So How Do Your Boobs Look? | Breast Reconstruction Truths

**Author’s note… I wrote this while I was still in the middle of reconstruction, and I’ve kept it in the present tense on purpose. It’s exactly where I was at that moment, and I wanted it to stay honest instead of tidied up with hindsight.

🚨 ONE THING BEFORE YOU SCROLL: THIS PIECE INCLUDES REAL, UNRETOUCHED PHOTOS FROM THE DAYS RIGHT AFTER SURGERY. IF TODAY ISN’T THE DAY FOR THAT, BE GENTLE WITH YOURSELF AND COME BACK WHENEVER YOU’RE READY.

“So how do your boobs look?”

A few weeks after surgery, I had friends casually ask, “Okay, so how do your boobs look?”

Their tone always implied that, despite undergoing a double mastectomy and still recovering, I must at least be happy to have these “new and improved” boobs — and to finally be on the other side of it all.

What Most People Don’t Understand (And Why Would They?)

What most people don’t understand (and why would they?) is that at that moment, I still had tubes lining the entire shape of each breast inside my body — exiting through each side — attached to fluid collection bags that had to be drained multiple times a day. Think: colostomy bag for your chest. Super hot!

I had (and still have) hard, Tupperware-like expanders with metal ports sewn into the new empty space beneath my pectoral muscles. I was bruised, looked deformed, and had a swollen stomach. I watched carefully, hoping the area of necrosis (dying skin) on my incision would begin to heal.

To make matters worse, I developed an allergic reaction to the surgical glue. That triggered a rash under my incision that only intensified when the chemical used to remove the glue was applied. 😖

The Expander Phase of Breast Reconstruction

Every two weeks, I return to the plastic surgeon so they can “fill” the metal ports inside the expanders with saline, gradually stretching the skin to prepare for permanent implants. Because I’m smaller-framed, my surgeon placed the expanders beneath the pectoral muscle — my skin is too thin to support the implant without that additional muscle coverage. That approach also makes recovery harder.

During the mastectomy, multiple lymph nodes were removed near both armpits to assess for cancer spread. And yes… that means I couldn’t shave. 😳 Which, again, added to the discomfort and extended the healing time.

Why Breast Reconstruction Is Never Just One Surgery

Eventually, I’ll undergo another surgery to replace the expanders with silicone implants. After my body adjusts and the implants settle, I may need a third surgery — to fill any remaining spaces and address areas where the implant may ripple without normal fatty tissue for support.

Could I have summed this all up with, “It’s not a one-and-done”? Sure.

But then you wouldn’t have had the pleasure of learning about this wild and complex journey called breast reconstruction.

So, how do my boobs look?

Ask me again in a year. I’ll probably have a different answer.