Reconstruction Options

Hi everyone!

I met with my plastic surgeon on Monday, and from what she told me, tissue expanders are not necessary all the time. She said that many plastic surgeons make a good amount of money from them, so they use them as standard care for delayed reconstruction. She also said they can be painful and have a high risk of infection.

For reference, I am not planning on getting my new boobs any bigger than the ones I have now. I am also getting them lifted, so I'm pretty sure I have more than enough skin and won't need any additional skin stretched out or anything like that.

I have TNBC and completed the Keynote 522 treatment. My tumor has shrunk significantly, so now they are not sure if I will need radiation or not. That will be determined based on the pathology report.

Since I just finished chemo (I completed neoadjuvant chemo on 6/4) and my double mastectomy is scheduled for 7/1, she doesn't want me taking any extra risks for infection.

Has anyone else had delayed reconstruction without tissue expanders? It would leave my skin loose on my chest until I get the reconstruction done. She showed me images of what my chest will look like while I wait for reconstruction, and it looks like two turkey necks will be hanging off of me. I feel like I'm going to look horrible for months.

I feel so vain saying that, but damn, this is so mentally exhausting, and I just don't want to hate my body anymore...