Stacked DIEP flap reconstruction

Happy 2022, long time no blog! After enjoying a wonderful holiday season with friends and family, I have been cleared for my reconstructive surgery on Feb. 1st. I saw Dr. Curley on Jan. 13th, and he was encouraged by my blood work and said I should feel good about how I am recovering at this point. Today (Jan 28th) has been one year since my mastectomy and lymph node removal and he said he sees no cause for concern! We will continue to meet every three months but he does not plan to do any other scans unless something changes in my blood work or overall health. Sometimes he said doing too many scans can "stir the pot" and create problems that weren't there.

I hesitated to give an update on my surgery date until I knew for sure it was going to happen! Covid cases have skyrocketed here in AZ and so all elective surgeries were cancelled thru Jan. 26th at the hospital where I am scheduled. We have been holding our breath and praying cancellations wouldn't get extended into February and so far so good. To prepare for surgery I have been drinking protein shakes three times a day with meals to help with healing. Today I got COVID tested and all marked up with sharpie by Dr. Matatov. 😊

I will check into the hospital at 5:30am Tuesday and surgery is scheduled to begin at 7:30am. Dr. Matatov and his associate surgeon will be operating for 6-8 hours. They will remove my expander and port and then essentially transplant tissue and blood vessels from my abdomen to reconstruct my left breast. I am scheduled to stay in the hospital for 2-3 days where the flap will be monitored around the clock by a digital system (TSAT) that will notify the doctor if there are any problems with blood flow and circulation. Glen will be able to see me during visiting hours. My full recovery will be about 6-8 weeks but the first two weeks will be the hardest. For the first week after surgery I will have to give myself shots of Lovenox to prevent blot clots. No lifting of anything more than 10 lbs for six weeks but hopefully I will be able to drive after about three weeks when I will begin physical therapy appts twice a week. This procedure will be the first of a two part process. In about 6 months, after everything has settled and healed, I will have a second operation to adjust tissue and try and bring some symmetry between my breasts. This will be much less invasive and expected to be about a two-week recovery.

Emotionally, I feel nervous going into this surgery but Glen and I have both felt peace several times while making this decision. I am confident about Dr. Matatov and I am trying to focus on the fact that when I am all done my expander and port will be gone! I am so grateful for my sister and mom who will each come for a week to help during my recovery. Thank you for your continued prayers and support. Glen will post updates next week as he gets more information.

Love, 

Di