BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
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I was tiny before so I never could find nice ones that would fit until I got into my mid 40's. I started to wear small B cups… but that came to an abrupt stop. I'm a bigger girl now. This summer I picked up 2 bras of the shelf in Nordstrom rack, tried them on and walked out with both of them. It's so much easier to find bras to fit, and so many choices. Just don't understand why they make so much padding and push bras in a D cup! I don't need that anymore.
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Lago- I avoid the extra padding, too. I did try on a couple like that because they were massively marked down- they actually felt painful. It's kind of fun to get out of the "B" rack for the first time in my life
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Summer, most of my life I was in the A rack till mid 40's. There is nothing on the A rack. I was happy with the B rack.
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jepsj5: The reason I need to know the mfr and style of your TE, is because there are around six styles in Allergan and three in Mentor - and there are a variety of width dimensions accordingly. I think that implants with a width of around 11.5 to 12.0 cm would be nice - which means you could either be in a moderate plus/midrange profile style implant with around 300 ccs and around 325 or 350 ccs in a high profile style - both smooth round silicone. However, it really does hinge on the width of your TEs. So if you can find out if they are Mentor or Allergan and which style - we can narrow this down further for you.
Deborah
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Thanks! Deborah. Sorry the implants are the mentor brand. I dont know the syle but i can tell tou this, they seem rather wide. I have sides and i am not use to that look. Also i already have some cleavage going on. Like i said i only have 230 in each now the goal is 300. So you said 300 or 350. Do you mean before extra fill or after? I will call and ask the office on Monday! Thanks again!
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jep: Okay, well, Mentor TEs are in different increments than Allergan. It would be 250 ccs, 350 ccs...so find out which one. And then which style - low height, moderate height, full height. TEs tend to migrate laterally [towards the armpits], so this does not tell me anything about the actual width of the device. My recommendation for sizing has nothing to do with your overfill - overfill merely gives some additional projection to the skin for implant coverage and to provide a little more IM fold definition. Let's get the dimensions of your TEs and then I can show you how this works.
Deborah
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Hi Summer,
Thanks for sharing that. I am getting kinda worried but maybe I'm jumping the gun. I'm 13 days out and mine were so wonderfully soft for about the first week. Now they feel really tight and kinda hard - almost like the TS's :-( One is a little mis-shapen and I am worried I will have to have it redone. I have really tight pecs too and also used to weight train. Haven't since I had my BMX 4 months ago.
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Hillck- that is really good advice, you were very lucky to find a PT who was so knowledgeable! I really do think I'm on the right track now so I think I'm going to just keep doing what I'm not doing
and hopefully continue to soften up over time. My husband had PT in January for his knee so I was able to pick up a few tips while he was getting his therapy.rubalou- if things would get particularly uncomfortable I would take one of my left over valium but it's better to get to the source of the tightness. I wonder if you are having more spasms because you are getting tense and worried because you are feeling tighter and so it continues...Maybe try some heavy duty relaxing and gentle stretches today!
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Is weight training good then for the pecs or not.
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Hi ladies, I am SO glad I stumbled on this thread today! I am due to have my BMX on Feb 24 with TEs put in at the same time. (I finished chemo in December and am opting for surgery instead of rad)
I thought I got a lot of info when I first met with the PS, and I know he told me all of these details, but I didn't pay attention to brands and numbers at all. I am going to call tomorrow to make sure that I can meet with him again before surgery to get all this info written down. (In his defense, his office called to setup another meet before surgery, but I didn't think I needed to ask him anything else.. I guess I was wrong! lol)
I am pretty scared reading about capsular contracture rates for women who are having reconstruction, though. I don't want this to just turn into more surgeries from negative effects down the line. I also Really want to have implants vs. no reconstruction at all. At this point I am crossing my fingers that surgery goes well, but once I get all my info, I am definitely posting here! --Priscilla
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redninrah - Depends on who you ask but the consensus from what I've read on here and in talking with other ladies with reconstructed breasts with implants under the muscle is that you need to be careful working on your pecs.
Here is a thread that I found very helpful:
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/58/topic/720781?page=3#idx_76
I have lymphedema so that complicates matters for me ... but I've tried bench presses on an incline and it is OK. I don't get animation in the implants (where they constrict and feel very strange) when I do them this way. Some ladies have displaced their implants when they do bench presses on a regular flat bench and when they do pec flies. The risk isn't worth it for me. I've found that I adapt most exercises to get the tone I'm looking for. I do miss push-ups ... haven't tried and probably won't ever try those. Planks ... it really aggravates my lymphedema but I think if you don't have that issue ... planks are something that you could probably do again.
We're all different. Do ask your PS and see what he/she says, though. Mine told me that I could everything that I was doing before BC. Hasn't proved true in my case.
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daintyBamf if you can you should go to that "pre-op" appointment. I'm not sure what they went over at your last appointment but I know I spent some time at my pre-ops for all my surgery. You want to make sure you get all the information you need for post surgery self care.
I never got any information before my BMX/TE placement. I still don't know what TE's I got. I supposed I should ask for the card. I did trust my PS to pick the right size for me. Whippetmom seemed to think I could have gone 2 ways, one was the way my PS chose.
I've had my implants since June. So far no capsular contraction. They don't know why or who gets this. Don't assume you will. I know some that have had the issue and did need a revision to fix it. Remember this isn't a prefect science. As much as we don't want extra surgeries revisions happen. I had a revision but it was done at the same time as my nipple reconstruction… so I didn't have to go in twice. One of boobie prizes was a little lower than the other so he fixed that.
I'm sure you will do fine. ♥
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Ladies, I'm in a bad space right now, and I'm hoping you can help me out. I was suppose to go direct to implants in the 13th (NSS), but due to a complication, PS had to put in TEs. I hate them. My questions: PS said in the OR, 450 mid profile natrelle looked the best. However he could only fill the TEs to 180. Frankly, I found that big enough. Desperate to find a bra that didn't kill me, I tried on bunk load. I am still a 36c (with side boob peeking out, ugh). How can 180 possibly get me there? Had my first fill 60cc ea, 4 days ago, and I cannot even stand the feeling. I really haven;t looked at them but dh said they're plenty big. I'm going to gear up my nerve to look after the next fill, and then I may say stop. These things are almost bigger than when I was pregnant. How can that be?
And please. Please tell me after exchange, I will not feel like I'm wearing a rubber tube top with a metal shoe horn shoved inside one breast. If I have to live the rest of my life like this, I'll stop right now and have them removed. It's particularly bad today since I overdid it yesterday.
Thank you!
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Whippetmom: I am set for Thursday for the exchanges, and again am set for a "size b" Allergan 20 280ccs. I am 5'3 with a band of 34 but now is 36 due to the sensitivity of the chest wall/bones. I am reading so many people who have gotten 400-600ccs and say that it is a size B or C. Am I going to small to be a B? My PS said I would be a small B. Also, she never mentioned a sports bra after surgery, just a cami with a shelf bra (if I want to). Any suggestions? Do I need to wear a button down top the day of surgery to avoid over the head dressing? Thank you!
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tubalou: It is pretty early out to develop capsular contracture. It would be very surprising, if so. Sometimes a hematoma can form early after surgery, but you would see an increase in size of the breast, and there would be pain and it is typically unilateral - not bilateral. My one side was suddenly higher than the other one week out of surgery and that post-op trauma/swelling made my breasts very firm also. It all resolved. But please run it all by your PS tomorrow.
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Crescent5 My TEs were rock hard and looked like stripper boobs. Very cartoony and not very comfortable. The implants are squishy. I swear they are softer than my old breasts (I had very dense tissue). Don't judge by the TEs. They are ugly, uncomfortable strange.I don't know how anyone managed to fit them in a bra. I never did. I just wore camis or nothing at all. Also my TEs were a bit too far under my arms compared to my implants.
I told my PS I felt I was done after the 4th expansion. He said a few more. I was also doing 60ccs. I had 6 more! He said he needed some something to work with and likes to overstretch for ptsos.
B123 The sports bra thing depends on your PS. My PS didn't want me to wear anything tight because he feels it constricts blood flow and you need that for healing (according to his nurse). I was given a barely there bra to wear. She also said that he does flip flop on that. I have allergen style 15 397cc and I'm wearing a 34D (might be a 36 C). My PS said I would be a large B/small C. The projection in the style 15 I am wearing is 4.2cm in yours is 4.5cm. So even though you have less ccs your implants project more. My implants are wider than yours so I'm probably a bit fuller.
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Crescent5: Let me be the first to reassure you that the implants will feel so much better than the TEs. Please do not stress about this. Your TEs are misshapen right now because they are only minimally fillled - like a deflated football before inflating. Find out from your PS what mfr, style and volume of TEs he used. Give me your height, weight and ribcage circumference and we can see where you are and where you should be at the end of this journey.
Deborah
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Well, I guess I was the SECOND to tell you.....
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Deborah, we corresponded via email back in Nov with pics. You recommended 425ccs style 20 IIRC. I remember meeting with the PS the following week, and the sizes in his notes (I can read upside down) were the same that you recommended. I'm just completely shocked that 180ccs (well now 240ccs) are this big. The TEs are Natrelle Style 133V. They seem plenty big. I'm just under 5'4" 132# rc is 31.5 I cannot imagine going 200ccs more. =-O
300 people can tell me. I desperately need to believe it. Thank you
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Style 133V and what else? SX, SV, MX, MV, FX, FV? Or, there would be a hypen and then a number such as "11" or "12" or "13"? Or a volume amount? Did you get a card with this information? And with a 31.5 in ribcage I recommended 425 ccs in Style 20?
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crescent5: I went back and found all of our conversations and your photos. So I think that 450 ccs in a Style 20 would be my updated recommendation, but this depends on the width of your TEs. I recommended Style 20 425 ccs because you were having a one-step and that is what I felt the PS could easily achieve. I also recommended Style 15 - a moderate plus profile - in around 397 ccs - which might be preferable. Perhaps 371 ccs - if you want to be on the smaller side.
Just know that the TEs can look very strange and what you see is not what you will get! Let's find out a bit more about what style you have and the volume and we can go from there. As I suggested back in November, I would honestly like for you to also consult with someone in Boston.
Deborah
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133mv-12 initial fill voliume 180cc (which seemed like plenty), filled last week @ 60cc each. Interesting, on the back of the card I see 300cc printed under the style number. I wonder if that's as high as these puppies can go?
Thank you Deborah!
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Deborah,
Alright. I called the office and the secretary said that normally he waits til my almost last fill and discuss size/style than. So she said she would leave him a message to call me for a phone conference. Like I said so far I have 230 cc in each. I was a size B before kids and while nursing I was a C cup. But after the kiddos sucked all my juices out, I became a size A. Right now I weigh about 105 to 110 depending on the day. I am 5' 4.75". My ribcage is about 28 inches. I did opt for the Memory gel implants, Mentor. So what would you recommend for implants. Also just so you know, I have had 60 cc fills so far twice and my first one was 30cc. At surgery he only did 80cc. I am going every two weeks for fills. So far knock on wood, i have not had any major pain. I might get uncomfortable at night sleeping but i think that comes with the territory. I appeciate your willingness to help! Thanks!
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Crescent5: Don't worry, he can overfill - but yes - they are 300 cc TEs. You would need at least 400 ccs in a high profile implant to meet the width of the TEs - 425 ccs would be better. But a midrange profile - Style 15 in Allergan - could be used also - and around 371 ccs would be nice on your frame. Let's revisit all of this once you are filled to 300 ccs.
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jepsj5: I just recommended sizes above....[Mentor has these size ranges.]
"....you could either be in a moderate plus/midrange profile style implant with around 300 ccs, and around 325 or 350 ccs in a high profile style - both smooth round silicone. However, it really does hinge on the width of your TEs."
Ideally, I think 325 ccs in a high profile Mentor would be a nice size for you, as long as your TEs are 11.4 cm or narrower in width. If they are 11.7 cm in width, you need 350 ccs in a HP implant.
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B123: You need to read the thread header above - regarding what I need from you for sizing and also - referable to "cup size".
NEWBIES: PLEASE READ THE THREAD HEADER IN ITS ENTIRETY BEFORE ASKING QUESTIONS.
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Whippetmom: we spoke through email and I sent you a pic previously.. We spoke of the Allergan Style 15 vs 20, etc... Sorry..
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Lago: thank you for the info, I appreciate it..
Is it necessary to bring a button down top for afterwards?
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I wore a loose button down. Much easier to get in and out of. I also wore yoga pants. Easy to pull up.
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B123: I found our emails and conversations re: private messaging. I never said anything about a 280 cc implant. This would be far too small for you. You would be very unhappy with an implant this small. Your TEs are 12.0 cm in width. I recommended Style 20 in 425 ccs or Style 15 in 339 ccs or 371 ccs, at the smallest. I feel that you should have implants with a width of 12.0 cm to 13.0 cm - and something closer to 13.0 cm would really be a better fit for your frame. So please revisit this sizing issue with your PS before the exchange surgery.
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