BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
Comments
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Hi, Sorry, I am fairly new to this. I had a bilateral mastectomy 4 weeks ago and have been undergoing RAPID expansion (ouch ouch ouch!). I am up to 400 cc's now. I am 5'5" and 130lb, age 38 with a ~32" measurement around my rib cage. I used to be a 34B.
I am scheduled for exchange next Tuesday so that I have 3 weeks to heal before radiation. I talked to my PS today. I am a little worried about my size and the feel of the implants. I am prone to wrinkling because I don't have much fat under my skin, so cohesive gel sounded good. One the other hand, the firmness of those would would really bother me. I love to sleep on my side. Also, I liked the look of the natural profile, but my PS said that those would look smaller than the rounds. So, we ended up on Sientra round textured cohesive gels as a softer compromise with more size on top. He is ordering 3 sizes, one larger than my size, one at my size, and one smaller.
Am I going to be close to what I was before? Because I feel like at 400 cc in my TEs, I look smaller. Also, will I be comfortable sleeping on my side in these? Surgery is in 5 days, so a quick reply would really be appreciated! He said I could cancel all the up to the day before, but then I'd have to wait until 6 mo after radiation with the dreaded TEs in.
Thanks everyone!
PS - I had no luck getting into the photo galleries - is there someone else that I can PM to get access? I really want to know what sientras look like on real women with reconstruction. My clock is ticking!0 -
Hi, sorry you are going through such fast expansion ouch is right, i have to be honest 400 cc may give you a B, it is hard to tell but it will be close to what it look now with the TE, in terms of projection you can go on the website provided at the beginning and see the implants, there should be your decision if you want another fill. remember you are the one who will keep the size after. I have 600 cc in mine but the surgeon wanted me to go smaller, i wanted as close as possible to the size i used to be which was a D. i see the TE on me and it looks as the size i had before. I believe the implants will be ok for sleeping on the side but remember radiation ll affect the skin too. with me the asked me to do rad and wait the 6 months in case of complications. i now have 2 more months to have the exchange. Hope this help, think about your size and make changes before rad starts, this is important and they can push rad a few weeks in order for you to have another fill, yes Ouch but at the end you may be happier with the end result.
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BCPhoenix...
Your best bet is to carefully read the instructions in the header of this thread, then send that info in a private message to Whippetmom. Or you can post the info here. Or both!! She is a genius at helping with sizing.
In general, however, most women find that the implants will look smaller than the TE's. TE's have a hard shell backing (the ouch we all know and hate) so that all of your fill is pushing forward to stretch the skin/muscle. The implants are softer all around (yay) and that lets them conform to your chest well. If you can picture a bowl filled with water sitting on your chest...then picture a Ziploc with the same amount of water sitting there you can get a general idea of the issues with sizing. My gut says if you think the TE's look small you will not be happy with implants of that size.
Oh!! I have smooth silicone rounds and I'm just as comfy side sleeping as I was pre-BMX. It took a few weeks after exchange to heal up first...but it's very comfortable now. Best wishes!!!!0 -
BCPhoenix - Dulci did a great job with the bowl of water vs ziploc filled with water sitting on your chest analogy. I have 750cc smooth round implants which I'm very happy with. I was expanded to 750 and the TEs at that size were quite bulbous looking and just a little porn star boobish looking. Not National Enquirer news-worthy or anything, just a little too much. I knew from this site that I'd lose a little size/projection switching to the same size implants and it turned out perfect. The 750cc implants I went with were exactly what Whippetmom recommended. It sucks that you have to feel rushed at this point.
Also, I had the TEs for nine months and I became quite comfortable with them. Could sleep on my side but not my stomach. With the implants even stomach sleeping is no problem (except then my lower back kinks up, darn it).0 -
BCPhoenix: Yes, read #3 in the thread header. I need to know more about your TEs.0 -
Hi whippetmom, I will have my surgery in two months to replace the TE with implants and I am ER+ and the PS told me she is planning on doing some fat drafting to the right side were I had Rad, she said it will help with the muscle and the nerves now someone mentioned in another forum that the Estrogen is stored in adipose tissue. I am wondering ..... Have any of you done fat drafting ? what is the chance of that causing any bc cells to react? I am now not sure I am in for this fat drafting technic. This PS got me of guar she just said that and did not explain much, I asked her what? what is that? and she said oh I will take some of your fat from your stomach and transferred to the breast area, and then I asked her is it necessary? she say it wont hurt and it will help the muscle and the nerves so it does not becomes so tight again. If any of you have this done or know about it let me know I am so worry about everything now. This Dr. does not gives me much info i try getting the exact style of the implants i will get and she told me just the name she said Inspira gel xtra full profile, so i will call the secretary to ask her to give me the exact style I glance at my file and I saw it was written down as measures 13cm but I was not able to see the style ;( I will get the info and will send it to you by PM so you can let me know if it is similar to style45 you mentioned to someone else before as been the once with full projection.
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Enerva, if you want to search here MANY women have had "Fat Grafting" (be sure to search "grafting" not "drafting") during the reconstruction process. But you may want to ask your oncologist or breast surgeon your question about being ER+. I think most plastic surgeons know more about the cosmetic side of things and not so much about cancer and risk of recurrence.
Whippetmom is great at helping with sizing of implants, but she will need you to give her the info found in #3 of the header at the top of this page. If you struggle with your doctor/office giving you the info about your expanders (which should NOT be a struggle) you can request your surgical notes from the hospital and the info should be in them. It's GREAT that you are here with two whole months to ask and learn and plan!
Best wishes!!0 -
Thanks Dulcigirl lol sorry for the drafting lol yes grafting, i will ask about this for sure, thanks for the tip on the surgical notes. I should get the info this week.
yes 2 months to go yahooooo 0 -
drafting, grafting....tomato, tomahto!!
:-)
Good luck!! Just remember those are YOUR records and you CAN have them!0 -
Enerva: I have had fat graft transfer performed twice....I am ER/PR + and I personally have no concerns about the process. My last FGT was three years ago. I am absolutely an advocate for the use of FGT for previously irradiated breasts like yours. I agree with your PS in this regard! INSPIRA implants are the latest and most up to date implant design from Allergan. You are fortunate to have access to them in Canada. It all sounds like you are on the right track to me!
Hope this link works....
http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/70/topic/744891?page=4#idx_910 -
Whippetmom thank you so much, you are the best I am so nervous about everything ;( It really helps me to know your opinion regarding the implants and the fat G. Thanks again, for some reason the TE are making me so sore and uncomfortable every day it seams instead of better I feel worse but I think it is due to my nerves waking up and trying to come back
so I am sucking it up for these 2 more months. Thanks again0 -
Enerva: Take more time off between fills. Ask for fewer ccs at each fill. There is no rush.0 -
Hi, Enerva - Whippetmom is right. There is no rush. If your fills are too uncomfortable, slow down.
For those who have pain issues after fills, your motto should be "Low and slow is the way to go."
Wishing you the best!0 -
Chiming in on the 'low and slow is the way to go' mantra. I heartily agree. My PS started me out with weekly fills of 100cc 2 weeks post BMX (including 100cc at time of BMX). I was miserable, and that's about the time I found this site. We changed to 50cc fills and my BS switched my pain med from hydrocodone to neurontin. I never had any more pain with fills and ended up overfilled by 150cc to achieve the results I envisioned. Yes, it's hard to be patient because you want to exchange the rocks for soft squishies, but there's no need to rush it if by slowing down you can be more comfortable for the duration. It may not work for everyone of course, but it's worth a try. What's to lose except some pain and discomfort?0 -
Hi all i actually finished the fill long ago, before rad. I didn't get much pain after the fills i think is due to my skin was already stretched and we went to 600cc just to achieve my size from before bmx. After rad then i have been have pain that comes and goes. i was told its due to the nerves. I also think its just from having the TE fir so long my chest is begging for it to go away lol
Thanks you so much for all the advices
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Enerva - has the doctor that diagnosed it as nerve pain suggested a prescription nerve pain med? That's what solved my fill pain. When I described my pain to my BS she recognized it as nerve pain and switched me to neurontin (gabapentin). Totally turned my outlook around when that pain was resolved.0 -
Sweetstand thanks for the info, no i saw the PS and the BS and they both said its ok to just keep taking regular pain killer that its my nevers but didn't suggest any specific pain killer for nerves
i will try seen my FD and i will ask about it. Thanks 0 -
I am 5"7' and 132 Lbs and 34 years old. My ribcage is 31inches and currently I am filled to 425cc's. I'd like to have a full C cup/small D cup when I am finally done with all this. How many more cc'd do you think I need? I'm ready for this to be over with!
Thank you and God bless you all!0 -
tiffany - Whippetmom is our resident implant sizing guru. You might get a quicker response if you PM her but read through item #3 in the header at the top of this page. Besides your physical stats she's going to need your tissue expander information too.0 -
Tiffany....as sweetandspecial stated, I need info you can find in #3 of the header to this thread.0 -
I have NATRELLE Style 133. Is that the additional info you needed? I don't see the recommended cc's on the card. I'm 5'7", 130lbs and 31" rib cage. I hope this is enough information for you. Thanks again!!0 -
Well, it is only 8 weeks after the silicone exchange. It looks like my new reconstruction differs from my reconst. on the other side in 2010. More of a fold and cleavage line..... and the upper pole at this point is a lot more fuller than my 2010 reconstruction on the opposite side.
Any suggestions or comments I would appreciate.
Thanks,
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Hi All,
It's been a while since I've posted. I had my exchange surgery yesterday, 10.25.13. The implants look fine, but are way smaller than mine before BMX. The fun part of this is my implants are 800cc, the largest silicone made. My question is about fat grafting with implants. Is it possible? Can I get a good result?
Thank you for any input.
Btrflysnshn0 -
Tiffanyleigh: All Allergan Natrelle silicone implants are "133" style implants. I private messaged you to look for additional information, such as whether they are MV, MX, SV, SX, FX, FV....and the actual recommended volume.0 -
Vicktoria: If you want to email me photos....I will private message you my email addy. It does take time for things to settle...so you would need to wait possibly two months for the final outcome.0 -
Hi I went to my PS today. He told me to wait
until the 3 month mark and see how it looks.
Actually it took around 4 months for my original to drop.
I respect his opinion. Only time will tell I guess.
It does look somewhat different- but hoping it will pass....0 -
Hi Whippetmom,
About how long before the implants have settled, for good? Had exchange surgery (both) in April, revision surgery beginning of July (uni and PS said she removed a lot scar tissue and considerable pocket work done). Been noticing that bras that fit pretty well a couple of weeks ago don't fit the same way lately. Also, how long before discomfort/pain stops? Seems like with our damp, cool weather lately, lots of discomfort/pain, thought I'd be feeling so much better by now.
Thanks!0 -
Is it possible, realistically speaking, to get fat grafting if you have very little body fat?
Thanks
Vi
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vi, I don't know the answer to your question, but wishing I had that problem! Lol!0 -
Me too! I can certainly share!0
