I ended up choosing a lumpectomy, but was also offered mastectomy. Had I chosen mastectomy in 2017, I would have had the implants.
Although initially tempted by an insurance-covered tummy tuck, there was much that could go wrong with the DIEP flap. In 2017, it was one day in the ICU to monitor the arterial flow and make sure there was no obstruction. Another issue in 2017 was the radiologists were not as experienced reading mammograms on a breast with DIEP flap reconstruction. This is likely different in 2024, but in 2017 I opted not to deal with either of these.
