All in a year

I think I've mentioned before that my long term reconstruction plan is to have a DIEP flap procedure.  This is major microsurgery that takes tissue from my abdomen to create a new breast.  At the same time they will lift the other side so that shape and size all matches.  It doesn't make sense to do any of this until after I have finished having babies.  Aside from stretching out my stomach again (hey, if I have to have surgery, at least I can get a bonus benefit from it right?), my unaffected breast will surely change shape, and more importantly we don't know how a pregnancy would affect the abdominal tissue that is moved.  So the question remained- what do I do until then?  I currently have a tissue expander in.  This is essentially an implant that has a port so that it can be put in empty or partially filled, and expanded over time without surgery.  Aside from the hard rubber port that I can feel, the expander itself is really hard and pretty uncomfortable.  Worse than that, I can't have an MRI which is one of the primary diagnostic tools that I am supposed to use for follow up in the next few years.

After my mastectomy my plastic surgeon mentioned the possibility of replacing the expander with a regular implant.  My fear was that then my insurance could deny paying for the DIEP flap procedure.  He told me that if I am unhappy with the results (which we can pretty much expect I will be) that I say so, and they are legally obligated to cover the reconstruction.  With this information I made the decision to do just that.  I expected to meet with my doctor yesterday and plan a date for this surgery sometime in February.  He indicated that I would need some time to heal after radiation before we could consider surgery and due to some other things in my life, February was the next possible option.

Yesterday I did in fact meet with my plastic surgeon.  We discussed the exchange surgery and my options (silicone vs saline, etc).  It is an outpatient procedure that can be completed in the surgery center.  I don't have to even go to the hospital, let alone stay in it!  Plus the recovery should be pretty manageable.  Everything had been reviewed and the last step was scheduling.  Much to my surprise, my doctor said we could do it before the end of the year!

Yes, I know that I am crazy.  This is the worst possible time of year to plan on putting myself out of commission, but the idea of having all of the major medical stuff behind me within the confines of one calendar year is just too alluring.  So we scheduled surgery tentatively for December 28th!  I have to get medical clearance (just saying I am strong enough to handle general anesthesia) and my insurance has to go through in time, but I don't anticipate any issues with either of these things.

Assuming all goes to plan, I will be done with everything before the end of 2011.  I will be happier than you can possibly imagine to ring in 2012.  I have great hopes for this next year!