Gloria's Story

Date: Wed, 10 Oct 2001 11:04:43 EDT

In Dec'94 after hearing of problems women were having with implants, being sick for a year & losing use of my left arm, I went to a University Hospital to have a zeromammogram. My zeromammogram showed that I had an extracapsular rupture on the left. The PS told me that I would be left with a concave chest if I did not replace them with more implants or I could have natural tissue reconstruction. That perked me right up! He told me that it was a long operation, but he had done many procedures and all of the women were extremely pleased. He told me that I would not be able to do sit ups, but other than that I could do anything I wanted, including going back to my job as a mail carrier after about 6 weeks. I said I would think about it. I, then, went to another facility and had an MRI which showed extracapsular rupture on the left and severe gel bleed on the right along with high signals in my lymph nodes. I asked the PS for references. He gave me the name of a lady, Linda Halford in my area, who he had done the tramflap procedure on only 4 weeks before. I went to see her, and she could not say enough good things about this PS, though she was still in major pain and had severely burned her abdomen from falling asleep with a heating pad on it. It was numb so she did not feel it. Her results looked great to me and I called and scheduled the surgery for March '94. I do not remember coming out of the surgery which was on a Friday. It lasted 13 hours. I went into pulmonary edema and had to be placed on life support on Sunday, which I remained on for 6 days. Then I went through 6 days of psychosis.....they thought I had lost too much oxygen to my brain and would not recover, but I did. It was awful. I had stored 2 units of my blood in case they needed it during surgery & they did, plus 4 more during the period I was on life support. After about 4 weeks, I was still having trouble walking and had a large bulge on my right side below the incision which is from hip to hip. I had a hernia repair in July of '94, and the PS put in mesh for extra support. I was herniated again within 6 weeks & was left without a PS because he had bought a private practice in Hawaii.

I went to see 4 PS's for opinions, and finally went to the doctor who pioneered the surgery in Atlanta. He said I was massively herniated on both sides and scheduled me for a total repair in Jan '95. This surgery had to be postponed because I had to have emergency surgery for a vascular problem. I underwent this hernia repair in Atlanta in Sept '95. The mesh had adhered to my intestines and the PS removed it, and sewed me up without adding more mesh. After surgery, I developed pneumonia and an ileus (intestines became paralyzed). I remember laying flat on my back and throwing up bile and my upper abdomen was so swollen I could see it even with me laying flat. That required tubes to suction everything out, etc., & I had to stay in the hospital for 2 weeks. Thinking I was FIXED, I had a positive attitude and was going through the healing process again, when one day I looked down and couldn't believe what I was seeing. The same place was bulging again. I went back to the PS and he repaired it in Jan '96 along with removing a lump that had come up in my left breast. I had continuous pain after that for a long time. I received injections (nerve blocks) which did not help, and wore a binder for extra support. I was having a terrible time with female problems which made matters worse. In Jan '97, I was scheduled for a total hysterectomy, and I was referred to a reconstructive gynecologist, because I was herniated again! This surgeon did my hysterectomy and afterwards sewed in dura matter (lining of the brain from a donor bank) for reinforcement. It is not supposed to act as a foreign object. I went into pulmonary edema again requiring life support. I was released after 7 days only to go home in acute pain and developed a high fever. I went to the ER the next day and was admitted immediately. I had an anaerobic bacterial infection in my lower abdomen beneath the incision. They thought they were going to have to cut me back open and let me heal from the inside out. Thank heavens the massive doses of antibiotics worked and I was released again after 7 more days. That was the last major surgery I had. I had 4 lumps removed from my breast in April '99 which I found out were a result of my remaining breast implant capsules. My original surgery report states that the capsules were removed, but they show up real good on the mammograms.

It has been a total nightmare for me. It has been no different for the lady I saw at the beginning. We became friends and keep in touch. She has had two repairs and is in constant pain, and is on disability as a result of the Tramflap. I am not in constant pain in my abdomen (only occasionally). I am numb from just beneath my breasts to my pubic bone. I have chronic back pain, because I no longer have a stomach muscle to support my back. I have to wear a support binder at all times and have been instructed to never pick up more than 5 lb. This is all in addition to the usual problems associated with silicone (I have MANY). Though I do not have grandchildren yet, it really saddens me to know that I can never hold one unless it is very small and I am sitting down.

I hope that anyone considering this surgery will gather as much information on it as possible. Plastic surgeons do not give you phone numbers to call of unhappy patients, and they don't tell you all that can go wrong. This is only one person's story (MINE), and I have to live with my decision. I feel like I was sold on it much like I was on the breast implants. I am sure there are many happy patients, but I have called many women who have had the tramflap, and all I have contacted have had to have at least one hernia repair. I do not know how most of them have fared long term. I hope that no one has to go through this horrific experience as I have. I would trade my breasts any day just to have my abdomen back. By the way, my abdomin was larger after surgery than I was before. I do not think I was a candidate, because I was 5'5" and weighed 140 lb. I did not have enough muscle to use for reconstruction so my incision did not hold together. I can't afford to gain weight and put more pressure on my incisions. I am considered high risk for any type of surgery, and I know that my problems are far from being over. I have been cut open hip to hip a total of 5 times so far!

This is just a summary, but please be as well informed as you can. This is your life you are dealing with!

UPDATE: Oct. 2000 - Mammogram shows two new cysts growing and enlarged lymph nodes in my left breast. Calcificiation has gotten worse where my capsules were left in. Abdominal wall still holding together at this time.

Oct. 2000 - I have been in physical therapy off and on this year for acute upper back pain. I have herniated discs in my thoracic spine that occured from my body putting too much strain on my spinal cord trying to compensate for the loss of my abdominal muscle used for reconstruction.

Gloria