Reconstruction Phase 2: Complete!

Phase 2 is what we, in the world of breast reconstruction, call a second surgery that goes back in and tweaks things. This is a planned surgery, and at one of my consultation appointments, Dr. Spiegel explained that the big surgery is Phase 1, where she builds the foundation, and Phase 2 is where she puts the finishing touches on the project.

So, in Phase 1, she relocated the fat from my abdomen to my chest to create breast mounds. (Isn't that an awful word for them? Mounds? Ugh.) This is a highly skilled microsurgical procedure where they have to connect blood supply from the chest wall to the new tissue. Yes, it's breast-shaped, but it's a bit rough around the edges, you could say.

So, Phase 2 is where they shape things up, literally and figuratively. There are two aspects of Phase 2: Symmetry and Scar Revision.

Symmetry

They took fat from my sides and inner and outer thighs and added it up top to make things match a little better.  This is called fat grafting, and they were able to transfer about 100cc's to each side, plus do a little tweaking to help improve the appearance.

One side effect of the radiation I had in 2018 is that the skin and tissues kind of tighten up, so the right (radiated) side was positioned quite a bit differently from the left side. Adding some more fullness to both sides helped to offset this problem.

Spoiler alert: 100cc's isn't a whole lot. So, when I look in the mirror, I can't tell that my thighs and waist have been touched, other than the lingering darkness that's a reminder of the worst bruising I've ever seen. But, The Girls do look much better!

Scar Revision
During Phase 1, there were some areas, at the ends of the incisions, where the skin sort of puckered. It's sometimes called dog ears, because of how it looks, and it's a natural and expected result of removing a section of skin and tissue and closing things back up. In Phase 2, they reopened the outer thirds of my abdominal incision and sort of nipped and tucked to make things lay right. So, I still have an incision that goes from hip bone to hip bone, but it lays flat now. They also did a very small amount of lipo here and fat grafting there to make things look a little more normal and less like SpongeBob SquarePants.

Now, a word about the fat harvesting process, also known as liposuction. It $&(#ing hurts!!! I am not exaggerating in the least when I tell you that the lipo was far and away the most painful part of this whole reconstruction process. Possibly the most painful thing I've experienced. If they ever said I needed another round of it, I'd say "No thanks, have a nice day!" and walk myself right out of there.

All in all, the surgery was about 2 hours, and I was supposed to go home that night. Spoiler alert: I didn't, because I just don't like doing the expected thing, apparently! More on that, later.

The exciting thing is, This was my last surgery!!! I don't have to go check into the hospital any more, no more anesthesia, no more lifting restrictions.... I am FINISHED having surgery!

(I do have a few more tweaks to make before The Girls are all finished, but they're all going to be done in Dr. Spiegel's office, so that totally doesn't count, right??)

And because my pre-op scans were all clear, I have moved to the "Every 6 Months" category with my oncologist, instead of every 3! Both of those are huge milestones for me!