BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
Comments
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Kayb- I will definitely ask my ps about that when i see him on friday It is sometimes like pulling teeth getting information from him. He's very kind and does a good job, however his communication skills are not what I would like at all. I don't want him to think I'm trying to tell him how to do his job, but it's my body... And he never asked what outcome i wanted., so I feel like we've been doing this "dance", with me trying to tell him and him being somewhat dismissive.
Anyway, The mentor 475s that I have are 12.9cm wide, 5.3 projection. The mentor 500cc, the ones he didn't use, are 13.2cm wide, same projection. So I'm guessing that the width was the problem. ??
I'm wondering why a Natrelle style 45, 550cc (12.4cm width, 6.0 projection) wouldn't work. Would that be too large for my frame? He had mentioned before that he will NOT put a larger implant than the expander that was used... So maybe it's the 550cc's that have him blocked... I wonder what the projection actually was on my expanders.
Had to laugh about your "childbearing hip" comment. Yep, that's me. I had 4. : ).0 -
Thanks Tina and Kay. Tina, I did check some allergan sites, and what confuses me is that my expander "suggested fill volume" was 250cc's, yet he filled to 500cc's. So the chart shows the projection, I'm assuming, for the 250cc fill. I'm so confused! It would be so helpful to know what projection I had at 500ccs so that I could straighten out my brain.
Kayb - I hate confrontation soooo much... I really hope he'll just be happy to do a revision because I'd hate to have to switch docs. But I will do so if necessary. Kudos to you for getting what you wanted! I'd hate to wait a year... If i end up revising, i Would really like to have it done and move on with my summer.
Thanks again to both of you.0 -
Hi all some advice please! I had unilateral left mx and recon with implant exchange 2 weeks ago and augmentation on my right side. The right looks great and the shape of the mx side is good. When I lie flat the volume feels the same. But when I am standing up the mx side does not project out as much as the other side. I am not sure what the problem is, whether the mx implant is too wide and not long enough or whether the skin is just tighter on that side. Does anyone have any thoughts, advice or wisdom about this? I am self conscious in clothes as when I look down I am quite asymmetrical although from the front I don't think it is that noticeable. I just what to know if there is anything I need to do. My PS mentioned fat grafting but I don't know if that will help as the overall shape is good
Thanks for your thoughts, maybe there is no answer but I thought I would seek your wisdom in case!0 -
Shachar: Please clarify: Are you a unilateral or a BMX? So you have a Mentor Spectrum, and it sounds like it is on one side?
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Cjn: Allergan Style 45 would be fine for your frame, however, you would need at least 600 ccs in order to match the width you have currently. That might be too big of a leap for your PS. I personally think that the Style 20 is fine for your frame, but you need at least 550 ccs to give you the results you are hoping for. One option would be to wait another six months and see if your skin has stretched some and perhaps he could exchange you out for another 75 ccs. Another would be to switch to high profile Mentor Spectrum expandables, and your PS could gradually expand you over the next six months. And then once you reach the desired volume, the implant ports are sealed off with a tiny incision and you are done.
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Cjn:
I am just perplexed about the PS using a MV-250 ccs for your frame. That is a pretty narrow TE for your frame, at 11.0 cm. A small TE for your frame as well. Why don't you get a second opinion? PM me and I can try to help you out with that.
With a variable projection style TE, which is overfilled, the overfill impacts the height and projection, but not the width of the TE. The reason for this is to stretch out the area of the skin which is compromised during the mastectomy, or to gain additional expansion to ensure good implant coverage at the time of the exchange. You need the width you have currently, and perhaps up to 13.5 cm or 13.6 cm. So perhaps a 550 cc Style 45 would work, but you are losing some valuable width and we don't want any lateral rippling or lateral migration, which can occur if you downsize and give up some implant width.
We can work on this, but let's have you get a second opinion.
Deborah
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Annicemd: We need to back up a bit and find out what style and volume of TE and what style and volume of implant you now have. If you have the anatomical - Mentor CPG or Allergan 410 - the style would have two letters, e.g., MF, MX, FV, etc. It just takes more projection with the implant after MX, in order to have the implant project off of the chest wall. So let's retrace your TE to implant journey.
Deborah
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I'm sorry, it is BMX and will be done this Friday.
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Shachar: Got it! Well, I do not think you will need all of 690 ccs. I think 600 ccs may be sufficient. But you will be able to make this determination as you expand. Let us know how it goes after surgery Friday!
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Thanks Deborah, I will try to get the information
BW
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Thanks Whippetmom. PM sent.
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Hello everyone
Sorry was a bit quiet... was (anxiously ) awaiting my 2nd year test results - And just received the all clear! So happy... and relieved! Now awaiting my revision surgery date - any day now...
Whippetmom: I'm a bit curious about the size of the implant that you day is ideal. Is that an ideal match for my natural breast? Or will this implant make my cup size bigger (As I said, I dont want to be massive - but would like to go up to a healthy full B cup, with some projection (or even a small C Cup?) May I ask, what size do you guess-timate the following will make me? I will be seeing the surgeon very briefly before my op, so need to be clear of the sizing & state whether I think the TE's are ok size or not. So hard to tell without seeing results :(A very big thank-you in advance!
X Buddhawolf
TE
MX12 - 400 ccs - 12 cm width and 11.0 cm height and 6.3 cm projection
IMPLANT
410MX - 325 grams: 12 cm width and 11.1 cm height and 5.7 cm projection.
TE:
MX13 - 500 ccs - 13 cm width and 12 cm height and 6.7 cm projection
IMPLANT
410MX - 410 grams - 13 cm width and 12.1 cm height and 6.1 cm projection
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Thank you so much, whippetmom!!!! Minimal fill is 575 so that sounds great. I appreciate all of your help and feel more confident now. You're the best!
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Good try Buddahwolf!!! Read #4 in the header to this thread. I can tell you, as I said previously, that the latter two TEs are the best options, in my estimation, based on the information you provided. Either of these two options would take you to implants which would be nice on your frame and you would certainly be larger than your native breast size. Unilaterals are more technical, because everything is guided by gaining symmetry with the native breast. So your PS is going to use the TE which will enable him to expand you safely and sufficiently to then augment and match the native breast. I do not care about bra size. With breast recon, it is so unpredictable. I care about what will look good on your frame. You might be a "C" cup, but look like a "B " cup. Or a "D" cup and look like a "C" cup.
Girls, please tell Buddahwolf about cup sizes...0 -
RE - cup sizes ... Buddahwolf - Most of us were wearing the wrong size bra size to begin with and to be honest, we don't know what we're talking about when we talk cup sizes with our PS.
. Truly.I found it helpful to talk in relation to the size my natural breasts were before. It is recorded in your surgery chart how many cc's your native breast weighed. If you want bigger than your natural size ... tell your P.S. that. If you want to be double the size your native breast was, tell your P.S. that. That way ... you and your PS are talking the same language. What you consider a C cup may not be what your PS considers a C cup.
We've had lots of ladies come through and I'm one of them that was a bit freaked out the first time I went and got fitted after my exchange and found out I was a D cup. Reconstructed breasts are going to be wider than your natural breasts, thus a bigger cup size but likely not as much projection. So be prepared for a bigger cup size than what you think now. As I've researched and found out the history of bra sizes in the U.S. we really are pretty ignorant. We think a DD cup is huge but in reality ... bras go up to size K, L and even higher. Most women are wearing the wrong size. We've been conditioned to think a C cup is an ideal size and D and DD are huge ... but that totally isn't true. And cup size is relative to your band size. A size 30D is going to be a lot smaller than a 40D. So a lot of it depends on your ribcage size.
So ... enough of my little rant on cup size ...
but know it really is not all that helpful when talking to your PS. Use language that you and your PS are clear about what it means ... in this case ... talk in terms of wanting to be smaller, the same, or larger than your natural size. 0 -
Buddahwolf Also remember that a 34D is the about the same cup size as a 36C in the same manufacturer. I was a skimpy 34B before reconstruction. My PS said I would be a large B/small C. I'm now a 34D. I do project a little more but I'm much fuller than before. I don't look huge. I think I look more like a full C.
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I just wanted to look like myself, but fuller, and my PS got that. We never talked in cup sizes (I wasn't stuck on being any particular size so I never asked). He made sure to let me know when the TEs were at the volume of the removed breast tissue and confirmed that I wanted to continue with fills. Because I have moderate-plus implants (Natrelle Style 15) I don't have a lot of projection, but I think it looks right on me. I ended up being 34DD when I was fitted at Nordstrom, which kind of shocked me. Like many others, I know now that I never wore the right size before BC.
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Dawne-Hope Lago Whippetmom TinaT
-Thanks for helping me begin to understand the dialogue I am soon to have with the PS. I now have a date for my capsulectomy & revision - May 29 2012! - less than 2 weeks so I feel like Im cramming for my exams!
DAwne-hope: very good rant! And valid... Ive just recently completed a bra fitting course with non-wired bra brand Royce, and it was amazing seeing how trainees on the course were very upset to find they didnt measure up as their ideal cup size, & insisted they were a band & Bra size 2-3 sizes from what the tape was showing... ( I have a real interest in lingerie, and will elaborate of this more at a later time.)
So... When you say less projection, does this mean 6cm doesnt look like 6 cm?
As I have been really chastised for discussing potential size with my previous surgeon, I'm still a bit spooked to mention this for fear of making the new surgeon angry too (in the 7 minute consultation I will have, I must be as clear as possible).
Also,having had small breasts pre diagnosis, and wearing bras for modesty more than support, I'm wondering if 400cc feels heavy to carry on one's frame? or does one just get used to it (Sorry if this seems a naive question...!)
Warm thanks.
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BuddhaWolf as I mentioned I went from a skimpy 34B (think Olga and Calvin Klein bras) to a 34D (no more Olgas or CK). I have a moderate profile Allergen Naturelle style 15 at 397cc. Mine are wider and probably don't project as much as what they might recommend for you but this was right for me. Anyway I don't feel that they are heavier. I think though according to the scale the might weight an extra 1lb a piece but I don't notice it.
I too didn't need that underwire and used the padded for more shape. Don't need padding now. Just a little bit to hide the nipples in a tee shirt.
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BuddhaWolf - I can't speak to the 6cm question but I have 325cc's implants and they are not heavy on my frame, although when I don't wear a bra I can feel the weight of them a bit and it isn't a comfortable feeling. I feel very fine in a bra...they don't feel heavy at all in a bra. There is a bra thread if you'd like to check it out. I wore a 34b for years and was fitted after my lumpectomy because I found myself holding my breast when I drove for support. I was fitted at that time as a 32c. After my BMX and exchange surgery, I feel most comfortable in a 30d. As far as projection, I mean how far out the implants project out. I have room in the breast area in my dress shirts that I didn't have before. I have width, but not the outward projection that I had with my natural breasts. For you, being small breasted to begin with, you may not notice the projection issue.
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Lago & katb - thanks for the bra:implant volume info, I have a sense of perspective from it.7
Dawne-Hope - Thanks for steering me in the bra thread direction... Very useful(engrossing!). I can really relate to feeling the weight of the implants without a bra... After my MX & recon, with 200cc, I literally couldnt go down the stairs, wearing a sports bra, without 'hand cradling' my recon, it was far too painful. And this went on for 3 months...
Gosh, just thinking about it... it's 2 years since I had it the recon done, and I am not looking forward to the pain aspect of recon...
I am happy that at least the process is soon to restart again, and hopefully after it all, I'll have pretty foobs... Not to discount anyone of any age who has had BC, but I am in the 5% under 45 who have it, and only have one friend close to my age who I can share my fears & concerns with. I had only just started to enjoy my body, was 6 months into a new relationship, and bam! BC. It's not what my peers are discussing, sharing, facing. And when they do talk about it, they get 'that look' on their faces, or quickly speak of having recon as having a 'boob job', a few have even going as far to say they're jealous (!!!!!?????) Anyway, I'm pleased to be in contact with women who have 'BEEn THERE'. and those who still are.
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BuddhaWolf - I was 39 when diagnosed. When gal who was a peer and wasn't really what I would call a friend but an 'acquaintance' said when I was going through it, "Well at least you can get a boob job out of it" I wanted to hit her.
Yeah. If they only knew. There is a thread on here ... if I can find it I'll provide a link ... for ladies in their 30's. You're definitely not alone. There was a gal from my home church who is about ten years older than me that had been thru it ... and she actually showed me her reconstruction results and steered toward a breast surgeon who was top notch. Other than her I had/have no one I can talk to about these things ... I found a great refuge and source of strength from the women on these boards. Hugs to you.0 -
Ladies in their 30's thread:
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/27/topic/757067?page=41#idx_12260 -
Thanks Dawne-Hope. Sounds like my freind, who put me in touch with the PS I who I'll be seeing on 29/5/12, who's supposed to be one of the best in the UK.SO Needed to hear your comments... Hugs back. Speaking of hugs, when you hug people, do you notice that your foobs are soft enough for someone to not know they are recons? I'm a big hugger - its automatic behaviour for me! But I often come away feeling' OMG! my implant is so hard, they definitely know!'. Im looking forward to something softer than the contracted tennis ball sewn to my pectoral muscle... and softer descreet {hugging} experiences...
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I was embarrassed to hug people with my TE's because those things were so hard and painful too...it hurt to hug people. My implants are soft and I'm not self conscious at all to hug people with them.
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Well, I'm NOT in my 30s
. I know people are sometimes at a loss for what to say, but I've heard more than once, "Well, at least you get perky new breasts out of all this." I know it's not meant to be hurtful, but for some reason that one really rubs me the wrong way... 0 -
Thanks!
But i feel I'd be cheating if I joined in.. Though I look under 30 ( genetically young looking on my mother's side - who's maiden name is coincidently is Young (!!) ) I'm now 44, was 41 when I self diagnosed. Not married, live with the best man in the world (32 y.o.), no children. Still statistically young for BC, and as I was Dx with triple Neg, age concerns me as it is particularly aggressive, and has an agressive reoccurence in younger women. This does scare me to be honest. I will look for a 40's group and 'hang out' with them.
Feeling very welcomed here though. {Hug}
Buddhawolf
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Dawne-Hope :Oh! I cant wait! It's those little things that make all the difference to one's healing.
{hug!} {hug!} {hug!} {hug!} {hug!} {hug!}{hug!} {hug!}
I will be out there spreading the love like this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vr3x_RRJdd4 (not really, but just a lil something to make us smile.. please give it time) Good night from the UK
Buddhawolf
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TinaT: too right!
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