Looking Back: My Mastectomy/Tissue Expander Surgery Must-Haves
I did a lot of research before my mastectomy into what I might need. I found blog posts from other women to be the most helpful sources of information, so I’m trying to pay it forward. I ordered a lot of things because having them made me feel more secure. Some of the things I needed, and some I didn’t.
The material is super soft and the shorts are just the right length. I just ordered a few more sets because I love them that much. The material is soft enough that I wear these without a bra, and started doing so shortly after my surgery.
I got some other sets, including all cotton ones, and I found these the best. After my axillary node dissection, the sensation in the back of arm has been strange. It’s oddly sensitive to certain types of touch and numb to others. I found the material of these pajamas to be super comfortable for that sensitive area too.
Sleeping Wedge:
After mastectomy surgery, tissue expander surgery (implant or ex-plant), and final exchange surgery, you have to sleep on your back. I bought this Memory Foam Wedge. At this point I no longer have to sleep on my back, but I will for my future surgeries. In the meantime, I’ve gotten really good use out of the wedge because it’s great back support for sitting up and reading or watching TV in bed.
The wedge pushed me forward in bed so I found it useful to get a rolling cart to use as my nightstand to hold my water, medications and chargers. This way, I could easily reach them, and could adjust their location to fit mine. We tried moving my entire nightstand forward, but I found it much more helpful to have the rolling cart.
Bolster Pillows
The ones I bought on Amazon are no longer available, but there are plenty of bolster pillows to choose from. They were helpful for propping up my neck or my arms following surgery.
Front closure bras:
I tend to just go bra-less, but I’ve now started to wear some front closure bras so that I can put my breast puff into the right side where my tissue expander was removed. I generally found bras uncomfortable when I still had my drains in. In retrospect, I think part of my discomfort was due to the infection in my right expander.
I got this Fruit of the Loom front closure bralette. It’s comfortable and while the strap length isn’t adjustable, you can adjust how tight it is with the front hook and eye closure. For the price, it can’t be beat. It’s not great for holding a breast insert because there’s no pocket to keep it from moving or showing.
I also shelled out for this Anaona Pocketed front closure bra. I didn’t like it much post-mastectomy while I still had drains in, but I’ve started wearing it more now that I’m 6 weeks out. It’s soft and stretchy and can accommodate your tissue expanders as you’re expanded. The straps are also adjustable. Because it has a pocket in each cup, you can put a breast form into the cups.
I find putting on tight tops with built-in bras, including work-out tops, to be pretty hard. My range of motion is pretty good, but I’ve definitely gotten stuck in one of these tops (either trying to put it on or remove it). I just can’t smoothly pull the two layers down, and inevitably, the top gets stuck pressing down across my chest, which is not comfortable. As time goes on, I’ll be on the hunt for more front closure sports bras.
Here are the things I found most useful:
Drain holders:
This Drain holder belt was the BEST purchase I made for my mastectomy related surgeries.
Even my nurses and doctors asked me where I got it.
My surgical bra had hooks to hold my drains, but I loved this because the drains weren’t just sitting against my skin. The hospital gave me something I could use to hold my drains in the shower, but I’d recommend getting two of these so you always have one to wear and one to shower with. They comfortably hold 2 drains in each pouch.
Button down pajamas:
The material is super soft and the shorts are just the right length. I just ordered a few more sets because I love them that much. The material is soft enough that I wear these without a bra, and started doing so shortly after my surgery.
I got some other sets, including all cotton ones, and I found these the best. After my axillary node dissection, the sensation in the back of arm has been strange. It’s oddly sensitive to certain types of touch and numb to others. I found the material of these pajamas to be super comfortable for that sensitive area too.
Sleeping Wedge:
After mastectomy surgery, tissue expander surgery (implant or ex-plant), and final exchange surgery, you have to sleep on your back. I bought this Memory Foam Wedge. At this point I no longer have to sleep on my back, but I will for my future surgeries. In the meantime, I’ve gotten really good use out of the wedge because it’s great back support for sitting up and reading or watching TV in bed.
The wedge pushed me forward in bed so I found it useful to get a rolling cart to use as my nightstand to hold my water, medications and chargers. This way, I could easily reach them, and could adjust their location to fit mine. We tried moving my entire nightstand forward, but I found it much more helpful to have the rolling cart.
Bolster Pillows
The ones I bought on Amazon are no longer available, but there are plenty of bolster pillows to choose from. They were helpful for propping up my neck or my arms following surgery.
Front closure bras:
I tend to just go bra-less, but I’ve now started to wear some front closure bras so that I can put my breast puff into the right side where my tissue expander was removed. I generally found bras uncomfortable when I still had my drains in. In retrospect, I think part of my discomfort was due to the infection in my right expander.
I got this Fruit of the Loom front closure bralette. It’s comfortable and while the strap length isn’t adjustable, you can adjust how tight it is with the front hook and eye closure. For the price, it can’t be beat. It’s not great for holding a breast insert because there’s no pocket to keep it from moving or showing.
I also shelled out for this Anaona Pocketed front closure bra. I didn’t like it much post-mastectomy while I still had drains in, but I’ve started wearing it more now that I’m 6 weeks out. It’s soft and stretchy and can accommodate your tissue expanders as you’re expanded. The straps are also adjustable. Because it has a pocket in each cup, you can put a breast form into the cups.
I find putting on tight tops with built-in bras, including work-out tops, to be pretty hard. My range of motion is pretty good, but I’ve definitely gotten stuck in one of these tops (either trying to put it on or remove it). I just can’t smoothly pull the two layers down, and inevitably, the top gets stuck pressing down across my chest, which is not comfortable. As time goes on, I’ll be on the hunt for more front closure sports bras.
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