The "girls"

WARNING: The following information may not be suitable for sissy men. Wifely supervision recommended.

It's been over a month now since my implant surgery. I've been back twice for my post-op visits to my surgeon and both of us are quite pleased with how my new girl looks. She's not the same as the other girl, but I knew that going in. My older girl is aging with me and will continue to, whereas my new girl will be forever perky! I've been asked which one I prefer, and to be honest with you, I like the older girl the best as she's the most natural looking and feeling of the two. And she ought to be, as the surgery for her was no picnic and was a real test of my physical and mental abilities.

The first girl's surgery is called a TRAM (Transverse Rectus Abdominus Myocutaneous) flap. It was done immediately following my mastectomy and consisted of taking the fat and tissue of my belly and tunneling it under my skin up to where my breast would be, all the while being connected to one of my stomach muscles which would provide the blood flow to the new breast. As a result of the stomach muscle being stretched so taut, I walked around like Groucho Marx for the first two weeks, until the muscle stretched enough to allow me to stand upright again. As a result, that muscle is weak and I can no longer do sit ups. Darn! It also was like having a tummy tuck. Goodie!

The surgery for an implant is done in two stages. In the first stage, which was also done immediately after my mastectomy, an expander shaped like a banana was placed under my skin where my breast would be and filled with saline. Every two weeks I went back to the surgeon to have more saline put in it through a port, which causes the expander to enlarge and thus stretch the skin to the size needed for the implant to slip into. In my case, though, my surgeon liked the shape and size I was immediately after the surgery, so he did not fill it with any more saline. I was ready for stage two right away, but because of my chemo, I had to wait until 6 weeks after my last infusion before it was safe for me to have surgery. The surgery consisted of re-opening my incision and taking out the expander, slipping in the deflated implant and then filling it with saline until it was the correct size and a tight fit.

Recovery for the TRAM flap surgery was a long, hard 6-8 weeks. Recovery for the implant surgery was about 1 1/2 weeks, and was a piece of cake. Which surgery would I recommend? I think I'd say the TRAM flap. It was a very tough road, and I questioned myself numerous times as to why I did this to myself, but the end result is so much more natural than the implant and won't require future surgeries as the implant will. Implants usually last only ten or so years and then need to be replaced, as they can develop leaks over time.

I told my surgeon and nurses that I would be glad to talk to patients who might be having a hard time deciding about which type of surgery to have. I want to share my experiences if they can help others. And I also told them that I could be a "two for one" show...if someone wants to see the results of both surgeries, all they have to do is compare my girls!

You lose all modesty when you lose your breasts.