How?

I'm sure many of you are curious about what will happen during surgery.  How will the mastectomy be performed?  What is the reconstruction process?  What are the long-term consequences?

I'm going to be very blunt, so some of you might be a bit uncomfortable.  You don't have to read, but you will understand more if you do.  Besides, it really isn't that bad.

The basic gist is that I'm getting a bilateral mastectomy and a two-part reconstruction.  To remove the breast tissue, the surgeon will cut a one or two inch line on either side of the areola and cut around the areola as well.  The skin will be peeled back from those incisions and the surgeon will remove as much tissue as possible while saving the nipple.

After the first surgeon is finished, the plastic surgeon steps in for the reconstruction.  A set of expanders is placed behind the muscles of my chest.  They will also place a port on each side.  Then they sew me up and send me to recovery.  That isn't the end though.  The whole reconstruction process takes about six months.  When I have fully recovered from the initial surgery, I will go back to the plastic surgeon.  Over a series of three to five visits, he will use the ports to inject saline into the expanders.  This expands the muscles over a period of time so that they can handle the actual implants.  When the expanders are the size I want them, I will go in for another, smaller surgery.  The surgeon will remove the ports and replace the expanders with implants. 

So, by the end, hopefully I'll have beautiful new boobs and some cleavage.  Over time, I will have to undergo some additional surgeries to adjust or fix any problems that the implants might develop over the years.  Eventually, when I get older, I will probably get a transflap.  The surgeon will remove the implants and remove tissue from another part of my body (my stomach, butt, thighs, or some other fatty region).  The tissue will be reshaped into a new breast.  We'll see...