I had one a few years ago and I’m really happy with the results. Mastectomy on my left breast and DIEP at the same time. No fat transfer. Having my tummy fat replacing my breast tissue feels very warm, soft and natural to me, and my reconstructed breast matches my remaining breast in shape, size, drop (it’s kind of like a teardrop) and feel very well.
Immediately post op, it was a bit brutal. The surgery took several hours and consequently it also took me a long time to fully recover from the anaesthesia. I hobbled around nearly bent double the first two or three days from the wide incision taking out a large part of my belly. I had drains and was also festooned with fetching drain bags as I walked around the hospital. I was happy to get rid of my pooch though!
The pain was manageable as they have pain meds all covered at the hospital and for when I went home. I was in a private room (NHS) that was kept very hot mainly to keep my breast warm. I was told the little blood vessels supplying the newly transplanted tissue shouldn’t constrict too much otherwise they could die off. Really needed to keep hydrated.
I had the op on 7 December, was discharged 19 December and well enough to spend the whole day (with a little ibuprofen) at Warner Brothers Harry Potter Studios on 23 December. I think I would have been discharged earlier but my blood pressure kept crashing initially with the intravenous opioids I was given at first.
I had to wear very tight sports bras for a long time afterwards to keep the swelling down. I suppose it’s like facelifts (never had one), you need to wait a while for the swelling to go down and tissues to knit and settle before being able to see how everything finally looks. I got rid of all my underwire bras and what is most comfortable for me now are the Uniqlo built in bra tank tops.
The abdominal scar is wide (hip to hip and a little beyond) but low. I have a new surgically created belly button and it’s pretty indistinguishable from a natural belly button, though of course I know it’s not like my original one. I didn’t have nipple reconstruction as I didn’t relish getting an incision in my groin and going through tattooing, felt like a faff. Anyway I think my smooth featureless left breast looks better (especially when going without a bra or in swimwear) than my natural right breast with its normal nipple.
After the first op I had little triangular fat bumps at each end of the abdominal scar, and some of the tissue on one side of my breast wasn’t so flat, so had revision surgery 2 years later and now it’s all good. The surgeon wanted to wait a while for the fat and tissue to settle and before offering revision surgery hence the 2 year interval between ops. The fat bulges were pretty subtle so it wasn’t horrendous during that interval.
I used silicone scar tape and Bio Oil to flatten the scar tissue on my tummy and breast, as when I scar it often ends up thick and bumpy.
Good luck with the surgery. It’s a lot to go through but ultimately I think definitely worth it and I would do it all again the same way if asked.