Thursday 2 June 2016

Yes my boobs are fake, the real ones tried to kill me!


I’m now 8 days post ‘exchange’ surgery and (keeping fingers firmly crossed) finished with breast surgery for good!

When I opted to have my boobs removed, reconstruction was always part of the plan. In the six months between my mastectomy and this operation my muscle and skin has been stretched with under the muscle tissue expanders. This exchange surgery was the second part in the two-stage process of reconstruction; the hard abnormal looking expanders were swapped for nicer, softer and more natural looking gel implants.

I was only given two weeks’ notice of my surgery date so I apologise for not keeping my blog up to date! I suddenly found myself trying to arrange time off work and rushing to get everything straight before I had to go into hospital again.

This lack of notice also meant an appointment had to be rushed through to get me measured for my new implants. In this appointment I was used as a willing guinea-pig as my surgeon tried out a cool bit of kit for the first time. In this appointment I was scanned with a 3D imaging camera attached to an iPad which then built a 3D simulated model of me on the screen. I could then literally press up and down buttons to view what different size implants would look like on my frame. After having a giggle of what I’d look like with Jordon- esque knockers I decided to go for implants that would leave me with slightly larger breasts than I had originally.

One major difference between my reconstruction following a mastectomy and a cosmetic boob job is the fact that I don’t have any of my own tissue to support breast implants; meaning the implants go under the muscle to keep them more stable. This also means that if I opted for large implants, without any natural tissue to disguise them, my boobs would look incredibly fake.

For me, my mastectomy was always about reducing my deadly high risk of breast cancer and never about the look of my breasts. I opted for reconstruction because it is inhuman to expect any women to live without breasts and at only 28 I want to be able to move on with my life and feel body confident again.

For these reasons I chose 400cc tear drop shape gel implant. My expanders were filled to 250cc but were a very unnatural shape so although they are now larger in capacity they look a lot more natural. I’ve actually been left with incredibly natural looking breasts for someone with no breast tissue.

On the day of surgery all of the usual nerves kicked in; I again felt the urge to run away as I walked into theatre and climbed onto the table to be anaesthetised. However the surgery was straightforward and after a few hours of recovery I was allowed to go home.

I was in pain for a couple of days but since then the pain has been minimal. I would suggest wearing a really supportive post-surgery or compression bra both in the day and at night to help with pain and swelling. I am suffering with post surgery fatigue again and sleeping a lot but this is normal and all part of the healing process.

**Warning** Full frontal breast nudity!

I wasn’t going to add the following picture as it is basically just pictures of my breasts which is a little embarrassing for me knowing my Dad, my boyfriend’s friends and my work colleagues read my blog. BUT I feel it necessary to share this image as I have had so many messages from women world-wide that have taken comfort in the honesty of my blog and I know that seeing images of post-mastectomy breasts really helped prepare me for my own surgery.



This collage shows my breasts before any surgery, after my mastectomy, with my expanders fully expanded and then at present. The fact that these results have been achieved whilst massively reducing my risk is incredible – my surgeon is a genius!

Although I looked absolutely fine with clothes on the third picture shows the extent of what expanders actually look like: they were so far apart that they hardly fit in the photo together!

I cannot explain how grateful I am to my surgeon for helping me though every step of the process, making me laugh at every appointment, being involved in publicity with me and for not only reducing my risk but giving me a great aesthetic result too. The breast care nurses have also been incredible and I’m very grateful to the lovely anaesthetist who made me feel calm at the scariest point.

Yes my boobs are numb and I’ll never be able to breast feed and maybe they do look fake but I really couldn’t care less; I’ve reduced my risk from 87% to around 3% and it is the best decision that I have ever made.

This time around I have found myself justifying or explaining my surgery a lot and I really think that is a shame. The comment “so you’re just having a boob job” has been said to me way too often and it’s disappointing that there is still so much ignorance surrounding this issue. I had my breasts removed to potentially save my life and reconstruction so that I can look as near to normal as possibly – very different to a cosmetic boob job. Please help by sharing my blog and spreading some knowledge around.

Thank you for your support

K x



I can finally feel happy in a bikini.

5 comments:

  1. I think your a true inspiration to many women katie and should feel incredibly proud of yourself for being brave enough not only for the decisions you have faced but that you have openly shared your experience to help others xx
    P's lovely boobs by the way ��
    Love mel xx

    ReplyDelete
  2. I think your a true inspiration to many women katie and should feel incredibly proud of yourself for being brave enough not only for the decisions you have faced but that you have openly shared your experience to help others xx
    P's lovely boobs by the way ��
    Love mel xx

    ReplyDelete
  3. Always read your blog Katie and really glad you're doing well. You look great! :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Katie, I heard your story through one of your lovely friends who I work with and I think you are just a strong, amazing and beautiful person; inside and out! Not only have you made a very brave decision personally, but you have made the brave choice to share your experience to raise awareness and support for others facing a similar journey. A true inspiration and role model. I wish you every happiness in the future Katie. Xx

    ReplyDelete
  5. Katie, I heard your story through one of your lovely friends who I work with and I think you are just a strong, amazing and beautiful person; inside and out! Not only have you made a very brave decision personally, but you have made the brave choice to share your experience to raise awareness and support for others facing a similar journey. A true inspiration and role model. I wish you every happiness in the future Katie. Xx

    ReplyDelete