Post-mastectomy complications are far too common: nearly one out of every three patients will have a complication within two years, one in five will require additional surgery, and one in twenty will have reconstruction that completely fails.When Leah Wyrick saw her mom deal with complications after breast cancer surgery, it inspired her to try to fix one of the major problems with it: inadequate recovery bras.Nancy Wyrick was diagnosed with stage 0 breast cancer in August of 2016. Leah was only 15 at the time. Nancy had a mastectomy as well as reconstruction, and Leah saw firsthand the complications that arose after reconstruction.“It’s just amazing to see how many women develop these post-operative complications, that shouldn’t be developed,” Leah said.
Photo: Vimeo/Leah Wyrick
In the midst of her mother’s cancer battle, Leah had to decide on her senior project. Wanting to help her mom and other women like her, she looked deeper into the recovery process after mastectomies.She spoke with her mom’s plastic surgeon, Dr. Samuel Roy, and learned that the bras provided to women post-mastectomy are a bit of a nightmare.
Photo: YouTube/WCNCThey don’t fit well, can cause injury, and don’t have a place to store the drains that are in place after surgery.“The bras I get at my hospital, I have to take a pair of scissors and cut them, because they’re cutting into the patients, and causing wounds,” Dr. Roy said. “Sometimes we’ll use safety pins to actually pin the drain bulb on the bra.”Proper BCS greatergood_ctg_abovevideoSource
