Not happy with the result of the reconstruction

Dr. Studinger was my PS for immediate breast reconstruction after nipple sparing mastectomy. Going this route was supposed to be a benefit to me since the main part is done with this step with a potential for just a revision later.

I tried to tell her many times before my surgery what I hoped to get out of the reconstruction and tried to explain to her that my goal is to eventually go up a minimum of one bra size after the reconstruction. She kept brushing me off and saying that it’s too early for this anyway. She never bothered to spend a few extra min to allow me to give input on how I wanted my breast to look!!

I was not happy with the result of the reconstruction, and her rushed follow ups after that first surgery only confirmed my concerns about her standard way of practice — doing what she thinks “fits” rather than consulting with the patient on a very very personal and subjective matter.

I switched to another PS and he advised that I should go back a step and get an expander placed so that he can achieve the results I want. This meant one extra surgery that I had to go through that I wouldn’t have needed if she put the expander right when the mastectomy was done so that my skin can gradually be stretched to fit the final implant size I wanted. Those surgeries are big , invasive and take weeks to recover from. Her lack of communication skills and lack of desire to spend time getting to know the patient’s goal is the reason I had to go through all that.

Do yourself a favor and find someone else. So happy with my new PS and with the final outcome.