One step implant procedure with Alloderm - Anyone?
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Mareluna,
I'm not sure but it feels like the incision area. It's prickly overall the whole chest is sore. But I can feel circular pain. Like where they cut. Also the sentinel node incision. It's starting to itch
Wouldn't u know I got a morphine shot and finally was sleep then. Boom!!. Time to empty the drains0 -
Oh Softness. Yep the lymph node site that still drives me crazy. I had my lumpectomy in May. They took out 2 lymph nodes. when I landed in the hospital after my first chemo. Every hour during the night they would come in and wake me up. I'd take 50 minutes to get back to sleep for a 10 minute nap.
You will be exhausted until you can get back home to sleep.I'm awake now from the steroids I got in chemo Wed. I pray you get some rest.
Rose
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Greetings all-
I have read this entire thread- pfewf!- and found it very helpful. The one question I still have is regarding size before and after one step reconstruction. Did everyone size down? I am barely an a cup now but when i breast fed my 4 babies i was a full c cup therefore I know my skin is capable of stretching. I am meeting with my ps next week btw.
Thanks in advance-0 -
Hi,
I have not done the surgery yet. My PS said he could make me close to my size. I am opting to go smaller. I am in a 44D. I want a A or B cup. But I think your PS can answer your question. Hopefully someone here can answer. I think they all dissapeared.
Rose
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We did disappear! Everybody went back to living their "new normal" lives, which is wonderful. I was a small A and am now a larger A or small B. I thought I would feel strange suddenly sprouting big breasts. It was my understanding that the women who wanted large breasts had to go the TE route. But things may have changed since 2009, at which time the 1-step wasn't very common.
Good luck to all of you going through this difficult time of making surgical choices and undergoing treatment.
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I'm 5 days out from my bilateral mastectomy. I had my post op appt with my ps. He took off the gauze and tape & I'm happy with the result. They are smaller but perkier. Im trying to deal with the pain but other than that I'm managing. Hopefully my ps will take out a drain Friday. They feel like utters
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Thanks for the response and I LOVE that there us a very real " new normal" to look forward to.
Softness1- congrats on being 5 days out!! Can I ask why you went with one step vs tissue expanders?
Blessings to everyone enduring this process!0 -
Softness,
Glad you checked in. I was wondering how you were doing. So do you have to wear the post op cami or bra now? Just curious. I will go see my PS on JAN 2nd. I saw him once to see what options I have. I am taking my boyfriend with me. Last time I had my MIL with me. So I did not ask too many questions. LOL
Rose
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No bra yet for me. Wear the Post Op cami. I have a compression band across the top of my implants and its irritating but it's nothing I can't deal with.
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Mareluna- I noticed you and I have the same chemo. I am finished my AC and starting my Taxol in 5 days. I know it's off topic but can you tell me how it compared? I have to take steroids as well. Thx
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Hi Bishop,
The AC was very rough. I landed myself in the hospital after the first one for 4 days.They cut the dose and spaced it 1 every 3 weeks instead of 2.
Taxol has been easier. I have been handling it better. But i do notice that it is cummalative. My biggest issues are neuropathy in hands and feet, taste buds are messed up, and nose bleeds. My hair has started to grow. I guess it's bout 1/4 inch long.I used to have one down day on the Taxol but now I stay kind of tired.
I hope you do well on them. It has been okay and doable.
Rose
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Thanks for the info. AC was very difficult. I have four kids under 6 including a 3 month old and I had to hire help I was just so sick all the time.
I am hoping Taxol is better. It sounds like you handled taxol great by comparison to AC.
I am looking forward to being done with all this and going back to being mommy in that " new normal" way.
Blessings!0 -
Hi Bishop,
I think you will find the taxol treatments will fly for you. They have for me and I was dreading it. I don't mind doing these. I go tomorrow. I will get home by 2pm. I will use a suppository for nausea and go to bed. I will get a 3 hour nap and wake up and fix a light dinner.Then about 8 or 9pm I go back to bed. I live alone so I don't have to worry about doing anything but walking my dog.
I used to have to call my boyfriend over on the others in case I had issues. And I did on the first 2. But once you develop an idea of what drugs work for side effects it gets easier.
I saw my onc today. She is glad I am doing well. I will see her next month again.I asked about scans. Not doing any. I will have some labs next month. In Feb. I do yhe bilateral mx and recon. and port removal.Yeah Buddy I get the port out that I hated.It hurts me at times.
My questions are on the breast surgery. How limited is your movement? Is the swelling quite a lot? Is the pain medication helping? When can you shower? Stuff like that.
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Merry Christmas Friends.
I hope that The New Year brings you all Good Health and Healing.
Rose
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softness, i'm a bit envious. pins and needles might mean you get your nerves back and working. i can't feel my boobs at all. c'est la vie. hope the pain killers work.
did anyone else have a long period of stretching. mine has taken about two months. i'm still in some pain from the stretching but less. how long does this tend to take?
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Good evening and Happy New Year.
I went to PS today. Wanted to ask a few questions. I am glad I went. I will be able to move my arms. He wants me to because sometimes the patient's shoulder will lock up. I am sure my pain will let me know when to stop.
How are you all doing? It was so nice not to have chemo today. So glad to be done.
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Hi everybody,
I had direct to implant with Alloderm on 12/21/12. It's been quite a journey, to say the least. I'm pretty happy with the results, especially after swelling has gone down and the scab on my nipple fell off and revealed a somewhat "normal" looking nipple underneath that seems to react like the other breast yet it has no feeling.
Since the PS placed the implant under the skin flaps that were quite thin, I have some ripples on the top and a couple of dents on either side. On the outer quadrant I can feel the implant since the surface is thin. The PS said this can be fixed. He switched me from the camisole to an ace-bandage but it kept slipping down, so I switched back to the camisole. I think things are settling but wondering about what an eventual revision entails. I was thinking of fat grafting. Anyone have these issues? I plan to have surgery on the healthy breast for symmetry in a few months.
Thanks!
Jocelyne
Multifocal IDC ( 2 tumors 6mm and 4mm), DCIS, LCIS, ADH. OncotypeDX 9.
Had nipple sparing UniMx w/one-step saline implant - Alloderm0 -
Hi Jocelyn. I had same surgery on both sides jan 9. Pain is lessening but I'm still incredibly tight especially along the ribs where the alloderm was attached. I was skin sparing only. Have yours softened or dropped at all? How long did that take? My ps said no bandage or anything. Gravity at work I guess. He says we can fat graft any issues away but that we wait for final product in about 6 mos. I have dents in the outside,but drains are in still too. I think it's a wait and see.
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The first couple of weeks were really tough. I was taking oxycodone for the pain and valium to relax the muscles. Did your PS give you something for the chest tightness? At first my boob was really swollen and strange looking. It's getting better and the surfaces are starting to even out. I think it's a process - and like you, my PS said to wait 6 months to see how things settle. I think the implant is dropping but I feel a small protrusion near the cleavage (I think it's a bit better lately). Interesting how PS's have different approaches. Hang in there, it gets better fairly quickly, especially after the 3rd week. Just remember to take it real easy!
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Thanks Jocelyn. I'm taking muscle relaxers and Advil. I appreciate your optimism for the third week.
. I have a ps appt Tuesday and hope to get one drain out. I'd love to be able to sleep on my sides sometime soon. Let me know now things go for you. 0 -
I know what you mean about sleeping on your sides. I started to be able to do that around the 3rd week. I used a pillow to prop my breast, kind of folding it in two and hugging it, that worked pretty well. With time, it definitely gets easier... You'll feel so much better after you get the drains out!
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Good Evening,
Glad to see someone posting. I think you all will find answers if you read back from the beginning of the posts. I read them all and found it helpful. I'll be having surgery on Feb. 5th. I'm nervous about it but ready to be done. I'm almost 4 weeks out from chemo now. Starting to feel a bit better. My onc said I should feel better in the next 2 months. I hope so. I hope that you all recover quickly from your surgery.
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I hope your surgery goes well and that you start to feel better soon thereafter.
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I'm just wondering how many women get saline/silicone and if it's possible to switch if we are not happy with the results?
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I did silicone. I heard they were closer to the feel or real tissue compared to saline. Hoping to actually experience that someday instead of bruised swelling up to my armpits!
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It's weird, my PS didn't give me a choice - did yours?
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He mentioned saline, but said most women pick silicone (gummy) for the feel. I had already favored silicone based on what I had read.
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My PS recommended Silicone because it has less chance of wrinkling. I am opting to go smaller and have a lift. I am not going to have nipple sparing.
For those of you that just had the surgery how rough was your first week after surgery? Do you feel better as each day passes?
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First week was rough pain killers rock. I slept most of the first week which was a blessing. Just keep up on your scheduled meds. You'll be fine.
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yes, I agree, staying on the meds and even taking them before the scheduled intervals worked for me. The 1st two weeks were a blur - much better the 3rd week.
As far as the saline, I have a lot of wrinkles on top so I think I would have rather gone with the cohesive gels. I need to ask my PS why he chose saline. Maybe because I had them place over the pec muscle. He was afraid my range of movement would be stifled by placing implants behind the muscle (I'm a dancer). I wonder if I could change to gummies later...
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