Preventive Mastectomy: Fat Grafting

Posted November 18, 2016 by Prairie Wife - 3 comments

Times flies when you’re recovering from surgery!

It’s already time for surgery three, and hopefully my last reconstruction surgery for a decade (implants generally need to be replaced every 10-15 years).

For those that are new to the site take a second to read about my choice to have a preventive mastectomy and my first and second surgery.

First, let’s cover the technical stuff then we can talk feelings….

Right now I have 385cc implants underneath my pectoral muscles with multiple alloderm skin grafts holding them in on the sides and underneath.

In a normal breast augmentation, as opposed to a mastectomy and reconstruction, the implants are covered with fat and tissue so they are hidden.

My implants ripple (big wrinkles and divets appear) whenever I move and I have an area where my chest is sunken in because of the tissue that was removed. The line of the implant is also very apparent when I’m in certain positions. I tried to take pictures of the ripples but it just doesn’t show up on camera! You can see the obvious line from the implant in this pic from The Cowboy and my mini vacation (he WON the trip) in the Florida Key’s.

For this surgery my Plastic Surgeon will be using liposuction to remove fat from my thighs and then put the fat in my breasts. The hope is to help add an extra layer under the skin to cover the implants. Hopefully this will fill in the divots and make the ripples and wrinkles less apparent when I move.

Recovery is usually 3 days of really laying low and then about two weeks of taking it easy.

There are no lifting restrictions (WHOOT) and activity is limited only by pain and no exercise for those first two weeks.

I have to sleep on my back for the first week (ugh) but can move to my side around the second week. Restrictions for the first three weeks are no stomach sleeping, no wearing a bra or allowing anything to press on my chest (like sleeping kids).

My doctor doesn’t have specific garments they require me to wear on my thighs but, they said that wearing compression leggings (like compression running gear) for the first month or so will help me to be more comfortable.

NOTE: Because I won’t be having large amounts of fat removed, my instructions and recovery are different than other liposuction procedures. Please don’t think that this is how every fat grafting surgery will be. It’s important to talk to you doctor about what they want you to do as you recover.

Alright now to my feelings about all this…

I seriously thought about skipping this surgery but, my plastic surgeon encouraged me to try it once (many people do it multiple times before they are happy with the results).

Yes my breasts ripple, and I have a sunken in spot on my chest but The Cowboy and I don’t care. If I wear a padded bra no one can tell…and my hope for myself when I made this decision was to look good in clothes…I think I’ve accomplished that.

I started out a 36AA going into this and wanted to be a B cup. I ended up a 34 full C because of what my doctor had to do when he went into the exchange surgery. This surgery will result in my breasts being an even larger size.

It’s been an adjustment.

I never had a problem being small chested and I’m very self conscious now about wearing anything that shows off my breasts.

If you follow us on Instagram or watched my stitch fix video, you can see that this size looks totally natural on me with my broad shoulders and height.

I get that this is all in my head…

But I feel like those that know about my surgery may be making a few side remarks about my “real” reasons for doing it…you get what I mean…

Some of my awkwardness is also the result of me not being able to feel any of my chest. When you have no nerves you can’t feel when you shirt starts to slip, or when your toddler decides to put as many goldfish crackers as possible down your bra during church (true story), or when you’re wiping down tables at school lunch duty and your tank top is hanging down…

I know that part of me feels like embracing and loving my bigger breasts is a betrayal to all small breasted women everywhere. That if I like these ones somehow it means my old ones were ugly.

This whole accepting my new normal is a bit more of a struggle than I thought…

I can’t lie though. I’m kind of excited about the thigh liposuction. My thighs have always been the spot I disliked the most about my body. I always have to buy pants to fit them and deal with a saggy waistband. The thought of finally, maybe, getting the slim thighs I’ve been trying to earn through years of running and yoga has some appeal.

But then I’m left wondering…how do I teach my daughters body acceptance and self love when I have fake boobs and liposuctioned thighs?

Sigh…that’s going to have to be a whole other post on its own!

I am well aware that my preventive mastectomy was MY choice.

I know that if I had been diagnosed with Cancer I would be going through all of this and so so so much more.

I am still 125% confident that this was the best choice my family and I.

But, I’d be lying and breaking my promise if I didn’t say (and share) that there have been unexpected tough moments.

I’m excited to be done with this whole preventive mastectomy thing. I’ve tried not to let it take over my life (or the blog) but to a certain extent it has. 2016 has been a long year, and I’m looking forward to moving forward stronger than before and at peace with what my future holds for me.

I’ll be touching base with you all when I can, and there will still be new posts up next week. Please be understanding if I’m not as active on social media and the blog as usual. TallGirlJ will let you know Tuesday afternoon on our Facebook page how the surgery went.

xoxoxo

Prairie Wife

Take a look at my fat grafting surgery and recovery by clicking this link.

Categories: Fat Grafting Surgery, Preventive Mastectomy

Tags: , body image, breast cancer, fat grafting, honesty, liposuction, plastic surgery, preventive mastectomy, support, surgery