Exchange City
Comments
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Islander,
I just had my exchange surgery last week, and my PS instructed me not to lift over 5 pounds or make repetitive motions for 2 weeks. I had the same restrictions when I had my mastectomy with tissue expanders in November.
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For my exchange, my PS said 3 weeks restriction on any lifting, also 6 weeks no elevating of heart rate, to reduce chance of infection and maximize body's ability to heal.
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For my exchange I was advised not to lift anything more than 5 lbs for 6 weeks.
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I had my tissue expanders filled for the first (and likely only) time today. She put in 100 on one and 140 on the other. And now I am SORE. Like way worse than after the BMX and TE placement. Is this amount of discomfort normal for that amount of fill????
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Scoop, WOW!! I had 60cc each fill nice and slow. I bet you are sore! I don’t get that? After last fill, which took 2 1/2 months, you let them sit for 3 months so pocket can form around TE for the exchange. Hope you get comfortable soon.
Robin
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Yup - I too usually had 50-60 ccs with each fill. Why do they want to rush so much? Same was true of chemo. Herception over 60-90minutes was great. Hercpetin in a 30 minutes infusion was horrible.
Scoop - you can go have them take some fluid back out is the pain doesn't get any better. Also space the fills 2-3 weeks apart so you have time for your skin to stretch.
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Scoop - pain and discomfort got better quite quickly after each fill--fine within 2-3 days. I had Rx cyclobenzaprine (Flexoril) which helped a lot---I took it at night, and some Tylenol as well the first day after each "fill." For me, the tightness of the pec and its spasming was what was causing my pain and discomfort. Good advice above my post: ask for smaller fills than that in the future, and you can have them take some out right now if you're uncomfortable. I had plenty of time (8 months, due to chemo and another health issue) between BMX/TE's and exchange, and I took my time and went slowly on the fills.
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Scoop I only got 60 cc each time but I was one of those who had terrible pain with the expanders for about 7 weeks. I hope your pain and discomfort gets better soon!
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Thank you for the info! I didn't know 60cc was the norm. Not sure why she did more, maybe because I'm not planning on adding anymore? Still uncomfortable today, but slightly better. It is actually better to move than to lie still, so sleep was hard.
I do feel like I have two turtle shells (someone else here used this term) glued to opposite sides of my chest. They feel so far apart, and hard! Does this get better with the TEs over time, or just live with it until exchange?
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scoop - actually my grown son who doesn't even live with me has a better memory than I do. He said I complained every single time we talked until the exchange about the pain &/or the discomfort &/or the hard 'turtle shells'. Aspirin was my friend. Hang in there.
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thanks everyone for your response. I went to my PS yesterday and I’m still on restricted lifting for 3 weeks. So a total of 4 weeks of no heavy lifting. He especially wanted me to be careful because he had to put an extra stitch on my left breast to hold my implant in place to keep me symmetrical. Also a sports bra for at least a month
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I just got implant transfer yesterday. Now my right breast has bright red typ of rash. Is this normal bruising? or could it be like a cellulitis infection?
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HopeBry My PS's office was really good about discussing on the phone whether I should be seen, and I could even send a photo along the way when I had a concern, but that never happened to me on a weekend.
If I were you, and worried, I'd go ahead and phone up your PS's office, and of course, on a weekend, an on-call PS will phone you back to discuss.
Is it warm to the touch, does it itch or hurt, are you running a fever....be prepared to answer those questions. It could be a dermatitis reaction to ointments or surgical dressings and drapes, or it could be a sign of something inside, and the on-call doc will ask you a lot of details to figure out what's next.
Take a picture of it now, so you can compare whether it's better or worse in a few hours.
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Hope - am I understanding that this rash is on the opposite breast that had no procedure? Left breast exchange - right breast no surgery but now a rash?
If that's the case it's more than likely a reaction as HikingLady says to an surgical wash, ointment, drape, tape, bruising or other that touched the non-involved breast. If you call, be sure to clarify that you're not talking about the side with the new implant.
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Scoop, my PS liked to put in 100 at a time even when I asked for less. Mine hurt a LOT for some of the later fills. My skin did not want to stretch at all, and the TE's actually dug down into my chest muscles since my skin wouldn't stretch. They also migrated towards my armpits due to the pressure. My TE's started with about 1 figure width between them and ended with 4 fingers between them.
The PS didn't say what was going on at the time, but we've spoken about it afterwards and it became clear that I needed to be filled much slower. He did indicate that the migration is caused by tight skin.
The good news is that the pain really went away after a while. I had TE's for 6 months and they really didn't bother me after the filling stopped. I was able to ignore them most of the time, but if I stopped to think about it, they always felt like someone squeezing them very hard. Now I'm 4 months after my exchange and they still feel like they are being gripped if I concentrate on them, but not nearly as much. I have a feeling that the discomfort will keep getting better over time.
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Did anyone ever get a weird squishy sensation sometimes with the TEs? Certain movements or positions I get this strange feeling. Sort of liquidy, sort of not?
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scoop YES! I remember living with WEIRD and NOT THAT COMFORTABLE until final implants. My permanent implants feel better, still not like the original breasts, but better than TE's.
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Hi All,
I was curious if anyone has had their tissue expanders in for over a year? If so, what was reconstruction like afterward?
I had my tissue expanders placed in April 4, 2019. I started radiation in June, followed by six months of Xeloda. I was scheduled to have my exchange surgery the first week of March right when the Covid virus spread started in NYC. Due to this, my exchange surgery was rescheduled and cancelled twice. It has now been indefinitely postponed. I was told it could be late Summer or even Fall before I have my surgery.
I completely understand why. The health and safety of myself and other hospital workers are at risk, but I'm also a little bummed. I had built up this reconstruction surgery as the last phase of my cancer journey before I could start to move on. At the same time, grateful for the place I am in now.
I'm interested to hear of what the scar tissue was like and if it made the surgery more challenging to keep expanders in this long?
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HI PandP
I had MX in June and then EX Sept of the following year...I was supposed to have the EX in Dec, 3 months after last fill, but then my mother had a stroke 3 weeks before my surgery and was released to home recovery (at my home) the day of my surgery. I couldn't take her in and myself be on the disabled list of recovery, so had to postpone. My EX was great when it happened. If you are otherwise healthy and stay active/fit in these crazy times I am sure you will be fine. TT
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Hi TrmTab,
I'm sorry to hear about your mom. I hope she is doing well now. Thank you for sharing about your surgery! That was helpful to read
I'm trying to stay as active as I can but I think it causing issues. I'm currently experiencing a random burning pain under my tissue expander (they are over the muscle) on my side that was radiated. I do not think it's anything serious as it's only started now that I'm consistently working out more being that I'm working from home right now. So I'm hoping it's just my right radiated muscle rubbing against the tissue expander.
But I suppose that's another question, did anyone with over the muscle tissue expanders experience any sharp pain or burning randomly on their radiated side, especially with increased activity?
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I did not have radiation but I had pre pec expanders and now implants and I get random sharp/weird pains especially after doing too much.
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No radiation here, but I get pain right around my port scar. Onco and I decided it was the weight of implant pulling on scar tissue, which should decrease with time.
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Hello!
I had bilateral mastectomy 3/20/20 (R/cancer, L/prophylatic). I started immediate-delayed reconstruction with tissue expanders. I was going to do delayed reconstruction because I didn't like the wait/time frame for having to wait to start immediate reconstruction, but literally, at the very last minute before going into to the OR, I consented to an immediate reconstruction since the PS schedule had opened up due to the COVID-19 cancellation of his non-essential procedures. So I did not have the pre-op appointment that I would have had if I had known I was going to do it all at once--maybe things would have been discussed more then/I would have given options, I don't know. Anyway, at my initial consultation with the PS, he said he wasn't going to talk cup size yet, we would just have to see what my skin would allow--he said likely it was going to end up looking like a had a lift. We only discussed saline vs silicone - he recommends silicone (no gummies since they can can move, I guess?). I'm 5'2" and 158 lbs, but I was trying to lose weight before my diagnosis and my goal weight is 125-130. I was a generally a 36B before surgery. I had my first in-office fill on 4/7 and my second fill today 4/14. I am going to have 8 rounds/5 months of chemo. Was planning to start chemo at the end of this month but now it's going to be early May (due to exchange for implants). I initially didn't think I was going to need radiation, but now that is a consideration due to my close surgical margin...my surgical margin was clear, but only by 0.5 mm at the superior margin and so now I may need radiation after chemo after all. (that's another thread's question).
So, originally I thought I was going to have the TEs in place for months with fills over that time period. I've read about people waiting for the exchange of TEs for implants for several months after the "final" fill. Well, last week (ie., 1st in office fill), the PS talked about doing my exchange before I start chemo. I thought, well what was the point of doing immediate reconstruction if the TEs are in place for only a few weeks? Anyway, I saw him again today. I questioned about the short time frame. He assured me it would be okay. He said I could leave the TEs in until after chemo but I would have to wait a month after chemo ended, so I would be looking at having the TEs for 6 more months. He discussed how the TEs are more uncomfortable than the implants and a lot of women feel better going ahead and having the implants in place before chemo. So now I will see him again next week for maybe another partial fill/final fill which should be full (I found out today they are 500 cc expanders). And surgery for exchange is now scheduled for 4/29.
So, all that info to get to my question - has anyone else had their process occur that fast? It just is a lot faster than I expected and from what I have read about other people's experiences online. I don't have any reason to not trust him. And will 550 cc give me a nice size? ( It would be great to be a little larger than pre-op but definitely not smaller ). Everything seems to be going okay so far. When I asked around before surgery, generally everyone loves him, one person said you just have to make sure to be your own advocate without elaborating. So I guess I'm just wondering if I need to be advocating something for myself here...Thanks in advance for taking the time to read my long story and for any comments!
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Ilovethemoon If you have radiation, that adds some things to think about. Healing is more of a challenge, and takes longer because usually radiation affects blood supply (inside scarring), and you should talk this through with PS.
RE: speed of getting through it all---sounds nice to get through everything fast! I waited until chemo was done for final swap, and I wanted to be thoroughly strong for both. Yes, TE's are kind of weird feeling, but I had mine in for 7 months and it was not horrible, just a bit uncomfortable. So, don't fear having them in for longer if that has to happen, for whatever reason.
RE: size and how much saline is added, and how fast....I urge you to stay comfortable! Sometimes a lot of saline/a big fill is really uncomfortable, so sometimes going a bit slowly on the fills is easier and there's less discomfort. As for size, my PS specifically said that once the TE's were at the size we were to going to stop at, that my new implants would be the same size, so the same bra would work. That was the case. The volume in doesn't tell the whole story, because we each have different height and width of rib cages, etc. So, just realizing that the final size would be pretty much the same as the TE's size was helpful for me.
Be sure to get your MO to clarify the order in which you'll do radiation, if that is on the table. Before or after chemo (usually after) and before or after exchange surgery? There are specific issues to consider with all that. Some is treatment based, so the MO will guide. Some is how radiation impacts healing and surgery decisions, so after you know the treatment order, THEN, ask your PS how radiation affects healing and surgery decisions.
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LoveTheMoon - I agree with the above. No need to rush. I had TEs with slow fills for 6 months before exchange. As far as I know, I think it's recommended to have radiation with the TEs in place so be sure to meet with everyone - BS, plastic surgeon, medical oncologist and radiation oncologist. You can get all those opinions now even if you won't have their services for awhile.
As for the size, check with Whippetmom at the Breast Implant thread.
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My foob ended up a bit larger than my lifted real one. I sewed an insert into my bras, and I like being a bit larger. previously, my belly was larger than my boobs. I have lost 25 pounds, and look forward to losing another 25, so there might be a bit more difference in the end, but I will let that go. At my age, I am not looking to find myself a husband. Otoh, if I do find one.......
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I can't answer your question , I've had TE's for almost a year now,may 31st 2019 , got em damn near 4 months after diagnosis. Bilateral mastectomy, an infection that I got during surgery reared its head two months later, a popped expander during a fill , replacements, several changes of surgery dates then covid made the swap tbd. The expanders have literally turned in the pockets, so my boobs are side boob.. . I can pray for you. Majority of people sail thru this, seriously.. Just hang in there..
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ILoveTheMoon
I'm not a size guru, but I'm 5'9, 165lbs, and I have 600ccs and I'm a 36C/D. They are D in measurement, but not D in projection.
Seems like a lot of people are getting rushed to surgery. I'm guessing it all depends on your skin and how relaxed it is, plus the blood supply.
Are your 500cc TEs filled already? Are you happy with your fill size? The implants won't stick out as much regrettably.
Mine did not stretch well. I was happy to have TEs for 6 months to let my skin relax a little.
I didn't mind the TEs once the fills were done, but I wish I had stretchier skin!
Good luck!!
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Any ladies on the more petite weight and height range, how did implants turn out? I have been a,wide range of sizes throughout the years due to weight gain/loss and nursing babies. I just don't want to go too small.
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emma - sorry I'm quite tall & likely heavier - but I wanted to go with smaller implants anyway.
You might check out this thread. Read the header and post the specifications that Whippetmom asks for. She's great with this.
https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topics...
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