BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
Comments
-
HI LADIES!!
There were a few of you that I had Pm'd a few weeks ago and I have not heard back on how you are doing. PLEASE check your PM's...:)..
0 -
Kay: You made me do it! I looked up the prices LOL. In comparison, a cleft chin is a steal!! Who knew there were 20 different kinds of chin choices??!!0
-
MBJ~ LMAO!!!!!
I bet if they stuck 2 cleft chins in my chest,they'd look bigger than my pre-op boobs!
I was laughing my head off when i saw all the rst of the stuff in the catalogue!!! i was really suprised-i didn't realise they even did those things.
0 -
Ok, where are you guys looking and finding the prices? I know on my hospital bill each TE was about $4,000 - my PS couldn't believe they cost that much - of course that was before the insurance adjustment.
m-star - where is the catalogue?
0 -
They are in the Allergan Natrelle pdf catalogue that whippetmom sent me. Not sure how to attach it as it wont copy and paste. I imagint the prices on there are wholesale prices,before the surgeon adds on their fee for the surgery etc.
maybe if you ask whippetmom she could sent it you
0 -
If TE's give us rock hard boobs, can I get a TE for my stomach so I'll have rock hard abs? I would pay any price for that! :-D
0 -
Valerie: The price on the hospital bill is the outrageous mark-up/inflation they bill the insurance company...
Because the prices on this list are RETAIL prices - not the price they charge the hospitals or plastic surgeons...Scroll to the very bottom of this document...
0 -
Kate: OMG Rock Hard Abs with a TE!! That's absolutely hysterical. I am refusing to work out until after my exchange so that the little fat I have on my belly might give them a drop or two for grafting. I might be skinny but I sure as hell ain't rock hard anywhere but on my TE.
Kay: I don't believe you want breasts with a cleft chin though mine kinda looks like that right now LOL! I'm surprised they don't have butt TE's like the kind you can get in a Frederick's of Hollywood catalogue for those who were not visited by the Butt Fairy!!!
0 -
MBJ- You mean there are actually women out there who haven't been visited by the Butt Fairy? I can't get the bitch to leave! And don't even get me started on the Thigh Fairy!
0 -
Anyone reading this thread, Deboroh is the most knowledgeable person re: breast recon I have ever seen ,her input would and will help you through the process. Wish I found her before everything was done. sheila
0 -
Kate: LOL That's why we married butt men!! Sigh, I was only visited by the height fairy, the no waist or hips fairy and the spider vein fairy.
Sheila: We all worship Deborah--I am still expanding but I wouldn't be if I hadn't found her!
Ladies, hopefully today is my last uni fill. We are trying for a last 50 cc's so that I am at 550, which, let me tell you, is really pushing it as my skin is already super stretched. I just hate that a swimsuit is no longer an option with a uni expansion. I look like an alien is about to burst from my chest any second and it will be quite messy. I'm also bumping into things alot--every door is finding my turtle shell.
0 -
MBJ- LMAO!!! Turtle shell! That's it exactly! I was always an A girl. I'm not used to anything protruding from my chest! (Except when I was pregnant, but then my big belly ran into everything first!)
(And don't even get me started on the spider vein fairy! I swear she's like the house guest that will never leave!)
Good luck on your last fill!!!!
0 -
MBJ -- you know they make silicone inserts (for sale on Victoria's secret) to enhance cup size... you COULD try buying a set and inserting into your swimsuit to try to even out with the TE... just a thought.
0 -
Kate: She's the guest that never leaves and looks as if she's kicked me!! I ranged from a B to a small C when I was 20 pounds overweight. I was barely a B before my MX. My old bras no longer fit and my new ones don't now eaither due to the odd shaped TE. Unfortunately I wimped out today--I could only get in another 40 cc's :=(.
Lilah: I have all sorts of padding inserts. I thought I could use the silicone inserts, but they hang too naturally compared to my turtle shell! I also have a stick on peice of padding that's supposed to push you up and sticks to the fabric in your clothes, not your skin, but I am beyond being able to look natural in a swimsuit anymore. It's too obvious with my distorted, football shaped TE (why a sideways football I ask??!!) and my barely A cup side (yes, I had an B & an A cup before MX). So the padding works in clothes but not a swimsuit so much. I am too overstretched and lopsided and obvious that I am missing a breast on one side.
0 -
Aw MBJ bummer -- when is your exchange?
0 -
MBJ~So your done with your fills now? Im so jealous! lol
so how much do you have in now? 540ml? Thats good! If they put the full 60ml in my next one i'll be up to 510ml and that will be that-all done. Are you having augmentation on your good side at time of exchange?
i still loook down at my chest and laugh! i was in the kitchen making breakfast earlier and my hubby came up behind me,reaches around and got hold of my foobs! Funny thing is....i didn't even feel it!! LMAO!! talk about killing the moment! i have been bumping them more and more lately. Got a nice,low cut halter neck top on today.Making most of them while they're this size! =D
0 -
Lilah: I meet with my PS next Tuesday to see if they want to "top me off" or schedule my exhange date, so we shall see. I am thinking it won't happen until August.
MStar: As soon as I get my pictures up and you can see them then you will see that, yes, you are darn tootin' that I am getting the other side done or else I will be lopsided for life!! My remaining breast is a little A cup that never could. For some reason the breast fairy favored my other side, which was a full cup larger. I am up to 540 cc's now and I think that this is all that I can take. It is the most pain I have been in since I started getting fills. I took two Flexoral beforehand but I felt the needle go in and it felt too tight immediately upon starting. We were trying for 50 cc's but we only got in 40 :=(. If I had both sides done I could be out showing some cleavage, too, but I just look insanely lopsided. One big "Barbie" boob in the shape of a football and one natural boob that never agreed to give me cleavage no matter how much I pushed her up! That is so funny and sad at the same time that you couldn't feel your hubby feeling your foobs! I bang mine all of the time, poor, bruised thing. I am sure I can get used to bigger, though.
0 -
I have a question for ladies who have had their exchange or anyone who knows. WHen you have your exchange do they put drains in again? I thought I read where someone had them. I'm hoping not!
0 -
Some surgeons DO use drains, some don't; some make a decision in the moment (I believe). My surgeon told me I would definitely have a drain (I'm a uni, so only had one). Best plan is to ask your surgeon what he/she plans.
0 -
I am looking for some peace of mind. I am 5'2", 115 lbs. At time of DMX, the PS told me they removed about 850cc from each breast. I had told her prior to surgery that I wanted to look the same before as after and she said she could do that. What I'd like to know is: do implants normally replace cc for cc the amount removed during mastectomy? If not, is there a way to estimate what a replacement amount should be? I'm not very good and looking at photos and being able to visualize how other breasts would look on me.
0 -
scarecrow: I can help you with this but I need some additional information, as outlined above in my header post. I am posting it again here:
If you are interested in discussing implant sizes, e.g., how large or small you want to be, how much projection or lack thereof you want to have, make sure you compile the following information:
Ribcage measurement - [measuring the circumference of your ribcage under your tissue expander(s) or under your bra line]. Also, if you have TEs [tissue expanders] - we need to know about them. The style - Mentor or Allergan most likely - and whether they are short height, moderate height, full height if Mentor and style number if Allergan. We also need the recommended fill volume of the TEs - the number of cc's. This information should have been given to you on a card by your PS and if you did not receive it, it will be recorded in your chart and you can obtain it from your doctor's office.The style and volume of your TEs is important data!
Deborah
0 -
MBJ- Towards the end of my fills I started feeling the needle going in, too. It hurts but the good news is you're starting to get some sensation back in the breast. I started saying, "Yeah, that hurt!!!"
0 -
Kate: The larger and more mishapen the TE gets the more sensitive to the needle and to the fill. OUCH!!!! I think I've reached my limit. I walked into a cupboard again today, so I don't think I should go any bigger. I also bumped into someone today at the hospital and I was sure I broke his arm. I tried not to make eye contact and made a beeline for the door before he could figure out what hit him.0
-
MBJ- LOL!!! I keep trying to squeeze through small spaces thinking I'm still that A cup girl! I'm amazed I haven't ripped these nipples off that I worked so hard to keep since I go braless all the time! I'm thinking I should be wearing a chest protector! Wouldn't that be attractive! Oh well, it will be the dreaded surgical bra soon enough!
0 -
Hi,
Thanks for agreeing to help.
Ribcage measurement - [measuring the circumference of your ribcage under your tissue expander(s) or under your bra line]. 29"
TEs [tissue expanders] - style - Mentor Smooth Round Spectrum®Style 1400
We also need the recommended fill volume of the TEs - the number of cc's.
Sizing Chart Catalog Number Nominal Volume Temp. Min. Volume MINIMUM FILL MAXIMUM FILL Min Final Volume Min Min Max Final Volume Max Max Projection Diameter Projection Diameter 350-1485 525 cc 450 cc 525 cc 15.0 cm 4.4 cm 630 cc 14.4 cm 5.6 cm 0 -
Hi,
Thanks for agreeing to help me. Before my surgery I was 36-26-36. That's what I'd like to be again. I was a 32DD.
Ribcage measurement - 29
TEs [tissue expanders]
Smooth Round Spectrum®Style 1400
Catalog Number: 350-1485
Nominal Volume: 525 cc
Temp. Min. Volume: 450 cc
MINIMUM FILL
Min Final Volume: 525 cc
Min Diameter: 15.0 cm
Min Projection: 4.4 cm
MAXIMUM FILL
Max Final Volume: 630 cc
Max Diameter: 14.4 cm
Max Projection: 5.6 cm
0 -
MBJ - I'm still LOL! That's hilarious and I totally relate! I keep bumping into things and they feel like foreigners.
During my yoga/tai chi class last week, it was my first class since my last and final fill, my body was moving around but my foobs were not! They were totally getting in the way.
Ugh. So ready for these TE's to get out. At least it is comforting that we know we have weapons while we still have 'em.
LOL!
)0 -
Dawne-Hope- Who knew our boobs would become lethal weapons some day, huh, in more ways than one! LOL!
0 -
scarecrow: You have expandable implants being used as tissue expanders, which is not commonly done after breast reconstruction [I think you are perhaps the second person I have talked to in the past two years], but is perfectly fine, considering your prior breast size, body habitus and your desire to retain the same appearance after BMX. This means you can keep the current implants, which are saline-filled, and then the port is closed off when you reach your desired size, or you do have the option of exchanging out to silicone implants as well. I presume though, that your PS intends to keep the Spectrum and not perform an exchange surgery, right?
So here is the connundrum with implants after mastectomy. You will probably want to expand up to 600 ccs volume to achieve the look you had prior to mastectomy. At 600 ccs, you will likely wear a larger bra size than you did previously - perhaps even a 32 F - but because the implants are sitting only in a pocket with a skin covering - no fat or connective tissue - you will note that you look no larger in actuality - no larger in clothing - than you did prior to MX. I know this does not make sense now and it is difficult to explain this phenomenon, but you will understand this eventually. You do not need to match the ccs you lost with the MX - fat and connective tissue weigh more than saline or silicone. You will fit into this elevated bra size because of the width of the implants, which creates the ability to fill up the cups of the bra.
Let me know your thoughts. Are you aware that these expander/implants can be left permanently? Does your PS intend for you to keep them or have you discussed exchanging them out for silicone implants?
Hope this helps!
Deborah
0 -
My PS and I chatted quite a bit during fill #2 yesterday. I'm currently at 300 cc. He's been trying to convince me to get a 400 cc implant eventhough I only wanted 300... I was a 34A prior to cancer... Anywhoo, after "talking" to Deborah and to my PS, I think I'm OK with 400 as my goal. That means I'll need to be over-expanded to 500 according to my PS. Generally speaking, I like where the TE's are but they seem so wiiiiiide. The diameter seems so huge. My PS tells me that he used a relatively small one and that with a high-profile smooth, round 400cc implant, I'll be happy. 'tho he said that he couldn't predict the cup size...
So, Deborah~ Ideas?? I'm 5'0" and 110lbs with an 80cm ribcage. I know that cup-size can't be predicted but could you give it a shot (at 400 cc)?? LOL! He says that he either uses allergan or mentor implants but thinks I'll do better in allergan. FWIW~ I feel a little tightness but no pain at 300cc. The TE's are rock hard though...
0
