Exchange City
Comments
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Goldie8469 - YAY for getting those drains out! (It's such a relief, isn't it?) And so happy to hear that you're happy with the new squishies!
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Goldie, hooray for getting your drains out! I hope mine get pulled tomorrow. I'm so glad to hear your implants look good already. Happy healing!
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My exchange is scheduled for Oct.3. At my last appointment, my PS told me she wants to do some fat grafting. I know that some PS won't do it at exchange, they want to wait until the swelling goes down and do it in a separate procedure. Anybody had it done at exchange and wish they had waited? I like the idea of getting it all over with at once, but also want the best result. Also dreading the compression garment.
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3littlebirds, my PS was going to do fat grafting at my last exchange, to fill in a divot, and to help my radiated tissue. He wasn't able to because my skin is very thin, almost translucent from rads. I'm disappointed, cause it would have been nice to at least have a little fat removed!
I think whether or not a surgeon does fat grafting at exchange, or at a later date, is simply how each surgeon does it. In reading the posts on BCO, it almost seems like each surgeon has his/her own preferences on what procedures they're going to do.
My thoughts are with you. Please report back after your next appointments. Hugs!
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3littlebirds - My PS did fat grafting at my last exchange and I'm SO happy that he did - it made a world of difference for me. No regrets at all...
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Goldie - I have been thinking about you all day, and so glad that it went well!!! My drains are out also. Feels so good to be out of all that wrapping, and itchy tape. Everything looks flat, swollen and VERY wide lol. I am happy with the projection though, even if some of it is from being swollen. I did not want to be very big. I do have 2 additional incisions. The originals are vertical, the new are IMF? I know that he did a lot of work on the bottom, could this be why? And did anyone else have additional incisions with exchange? To tell the truth, we were so giddy, and joking around, I forgot to ask LOL. I dont mind the scars, just concerned on the horizontal scar causing problems with mud flaps/dog ears? ANYWAY, most importantly (aside from being cancer free) they appear to be very even! LOL. Am going to take a nap, then take more pictures tonight. Eventually I will figure out how to post them
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thank you! Twoam, I need want to post also. I fail every time. Geez, I guess when my babysitter gets back from school pick up, I can traumatized her and see if she can do it. Haha I had saline implants before bc and these are lighter and much more comfortable. Huge difference. Yay! I love happily ever after.
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Goldie and Twoam - Congrats on the surgery! Woot Woot!! Keep us updated on recovery
3littlebird - I want to have FG before my exchange surgery because I read new research on how that helps minimize future complications (i.e. capsular contracture) on radiated breasts; unfortunatey, my PS does not want to do it, says it's unnecessary step and that the research is essentially too new. I feel it would help me and would love to find a PS who will do that. Could you tell me who your PS is in a private message?
AZ85048 - I'm glad you got FG!! How did it make a difference for you? Did you have radiation? Also, could you tell me in private msg who your PS is? My PS won't do FG but I want it!!
Andrea623 - Sorry you couldn't get FG! I want it myself but my PS won't do it.
Could you private msg me and tell me your dr is? I want to find a PS who will offer it to me.Thanks, ladies!! So glad to have found this forum; it really is educational and a blessing.
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thank you for your response. I am 58 and was a 42 DD. I feel the same as you, I have no interest in being that size. He hasn't mentioned fat grafting, why was that needed? I can see what he is saying, that the other side needs to be lifted to match but more cutting, is my issue. I had to have that side biopsied in July prior to my actual mastectomy, so there are potential issues on the "good" side too. I am scheduled for a follow up mammogram in Feb. so I have asked, can I have that done in December so if something is seen that needs attention, we would know that prior to the exchange and possible lift surgery. Did you have the nipple reconstruction too? I am thinking I don't care about having that done but what did you do?
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Three days out from surgery. I'm not on pain meds anymore, but the clindamycin prescribed to me makes me feel queasy. I see the PS right before lunch, but my drains are still producing between 45-48 daily, so I doubt he'll pull them. I'm disappointed about that, but that extra fluid needs to go somewhere! I still have the surgical bra on, with lots of gauze underneath. I'm really curious as to what I look like now!
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do the mud flaps go away when the breasts drop? I feel much better now that the drains are gone. My antibotic makes me nauseated. This is a much easier surgery.
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Goldie, a lot of women have the mud flaps removed during revision. How are you feeling today?
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Can anyone tell me if their PS made additional incisions during exchange? My original incisions are vertical. During exchange he made 2 more under the breast. Just wondering if this is normal? I am ok with it. Its just that my original BMX incisions had healed so nicely, that they where barely noticeable. I am trying to get used to the new ones. I look like a road map.
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twoam,
I have heard of surgeons who will make additional incisions for exchange/swap; you would have to ask your PS why they did in particular, but it may be as there can be trickier healing issues with vertical ones...if yours healed up so nicely it might be great the PS did not re-open them again and risk affecting that result, or make the area weaker and prone to complications (the "skin" in scars is not as strong as unbroken skin). I also don't remember what implants you got, but, for example, 410's need a larger incision to place the implant.
Once you settle, and heal, your IMF incisions should not be visible. My incisions run all along my IMF and I really can't see them at this point, except a slight bit at the sides.
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Thank you for responding Divecat. Your posts are always so informative. I did have 410's. He opened the originals up too. That is what has me a bit confused. I know he had to do pocket work on the bottom...maybe that is why? I saw him yesterday for the unwrapping, but we where laughing and carrying on so, that I forgot to ask why. I am very happy with my results so far, just curious.
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Oh interesting that he also opened up the originals - I don't know what to tell you, but pocket work might explain some of it!
I am happy to hear you are pleased! Happy healing!
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my nurse told me to switch to a sports bra and the mudflaps are going away. Perhaps it was swelling. The original bra is very very tight. I am feeling much better, thank you. I am pleased with the results! Praise God. I was so nervous. I still don't have much energy but I am not in a lot of pain.
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Hi guys, I am thinking of having neck lipo or mini lift during the exchange. My PS says he can do it. I figure since I'm under anyways, and will stay at home for two weeks, it will give me time to heal. Has anyone done this before. Will it be way too much recovery/pain? Any comments appreciated!
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sorry if I am asking about something that's already been explained, but could someone explain to me fat grafting, why it's done and how it's beneficial. I see my PS on Monday for a pre op appt, and want to make sure I have all my questions. Anything else I should be asking?
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what are mud flaps? I also went thru radiation, are there other things I should be asking about? Thanks all!
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bethq, are your upper poles still high?
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Andrea, I feel much better. I am not ready to drive but I don't have to take much medicine and I am not grouchy. Calibea, mudflaps are the fatty area by your armpit.
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thank you Goldie. I definitely have those. Do they go away with the surgery? Since my nipples could not be spared, my boobs look like they are grinning from ear to ear, complete with cheeks, ie mud flaps!
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My mudflaps have shrunk a lot since my BMX, but my PS still wants to do a bit of lipo there at my exchange.
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I had my pre-op appointment with my plastic surgeon on Friday and everything is set. I'm excited and relieved that this stage will soon be completed. I've done a lot of things wrong but have total faith in my PS. I'm relaying my mistakes so others don't make the ones that I did!
First of all, for my second mastectomy and TE placement, I first saw my PS in early December and the surgery was not until February 24. In between, I had decided I wanted the "gummy bear" implants but didn't know I needed to tell her that fact. When I told her while I was being marked up for surgery, she explained she didn't have the TEs that were designed for that style of implant. She ran off to see if there were any in the hospital (I go to Kaiser Permanente) and consulted with her colleagues. She has not placed this type of implant before. They said it could be done as long as the pocket is tight. It has been seven months since then, and I have gone back and forth in my mind about the type of implant I wanted. I had no trouble with these TEs (except I think my granddaughter must have a concussion from bumping her head against them this summer), and the right one is looser in the pocket than the cancer side (the left). Even with them like this, I feel so good about having breasts again that I could live with anything. I don't wear low cut blouses/dresses and have never worn push up bras. I am 64 and know that people out there aren't analyzing my breasts and how even they are!
At the Friday appointment, we talked about saline and silicone (she said both can have rippling in the upper area but she would add fat if needed), and then the shaped gummy bear ones. I was so glad that she had samples of the shaped ones and silicone for me to handle and see. I was expecting the shaped "gummy bears" to be firm and more solid than they are in real life. The Allergan 410's are a little more viscous than the silicone but there wasn't much difference at all. So even though the silicone ones are round, I am going with the slightly oval Allergan 410's and am confident that she will lock those babies in as tight as she can. She knows that I don't want to have any more surgeries. She says I have a thick layer of chest muscles and she will tighten up the looser pocket. She doesn't expect to place drains. I will go home in the surgery band, and then switch to the same front zipper sports bra that she had me wear after the February surgery (when I see her a week after implant placement). She is ordering two sizes of implants and will decide during surgery after she uses sizers. I should also say that I don't want to be as large as I was before surgery (an aging "C" cup) and have lost 40 pounds since my original mastectomy in September (just by eating carefully, losing my taste for anything sweet and walking with a Fitbit).
So I hope this helps anyone else on the fence and gives them more questions to ask their PS.
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I swear I can see ripples on the cleavage side of both of my breasts. (I'm one week post-exchange.) I showed it to the plastic surgeon, and he said that it was just where the pocket was created. Hmmm. Does that make sense? He wasn't at all concerned--should I be?
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Hi All,
I'm 2 days post exchange with silicone rounds 800cc's. The ps said he was going to lipo the mudflaps but they look the same! I'm sure he did some work there bc I am very sore on both sides, perhaps it is just swelling?
He also used surgical glue and steri strips but now I see that there is a stitch at each side, on the outside of the breasts. I will see him next week and ask.
I also just took a shower yipeeee!
The implants do feel nice and soft, nothing like the TEs but I must admit that I still feel iron bra
will that ever go away???Best to all who are coming up for their exchanges!
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Elizabethaw, are your ripples there when you are standing straight or when you are bending or raising your arms?
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Teachermom, I am 5 weeks out and my iron bra is finally almost gone which is a relief. Hang in there.
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Calibea, your PS should be able to fix the "mud flaps." Just be sure to talk to him/her about that well before the surgery.
I had a definite issue on the right side. My PS assured me he would fix it during the exchange surgery, and he did!
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