David Habin Song

I had implants after double mastectomy (May 2020). I wanted more natural option and so decided to DIEP flap surgery. The recovery from this surgery has been much harder than I anticipated. I recovered in about two weeks from the out-patient mastectomy/implant surgery (even though it took place shortly after I’d finished chemo). For DIEP flap, the hospital stay was grueling (they need to check you every hour for the first 48 hours, which means sleeping impossible).

I am now almost five weeks out from surgery, and still have an abdominal drain. I left the hospital with quite severe post-surgery anemia. I wasn’t really prepared for this experience, and wish I’d known that this was a possibility. I’m sure many patients can lose the drain more quickly and do not experience anemia. But I did, and it is not easy.

That said, I am still glad I went through with the surgery. My breasts feel natural — with the implants they felt unnatural and weird (to me). I’ll just be glad when I feel more energetic and can get back to normal activities. My advice to other patients is to understand that you can go into this surgery feeling super healthy and strong, and it can still knock you flat on your back. Before surgery, I was taking 40 mile bike rides, and doing advanced Pilates. Five weeks post-surgery, I’ve been resting and (at most) taking short walks.