Getting a 2nd Opinion

Dave and I met with Dr. Chen today for a second opinion. Dr. Chen is a plastic surgeon who specializes in micro surgery doing fat and tissue grafting. My main goal in meeting with her was to find out if there were other options besides the one presented to me by Dr. Agarwal. Dr. Agarwal told me that I was not a candidate for the S-flap (fat and tissue from your bum) or DIEP flap (fat and tissue from your stomach) because I don't have enough 'fat'. Dr. Chen is famous for being able to do these surgeries! And her failure rate is 2%! That's amazing! I like those odds!
In the beginning of our discussion she said she may just be confirming that the surgery I have planned with Agarwal is good enough and perhaps the right choice for me. She spoke very highly of Dr. Agarwal and reenforced that I am in good hands. She felt like because of my body size implants would give me an optimal shape and look. And where I haven't had major discomfort from my tissue expanders I may not be too bothered by the implant. We talked about the latissimus dorsi flap surgery that is planned for my cancer/radiated side. She said if she was doing my surgery she would NOT do that procedure. She doesn't feel it is necessary because my skin isn't very damaged and I still have plenty of elasticity. In her opinion doing that procedure is leaving me with fewer option if it were to fail. This type of surgery should be done as a backup if the 1st surgery fails or if the skin is too thin and damaged. So what other options did she give me? And are they real possibilities for me? She does a couple of procedure that are excellent choices because the end result is closer to a natural breast, and the failure rate is significantly less! She says I AM a candidate for the S-flap, and if I go with this procedure I won't have to have more surgeries down the road, like I would an implant. Implants have a shelf life, no pun intended. With implants I can expect to have them exchanged 1-2 more time in my lifetime. The S-flap takes tissue and fat from my bum and transplants it into my breast pocket. The blood supply is reattached through micro surgery to make certain the tissue remains alive and with good blood supply. This surgery is 7 hours long! And they only do one breast at a time, with a 3 month waiting period in between surgeries. Following surgery I would be in the hospital 3 days to be watched and monitored to be sure the blood circulation is ok in the fat graft. I will have a drain in my breast and one in the flap area where the fat was taken from my bum. Oh joy! I won't be able to sit on the bum cheek that has the incision for a couple weeks, so I'll have to learn how to sit, how to get up from a sitting position and I'll have drains to take care of. So, no driving and no heavy lifting for a while. She thinks healing time is about 3-4 weeks. In surgery she will fix the cosmetic issue I have on my cancer breast, however she doesn't feel it can be corrected in surgery alone. She feels I'll need to have fat grafting done (later down the road) to fix, or as she said it, soften the issue. There is also the possibility of doing the DIEP flap procedure, but there is only enough extra fat and tissue in my stomach to do one breast. So, if I chose this option she recommends doing this for the cancer/radiated breast and then do an implant on the non-cancer side. BUT, if I go with that option they still only do ONE side at a time, and she would do the cancer/radiated side first. This surgery requires micro surgery again to reconnect blood vessels to keep the tissue alive and is again a 7 hour surgery, and a longer hospital stay.
I mentioned my desire to have an easier time recovering from anesthesia, but she said there really isn't a way to know how to make that happen. They will make sure to have good anti-nausea meds available to me though.
The pro's and con's?
:
*By choosing a surgery that uses my own tissue to make breast I won't have to have more surgery later for an exchange.
*The look and feel is more like a natural breast. I still have the option to go a little smaller or a little bigger, it's up to me.
*If my weight fluctuates, my breasts can too because the tissue has been grafted in and is a part of me and not some foreign object.
*The doctor says her failure rate is 2%, which is incredible considering the radiated side has an increase chance of failure because of damage done because of radiation.
*Longer surgery
*Longer stay in the hospital
*Having drain in the buttocks area and the breast
*harder, longer recovery

I really went into this appointment thinking she was going to confirm my decision to stick with Dr. Agarwal. She even said herself that he is an AMAZING doctor and I'm already in good hands. Dave and I both left feeling a little uncertain about what to do. We see one option being a quicker way to being done, and the other as a longer way to sculpt my body. Part of me just wants to be done with this!, and therefore wants to move forward with the surgery plan already in motion. But there is also the side of me that says that going the longer, harder road would be best in the bigger picture. Now the hard part comes, I need to pick a surgery. Having options is better than not having options I guess. I'm glad I got a 2nd opinion so that I can never second guess myself that I should have. I'm looking forward to my quiet times where I can contemplate my choices and be open to the spirit to help guide my decision. I know that I'll be praying with a greater purpose of finding an answer to this big decision.
This coming Sunday is fast Sunday for us, and I invite any of you who would like to fast with us in my behalf to do so. If you are not a religious person, I would ask you to send positive thoughts my way! Over the past year I have have been humbled and touched by your love and prayers and I know it can happen for this situation as well! I know Heavenly Father hears and answers prayers. I know He loves me and I know he knows how hard this experience has been for me. He is still by my side and through my faith and prayers he will help me know what to do.

And, last but not least, 13 days until my final chemo! I'm already trying to figure out what I'm going to wear to my final treatment. Last night I dreamt about this day and what it as going to sound like to ring the bell. It was a pretty amazing dream, and before I know it, it's going to be my reality!

I love you all!