70 and PS said he did not do DIEP to 70 year old women.  I have some lymphedema in the right side as I have axillary dissection and  I had questioned this issue myself; however I do not have any mastectomy or axillary dissection on left.

 

Hi - I understand that after radiation that implants may be an issue, but there should not be a problem with a type of flap reconstruction.  I had radiation on one side 18 years ago, and 6 years ago on the other - I am in the process of making arrangements for a dm with reconstruction due to high risk of reoccurance.  I have been told that flap reconstruction of some kind will work - I havent met with plastic surgeon yet - Good luck to you - don;t forget how luck we all are to still be here and worrying about reconstruction!!  

Robbie

Life is not about surviving the storm but learning how to dance in the rain

 

I had chemo first, then mastectomy, then radiation and finally reconstructive surgery.  My reconstructive surgery was a DIEP flap about 6 months out from radiation and the surgery went well.  I was 46 at the time though so I do not know if age makes a difference.  I hope this information helps and best of luck to you on your surgery.

 Teresa 

 

On 12/2/2008 Resourceful wrote:

I had lumpectomy and radiation 2002 on left to very small bc, has anyone had reconstruction  after radiation to breast.  I was refused reconstruction to right breast where i had radiation  to mastectomy area in 2004.  I want to have a mastectomy on left before bc returns but would like to elect a reconstruction at time of mastectomy; however, have had prior radiation to that area and wonder if they will now refuse .

I do not know what is standard for reconstruction and it seems all you ladies say you had chemo but i do not see you had radiation.   Please let me know.  I was told after radiation tissue dead and skin will not take, any comments?????

 

 

 

One of the women in my BC support group had radiation.  They would not do reconstruction for at least a year.  Radiation continues to affect you even after you've finished treatment.  She is now going the expander route to implants & it's been difficult for her.  Radiated skin is very taut and doesn't stretch very well.  If you are going to have radiation again it's better to wait for reconstruction---less problems.

Another option for you might be the DIEP flap which uses fat & skin from your tummy (basically you get a tummy tuck) or your tush.  Check out www.diepflap.com for lots of good info.  You may not live in the area of that particular clinic but if you can find a microsurgeon, they may have been trained in this procedure.  Personally I would want one who's done this procedure many times.  It's a longer operation but recovery time is said to be shorter than the more traditional reconstruction.

Hope this helps and good luck.

 

 

On 12/4/2008 Resourceful wrote:

 

On 12/4/2008 aimeejay wrote:

I am a 2 time bc survivor, and the first time I had lumpectomy with radiation.  That was 15 years ago.  Three years ago I had DCIS in the same breast and had double mastectomy with immediate DIEP reconstruction. You are the second woman this week who has asked this question, and I have an email request to my recon. surgeon about it, so when he replies I will tell you what he says.  Keep the faith.

J.

 

to Aimeejay:  How did your recovery go to the radiated breast go?  Did you heal properly and did all areas "take";   how old are you?  I am 70 and PS said he did not do DIEP to 70 year old women.  I have some lymphedema in the right side as I have axillary dissection and  I had questioned this issue myself; however I do not have any mastectomy or axillary dissection on left.

I am now 61, and the radiation didn't affect the healing process at all.  I am still waiting to hear from my doctor for you.  Take care!

J

 

Hi!  I had a lumpectomy with radiation in 2003 and had reconstructive surgery in 2005, almost exactly one year after finishing radiation.  My story:  when I was diagnosed with a small (4mm) tumor across my left breast my surgeon said I could either have a mastectomy or a lumpectomy with radiation.  I opted for lumpectomy with radiation which was actually more than that as I had two biopsies and an infection around the incistion site and they had to go back in to get clean margins.  When I went back to my surgeon and mentioned reconstruction, he first said that I could not as there are bad results after radiation.  I almost went after his juglar.  I wasn't going to accept his comment as I had read about reconstruction on line.  I found a plastic surgeon who specifically treats cancer patients.  Both my radiation oncologist and surgeon insisted I wait at least a year to allow the external breast to heal.  When one year came around, they asked me to wait another but I insisted on going ahead and my plastic surgeon felt I was ready.  He implanted a combo expander/implant that could be adjusted with saline.  This would both stretch the skin and eventually serve as my implant.  Initially I was given the choice of 3 sizes but I had small breast to begin and choose the smaller of the 3.  I don't know if I would have been able to accomodate the larger implants with the lost of skin.  I was pleased with the results but as my surgeon had indicated, radiation is the gift that keeps on giving as it continues to pull the breast tissue against the breast.  Three years after having this done, I noticed an indentation around the scar area which is smack in the middle of my breast.  I just had fat replacement surgery to take some fat from my midrif and inject into the breast.  The outcome is better as the indentation was beginning to show in my sweaters.  My plastic surgeon wasn't completely happy with the results and I'm to go back after the first of the year but it is an 80to 90% improvement.  I had mimimal redness to my breast skin area after radiation and I would imagine if your skin suffered a real problem undergoing radiation it could be a problem.  Go to a plastic surgeon who works on breast cancer reconstruction or get a second opinion.  If you are looking for perfection that may not be realistic but I'm very pleased with my results.  Good luck!

PS, I was 56 when reconstruction was done.

I was 42 when diagnosed with stage II infiltrating ductal CA of the right breast. I had 4 courses of A/C chemo, and 34 radiation treatments at that time. This past Feb. (9 years after the initial diagnosis), I was found to have a recurrance on the right. My intention was to have a bilateral mastectomy with immediate DIEP flap reconstruction. The big hospital in Baltimore wouldn't do it all at once, and I didn't have time to go elswhere. They did the mastectomy, and placed tissue expanders...I got a post-op infection in the right, which was treated with the wrong antibiotic for about a week. I had to have one of the expanders removed, and was on home antibiotic therapy through a PICC line for 3 weeks.

The great news is, I was directed to Cleveland Clinic by a couple of women who had immediate DIEP flap reconstruction there with excellent results. I had bilateral DIEP flap reconstruction Dec. 3rd, and am doing great. No more "tight steel band" feeling around my chest as I had after the mastectomy...my chest now feels warm and comfortable. My Dr. had to use a bit of extra belly skin on my irradiated side, but it was not a problem, and the results are excellent.

Hope this helps! It took some searching and weathering of a few storms to get to this point, but I'm glad I persevered. God Bless you and your journey!