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Is symmetry possible with SMX + perky remaining breast?
Hi! I have searched the forum, but couldn't find any posts that were exactly my question. I have been dx with DCIS. As a fun bonus, I probably have body dysmorphia and I am really worried that if I end up at all 'disfigured' in my appearance, I will become significantly depressed. So, my main concern with this diagnosis is…
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Frustrated with non-answers.
I had a lump ectomy and radiation 10 years ago so the doctors tell me I can’t have it again. I must have a mastectomy. And I do want reconstruction but I really don’t want to have silicone or saline. Challenge is I keep getting a runaround from the doctors about how awful it is and all the complications and everything and…
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DIEP and seroma
I had my DIEP four weeks ago and noticed last night when I pressed on the left side of my abdomen incision I got the rolling waves hallmark of a seroma. Contacted my BS today and they confirmed that's probably what it was and told me I could come to the office and attempt to drain it. I have my next appointment 02/28/23…
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Silicone Implants: sub-pec vs pre-pec
Hi everyone, I need to replace my old silicone implants that were placed under the muscle. I have a dilemma that i hope you might help me with. I have heart issues and am required to do Echo at least twice a year. The sonographer has an extremely hard time navigating around my under the muscle implant and taking good…
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Picture Forum?
I have been reading through the old "Exchange City" thread and there is a picture forum of members who have gone through reconstruction. Is that still available somewhere? It would be so helpful to be able to see real women who have gone through the reconstruction process rather than having to weed through all the…
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New York or New Jersey Plastic Surgeons proficient at stacked Diep
Looking for recommendations for plastic surgeons who do stacked Diep for thin women who don’t have enough belly fat for reconstruction and need additional sites to form a breast. New York and New Jersey please. Thank you!
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Insurance and MRIs on Silicone Implants
I see that the FDA recommends MRIs on Silicone implants to monitor for leaks. My PS recommends that also. Has anyone had any trouble getting insurance to pay for this? Thank you
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Radiated Skin, Wound Not Healing
Hello Ladies, I wonder if anyone can help? I have 2 wounds the size of a quarter that will not heal. It has been over a month now. I had some reconstruction to fix bad job from 15 years ago. The radiated skin would not allow the implant to work. So the implant was removed and left me with open wounds. What can be done…
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Looking for recommendations for plastic surgeons in Massachusetts
Hello. I am looking for recommendations for plastic surgeons in Massachusetts. I had my last reconstruction 8 years ago and have since lost a lot of weight (99 lbs!). My implant has become so uncomfortable, I think it’s time to address this issue. My prior PS has moved out of state so any help is appreciated. I had a…
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Who has had both implants and DIEP?
I had a direct to implant BMX with 535cc silicone implants in October 2021, followed by radiation on my left side in June 2022. I had fat grafting in June 2023 to try and break up/loosen the radiated tissue, with limited success. My chest feels heavy, cold, and tight, especially on my radiated side. My boobs look…
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Questions and any advice for straight to implant reconstruction?
Looking for advice and suggestions on how to be best prepared for my surgery and any other questions I should consider for my PS. Two weeks ago I had a lumpectomy bilateral reduction. Love my new breasts. Sadly, the left reduction tissue was chock full of DCIS. The more you know… right? I get to heal for a couple of months…
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Surgeons in NY/CT/NJ area that do mastectomy + BRAVA expansion system + fat grafting reconstruction
I am BRCA1 positive, needing to do prophylactic risk reducing mastectomy very soon. Almost all of my immediate female members in my family have been diagnosed with breast cancer (mother, both grandmothers, three aunts), some in their 30s. Most have BRCA1, the rest have not been tested. My oncology team in located in NYC. I…
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Seeking DIEP recovery stories
I had a bilateral mastectomy with tissue expanders and am now trying to decide between implants and DIEP reconstruction. If you have had DIEP reconstruction, here's what I'm curious about: - How did you make your decision? - What was recovery was like? - How long ago was your surgery and how you feel about the outcome?…
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Re: explanting and going flat
Hello! I am 5 years out from my mastectomy and reconstruction and I want to remove my implants. I don't like the feeling of them in my body to put it simply. I am a tall thin person and don't qualify for any fat transfer but I do have a decent amount of skin (32C) over my implants and have been reading about the goldilocks…
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TEs. A Beginner's Primer
Hi. If you've found this thread, you are probably interested in information, tips and help. We'll all do our best to help. We'll post links to several other threads that may be of help as well. But many of us realized that we were scaring Newbies on the TE Trouble Board and that there should be an information Board…
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Women More Satisfied When Breast Reconstruction Uses Their Own Tissue
Women More Satisfied When Breast Reconstruction Uses Their Own Tissue Oct 25, 2023 Even though the surgery is more complex, women are more satisfied with their breasts if they have reconstruction using their own tissue. Read more…
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Which implant is better?
Hi there, I was diagnosed in 2019 on right side, mastectomy was one and then implant was placed( silicon, mentor textured). After few weeks of implant placed I have some pressure and puffiness on side where implant was placed but I was told that it will go way as I heal and I took it positive and it has reduced as well. I…
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implant exchange
Hello. I had a bilateral skin and nipple-sparing mastectomy with a tissue expander on 9/19/23. My PS and I decided not to expand further as the size works for me. This means I have not done any expansion since the surgery, which he placed 200cc at that time. The next step is the implant exchange, and I decided to go with…
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Direct to implant, plastic surgeons only want to do prepectoral
Met with 2 plastic surgeons in my area and both said 'under the muscle' implants for reconstruction are a thing of the past and modern doctors only do prepectoral implants now with ADMs (allograft to create the pocket). The reason being that under the muscle implants can cause animation deformity when flexing the muscle.…
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Plastic Surgeon in Maine Recommendations for Treatment of Capsular Contracture
Hi all. I had bilateral mastectomies in 2008 after a diagnosis of bilateral BC. I had implant reconstruction with a successful outcome. However, in the past couple of months, I have noticed capsular contraction on one side. Since my surgery, we have moved to Maine and I need to find a plastic surgeon who is an expert in…
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MSK Plastic Surgeons
Hi! Newly diagnosed with DCIS in my right breast. It is in my entire breast and my breast cancer surgeon who is at MSK said i need a mastectomy. She has recommended plastic surgeons within the hospital but none of them have any before and after photos I can find. Also, i can't make more then 1 apportionment at a time to…
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Implants...does your "foobs" get itchy!!!
I've had my current set of implants....mentor silicone implants for 3 1/2 years now...and there are times I feel like I want to claw my chest off...this is mostly in the evening....I haven't been to the PS in 1 1/2 years (or is it 2 1/2 years) and have no plans to make an appt for him to just look at them and say yup, they…
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Breast implants impacting sleep?
Apologies if this is already somewhere on this forum, but I could not find it. I was recently diagnosed and I'm trying to determine if I will get 2 lumpectomies or a mastectomy with reconstruction. I sleep on my stomach and I am wondering if implants will negatively impact this, i.e., will I feel them as foreign objects,…
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Pain in only one expander?
So I've been getting fills for a while now and am down to just one or two more. They are getting progressively more painful, which I expected. I had a fill Friday and the left side is still pretty uncomfortable. The right side seems to have settled down. When I bend over, the left side hurts. Is this normal? There is…
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Overfilling 400 CC Tissue Expanders
Quick question: How many ccs can a 400cc tissue expander actually hold if overfilled? I am at 540ccs right now…how much higher can I realistically go? Christina
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Breast implants
Is anyone happy with their breast implants? I have expanders currently. Need to decide on what to do. Is there such a thing as fat transfer? Please advise.
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Sizing questions and saying hello!
Is anyone still on this thread? The last ones I saw were from 2014.. anyway hello anyone who’s there! I’m 38yrs old diagnosed with triple neg stage 3 grade 3 , going through neoadjuvant chemo and immunotherapy abs almost done. I have met with my bs, meeting with PS this Thursday. I’m a 36A/34B 5’6 130lbs so I’m pretty…
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Itchy chest wall 2 yrs after reconstruction
I had double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction after previous DCIS lumpectomy and recurrent cancer in both breasts. I wanted my original C cup, but ended up with D cups (go big or go home surgical approach?). The extra weight is not fun, and the chest wall itching started after year one. What helps me the most is…
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RBS (red breast syndrome)
Has anyone else experienced RBS? Before I go into much detail, I'd like to find out if anyone else has experienced RBS in the last few years. I've been searching for more recent RBS info on the internet and there is hardly anything to be found. I developed RBS 3 months plus after I had my right breast reconstruction. I am…
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CMS Will Maintain Breast Reconstruction Codes
Cheers to the most incredible community! We did it!!!💕 We are thrilled to share and help spread the news that as of yesterday, CMS announced their decision to maintain HCPCS codes S2068, S2067, and S2068, and it will not sunset their availability on December 31, 2024. We are so grateful for your advocacy efforts over the…