BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
Comments
-
Whippetmom how do I send you a pic? I would love to send one cause the pain today has been so yucky.
0 -
Question for ladies on this thread concerning sizing? Had bilateral implants prior to my cancer diagnosis due to a congenital heart defect and surgery as a child that destroyed the breast bud on the left side. For the same reason that women who have had mx opt for a lift with implant on the uneffected side for symmetry, I had implants put in 35 years ago. Diagnosed with BC last May, had a right nipple sparing MX with expander in May. Had expander exhange with mastopexy and implant exchange on the left in September 2012. The mx side seems to be shrinking. I have Mentor smooth Round High Profile Gel implants, 300cc on the MX side and a 275cc on the uneffected side. This seems weird to me. I would think the MX side would require higher CC volume. The right implant was placed under the muscle and the left on top. The effected side also looks like there are "folds". I'm pretty sure I'm going to have to have a revision in order to obtain some symmetry. My PS is aware of some of this and wants me to wait for everything to "settle". I see him again next month. Anyone out there with a similar experience?
0 -
Well didt surgery now have te she filled to 275 at surgery and did a 50 cc each side and will do another 50 on Thursday she said then I will be done but I still seem small. Im 5 6 about 130-140 what would look best on me what style and cc do you think? Thia experience has been great so far only some scary bruising early on but now 3 weeks out and better awesome docs at ohsu
0 -
jenamae - Read the header above - you need to give whippetmom the style, name and number of your tissue expanders. You should have been given a card after your surgery with this information on it. If not, call your PS and ask for this information. It is also in your surgical notes if you ask for those. You also need to measure your ribcage ... right under your IMF and note what that measurement is.
Glad you're doing so well this early out.
Whippetmom will be along soon.
0 -
ReneeinOH: You have a Mentor Spectrum which actually is an implant, rather than a TE. Some plastic surgeons like to use the Spectrum - not sure why - other than that they can leave this in as a permanent implant if the patient is happy enough with the feel and ultimate size. If you swap it out for a smooth round silicone though, I would suggest something in the moderate plus profile - around 400 ccs, which should make you around a "C" cup quite possibly.
0 -
spring1392 - It is a fairly low volume implant - in the mid 300 cc range I believe - but with a width of 13.7 and projection of 5.7. Since your PS used Sientra TEs, is he going to want to use Sientra implants? You need to find out what he has in mind. Frankly, I would prefer the dimensions of a Mentor or Allergan smooth silicone round. In this regard, 550 ccs in Allergan Style 20 or Mentor's HP style would be nice (same volume) or a moderate plus/midrange profile [Style 15 in Allergan] with a volume of around 450 ccs would be another option. I just do not know enough about the textured round or textured shaped Sientra implants to comment, but I do see that the smooth Sientra implants do not have much appeal in terms of dimensions. You seem to get much better projection with Allergan and Mentor and projection is a desirable commodity with breast reconstruction.
0 -
Chrisrenee: It sounds like an area where the skin is especially thin and you are palpating the edge of the implant through that pouch of thin skin. On the other hand, if you have Alloderm, it could be an area where the Alloderm has pulled away and the implant is bulging through in that area. I actually have an area where the Alloderm has pulled away and it is exactly as you have described in terms of appearance and feel. It is not anything I intend to fix....not important enough to me to risk losing more neurons during general anesthesia. I have precious few left it seems. But don't take my word for it (but don't stress about it either) and just let your PS know the next time you see him.
0 -
KikkiB: Hmm, well, perhaps you have bottomed out - via your description of seeing "folds"? It does not sound like a "leak" and I doubt this is the concern. With the current generation of silicone, it would take a very long time to see a decrease in volume, if you saw much at all. Do you want to email me a photo? Send me a PM if you want to do so and I will give you my private email address.
It does sound like you could have used a larger implant on the MX side - only 25 ccs difference between the augmented native breast and the dissected MX side does not seem like much. But again, you can send me a photo if you want me to check it out...0 -
Thanks whippetmom. Yes, they did put in something that could be an implant, but it's not assumed/expected that it be one. In fact, they put in a port (there was a chance I needed radiation; turns out wasn't the case), so they are going to have to go there and remove it anyway. Maybe that kind just works well with my body/frame?
Appreciate your feedback on implant style suggestion!
0 -
ReneeinOH: Nearly every woman who has come through these BCO portals whose PS has used a Mentor Spectrum as a TE, has had it ultimately removed and replaced with a smooth round silicone implant, so I honestly am not quite sure how it fares in the long run. Very often, the Mentor Spectrum has been used to augment the native breast, in the case of a unilateral MX, so that the PS can more accurately gain symmetry with the MX side, and this seems to be favorable. But for some reason, it just has not rendered optimum results in the reconstructed breast.
0 -
I would be one of those women.
We used an adjustable Mentor Spectrum on my radiated side after I lost 2 implants due to skin healing issues. Had it matched well enough we would have left it in. Ultimately I had it switched out for a smooth round silicone. (I had a BMX & bilateral lat flaps.) I have a style 45 on my non-rads side & the Mentor Spectrum seemed really wide with nowhere near as much projection in comparison. Worked great as a TE, though--it did what we needed it to do.0 -
Whippet Mom, after reading response to ReneeinOH, in your experience, do PSs usually use the same brand TE's as implants? I find it interesting my PS uses Allergan TE's and Mentor implants. See my PS next week in prep for surgery. Also, what are your thoughts about smooth vs textured implants?
0 -
Hi Whippetmom--just wanted to let you know that I met with my PS yesterday when I went for my pre-op. His first choice for my UMX implant is the Allergan 15 in 397cc which is exactly what you recommended!! He said he is going to take the next size up (421cc) in as well just in case. His plan is to put a smaller implant than the TE so that I will get some droop (not much since my breast won't droop much more than what the TE allows) and, more importantly, the smaller implant will give me more of a natural slope to match the native breast.
I will also be getting a lift to my native breast. He is waffling about putting an implant in as well. My native breast is about 500cc and my expander is at 500cc. He will remove a small amount of tissue when he does the lift but I don't have alot of wiggle room as far as putting in an implant for symmetry. He said the smallest implant is about 120cc and I don't want to be bigger. I was a C before but working on a diet that was up to a 20 pound weight loss and fitting into some B cup bras. I'd like to lose another 10-15 pounds so I don't want to be too big! Do you find that most UMX get implants on the native side as well? And what about projection? Will the 397cc implant still give me enough projection to fill out a bra or should I lean more towards the 421? I know the cc difference between the two but is the difference in size and projection really noticeable? My expander has a 6.1 projection and the implant is only 4.2. This sounds like a huge difference so I want to be mentally prepared!!
0 -
Thank you so much Whippetmom for your reply:))
0 -
Whippetmom....will you please tell me again why you don't like siltex? I am doing fine with them but am anxious about any problems I might encounter down the road. Thanks so much!!!! You mean so much to so many of us!
0 -
2ndtimearound: Yes, it is quite common to use one brand of TE and another brand implant at the time of exchange. Not a problem.
We advise only the use of smooth silicone, if it is a Mentor or Allergan round silicone implant. Textured implants tend to just cause too much traction rippling and most women hate them and have them exchanged out for smooth. So why not start with smooth, right?0 -
lala1: If he can use the 421 cc implant, that will be fine. Yes, the projection is different, but projection serves a purpose, which is essentially to stretch out that area of skin so resistent to expansion, so that the PS can get both good skin closure over the implant, and also gain some ptosis/droop. The latter is especially necessary with you are a UMX. Had you been a bilateral, I we could have said shoot for a high profile 500 cc implant - which I gather is still possible, but you would indeed need to have an implant on the native side. In my experience over the last five years here, yes, the majority of UMX patients end up with an implant on the native side as well. But there are plenty who just had a lift only and they have nice results also, and most of them are in your same frame of mind, which is that you do not want to be "bigger", just symmetrical and perkier. Right? It is the skill and artistry of the PS you need to rely upon in this regard. Stress to your PS how important symmetry is to you and that you hope he takes in SEVERAL sizes and even styles of implants to try out during the exchange surgery.
0 -
chawkins:
The primary reason is that textured implants will nearly always lead to traction rippling. But if you do not have this problem, then this will not apply to you. Most plastic surgeons like smooth as opposed to textured implants.
http://www.realself.com/question/textured-silicone-implant-vs-smooth-silicone-implant0 -
Yikes! I hope this doesn't happen to me....thanks whippetmon!
0 -
Thanks whippetmom! Your advice means so much!
0 -
tangles,
My PS also recommended the gummies (Allergan 410). I'm very thin skinned and also pretty lean in general. He told me I'm a very good candidate for the 410s because of many factors. I have my pre-op appointment tomorrow, and my Exchange is scheduled for 4/10. We've decided on the 410FF/375cc implant. My main concern with the gummies is the firmness. I've read many comments from ladies saying how firm they are.
Can any of you ladies out there speak personally to the 410s. Any insight would be much appreciated.
Thanks,
Summer
0 -
Summerm -- haha you are getting a 410 on 4/10! I am a uni and have a gummy on my implant side. It's much firmer than a real breast. It's also firmer than smooth silicone, but only somewhat, and smooth silicone's "softness" is variant depending on lots of factors, primarily your body type (is your skin tight or loose? thick or thin?) and size of pocket vs size of implant... for example if your PS exchanges to an implant that's larger than the TE volume you'll have a firmer result.
Obviously women with smooth silicone can reply better. But in the past I've seen informal polls...with some women reporting that they have a lot of jiggle (which implies softness/naturalness) to others saying little or none. With the gummy you will have little or no jiggle.
Other gummy facts: the silhouette is VERY natural with no visible stepoff (at least in my case); when I lie on my back the implant stays where it is (and does not fall to the side) which is a little weird given my natural breast rolls to the side (I had a lift and reduction to match but the ptosis of my natural breast is greater than that with the gummy... which has a small amount of ptosis but not as much as the natural breast). For this last reason I've considered going to a smaller implant and trying a smooth round... which my PS feels will give me more ptosis (mainly for being smaller). I'm by and large, though, very happy with the shape and the great projection I've got with this 410 (it's the SAME projection as my natural breast).
Ultimately, neither implant type is a real breast, so both have pros and cons. There's a thread called All About Gummies here on BCO if you want to read more reviews by others who have either the 410 or the Mentor Gels (which I gather are firmer than regular silicone but not as firm as a Gummy? Someone who knows ::cough, cough:: Whippetmom can comment further on that).
Anyway, it seems to me that women who want firm breasts and who are physically very active tend to be the happiest with the gummy. With that said, I am not particularly gymnastic and I am happy with mine. My only issue is about the ptsosis, which is partly the gummy and partly the size of my 410 (a 685 MX). My TE was filled to 850... and my PS now thinks I'd get more droop with a 600 (but I of course worry about the resulting uneven projection).
So, for now, because my results look GREAT (ptosis notwithstanding) I am in a holding pattern. I just can't bear the thought of any more surgery!
0 -
You covered it all Lilah!
0 -
Whippetmom, I had my exchange yesterday and just got back from my follow up. He used the EXACT implant size you suggested. I had told you my size and that he was using ultra high profile, and he said he stuffed the largest he could in there, which is the 480 cc with diameter of 11.6. I had a 275 Mentor Siltex TE filled to 300 with a diameter of 10.7. So, I am sore. He put them closer together, and although I am swollen, they already look amazing and feel so natural. I was wrapped tightly, which was just removed, so to me they look a little flatter. Anyway, on behalf of myself and all those you have helped and been such a blessing to, THANK YOU!
Cheryl
0 -
OMG Whippetmom! I can't believe it
0 -
Lilah, thanks for my giggle (Summerm's coincidental 410's). (Silly auto correct!)
Whippetmom, yet another reason why you are so important to us! You rock! Kind of our undercover angel ('scuse the pun!). Meet with my PS next week to see what she recommends. Will let you know.
Cheryl_e: so happy for you! Can you rest comfortably now?0 -
2nd time- even with the pain, I am able to sleep better and lie flatter than I did with the TEs!
0 -
Cheryl_e: Woo-hoo! That's worth the pain of the surgery! Looking forward to that, 4 weeks from tomorrow!
Edited: oops - just read your other post, maybe not such exciting news if surgery caused you some difficulty. Hopefully, that will correct itself in no time. Hang in there!
0 -
Cheryl: Great news! What a great guy is your PS! You are going to be very happy with the size and soon you will be over at the Bras 101 thread, talking bra styles and sizes with all of the girls on that thread. Would you PM me with the name of your PS please?
0 -
Yes, Debra, and I can't wait for the swelling and soreness to go away so I can go bra shopping!
2nd time, I am already so much better, thank you. Just had a rough time with the combination of meds and anesthesia. I even went out to eat with hubby yesterday, which was just a day after surgery.0
