Did I make the right decision?

September 26, 2009

My name is Marie and I am 27 yrs old. I have tuberous breasts which are

considered a congential (birth) deformity. Basically it means I have constricted

breasts shaped like tubes, and herniated nipples (aka puffy nipples). Anyway, I

went through months and months of research on my condition. I found that it is

possible to get insurance coverage for a BA for tuberous breasts. I went to

several doctors, found some creepy and some good. My insurance approved it and

was going to pay for me to get a BA. I had the surgery scheduled twice with 2

different doctors and cancelled each time. I wanted to fix my horrible looking

and not to mention small breasts, but I was hesitant about the surgery.

Partially because every surgeon I met with had a different approach of

correcting my condition... who was right? So I kept doing research, I found a

lot of stories of women who were happy with their implants but there were also

women who became sick from their implants (saline and silicone). And then I

found the website of a ps who specializes in breast reconstruction using

perforated flaps, which is typically done for breast cancer patients after

masectomy. But this ps had also started performing it on women with tuberous

breasts. I booked a consult and he was wonderful. I felt more confortable with

him then any other surgeon I had met with. He felt I was a good candidate for

reconstruction using a DIEP flap (moving my tummy fat to my breasts, which is

NOT like fat transfer using lipo). I liked the idea of using my own fat and not

having to put a foreign object in my body. I wasn't entirely sure how safe

implants were. Plus even my ps said that he uses implants as a last resort and

said that they carry a large risk of having additional surgeries. He said

because I am so young, I could probably have a dozen surgeries in my lifetime

for implants. So I told him I wanted to do the reconstruction. And he took care

of everything with my insurance, and it was approved. This surgery is about

10-20 times more expensive then a regular BA. So I was lucky!! So I did the

surgery and am now one week post op. My breasts look good, plus my tummy is

flatter too. The only down side is that my breasts are only about B-C cup, still

too soon to tell but I'm pretty sure I am just a full B. Also, the recovery time

is much longer. I have a baby and a toddler and I cannot carry them for about 6

weeks and it is killing me. I feel like I should have just gotten the BA because

I could have been a D cup and would have been able to carry my kids after 2

weeks. I also will have to have an additional surgery in 2-3 months to remove

some skin. It is a minor in office procedure, but I am concerned about having to

have another surgery that will keep me from holding my babies. Did I do the

right thing?

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