I hope this isn't too graphic for some, but so many people have asked me details about just what happens during a mastectomy, and therefore I thought I'd share some information on the subject. Prior to my diagnosis, I assumed that when a woman had a mastectomy the surgeon would just remove the breast and somehow a "replacement" breast would be sewed onto the location where the original breast existed.
Not so . . . it just goes to show you how naive I was!
The good news is that plastic surgeons now perform what is referred to as a "Skin Saving Mastectomy." In simple terms, the nipple is removed, the tissue inside the breast where the cancer exists is removed, and either an implant (or in my case tissue from my stomach) is inserted into the cavity, and a flap of skin is temporarily placed where the nipple used to be.
I know, it sounds weird and believe me it LOOKS weird. However, after several months when everything is healed up the surgeon actually tattoos the skin flap and from what I've seen in the before & after photos, the end result is visually identical to a normal nipple. There's minimal scarring, and women I've spoken to who have gone through this tell me that in a six months to a year, the scars fade to the point where they are almost unnoticeable.
So there you have it. Again, I know this may be too much information for some, but it seems many people are interested in what the process entails. And had I known this level of detail when I received my diagnosis, it certainly would have spared me some mental agony wondering what I was going to be facing from a surgical perspective.
The bottom line is that my plastic surgeon is a total perfectionist, and I have total confidence in his ability so I'm leaving it up to him!
Who would have thought that someday I would have a tattoo????
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