BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
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They didn't mush. The things average women take for granted! lol
Wow, I will definitely keep that in mind. I don't want to go through more surgeries than I have to. I'm already slightly disappointed that they can't make me as big as I am now.0 -
The implants mush better. ;-) MUCH better.
The 4 months were not fun, but I could do it again if necessary. And many people do not have trouble like that. I have friends who were actually able to sleep on their sides!!! (That's my fave!) Also my drains never leaked and I don't THINK I drooled. Ha!!! But you could always put a tarp over it.
Mt. St Helens, for sure!! Send me that email. I cannot imagine you are that much bigger than I was!0 -
I sent you an email dulci. Lemme know if it gets through.
Idk why our emails are not working like they should.! Of course I am on my 3rd glass of wine now. heh0 -
Babs - Sorry you've had a difficult time
Did they use Alloderm on the side that developed cellulitis? It is possible to develop a sensitivity reaction to the material. Just a thought...0 -
whippet mom
Hi I need advice please,
I am having BMX w TE put in next Wed. 12/11. My PS never told me any info about sizing. All I know is she uses Allergan implants. I think she uses rounds, they will be silicone for sure. My stats are 5'6" 182 lbs, 361/2 inch rib cage, size 38 D bra now. I told her I wanted to be smaller a C cup is fine with me. I can call her nurse on Monday to ask questions. I am concerned whether they put in the correct width of TE for my size. what do you think? Thanks0 -
flat13good: Honestly, no I do not know. If you want to go get a second opinion regarding what could be going on and if there is some non-surgical approach to a fix, I have a name in KC, MO. Let me know.0 -
TessaW: With your 13.0 cm wide TEs, this could translate to Allergan Style 20 high profile 500 cc implants...or even Style 45 - ultra full projection style implants - around 650 ccs. You probably will have sufficient skin flaps for larger implants. I don't know why plastic surgeons have to be so dismal about reconstruction. Why not TRY to restore a similar volume whenever possible? Many of us are larger than we were prior to bc. Drives me crazy. But Tessa, read #4 in the thread header regarding sizing.0 -
Tina T yes they used alloderm but according to the PS he didn't see any signs of an infection once he opened me up We're waiting for cultures that he took to see what could possibly be the cause.
Babs0 -
Hello all,
I am currently expanding with Mentor 350cc TE's. I am 5'6 and 128lbs and was a 34 b before double MX. PS plans to expand to 420cc. We spoke about a nice round smallish C cup prior to Surgery. Am I going to get anywhere near that with this size expansion? I know this is a guesstimate
Also, I would appreciate access to the reconstruction Gallery, who do I request this from?
Thanks all!
Mimi0 -
THANK YOU Whippetmom! I'm actually tearing up while writing this. It's so frustrating when the people who are going to be making major changes to your body seem so seemingly negative about your outcome and offer so little information.
I was only dx in Sept. I haven't been here long, but I've seen how huge of an impact you've had for so many women here. Please know that all the time and effort you put into what you do is SO important and really help so many women.0 -
She's a great help isn't she. I would NOT ever want to be the larger size i was before BC. Had too much.0 -
Tessa - I had no idea what size expander my PS planned to use and didn't find out until after the BMX. My original plan was a lumpectomy. While waiting for the lumpectomy date my BS ordered a bi-lateral MRI to rule out any other 'surprises' that might not have shown up on the mammograms. MRI revealed 3 additional suspicious areas between both breasts and I had to wait two weeks for additional biopsies. Lumpectomy had been scheduled for Monday 10-29-12 but the MRI guided biopsies didn't happen until 10-31-12. So, my surgery was rescheduled for Monday 11-5-12, we just didn't know if it would be a lumpectomy or mastectomy. I had one consult with my PS prior to surgery and it was very shortly after I was diagnosed as a 'just in case you need a mastectomy' visit. By the time I got my MRI biopsy results on Friday, Nov 2 at 5:00pm (negative....PTL!) I had decided on a double mastectomy anyway. With surgery already scheduled the following Monday morning I never had a 2nd consult to discuss details and expectations.
The reason I share this is to help you appreciate the time you have had to ask so many questions and get input and recommendations. For many of us the time between diagnosis and surgery was much more compressed and there was no time to do the sort of research you've been doing. My expanders were the correct width and height but not enough capacity to give me the results I wanted. I found this site about a month after my BMX (originally was on the tissue expander pain thread). Once I found the Exchange City thread and started talking with Whippetmom I realized I needed to over-expand and go with larger implants than what my PS intended to get the size I wanted.
Please make sure you and your PS are on the same page with regard to your expectations and what is achievable with the TEs he plans to use. You need to stress the importance of maintaining as much size and projection as possible with him/her. He/she should be willing to work with you to achieve your vision, within reason of course.
sorry for the length of this......I'm not very good at condensing my thoughts. Seems like more words are way better than less most of the time
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I'm home from the hospital on day three. I have s;;rthsm
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Hi Whippetmom...I am new to this forum. I am on the FORCE website chat/message boards and you came highly recommended. I had a double mastectomy on Oct. 1st. I have tissue expanders now and am getting close to my last fill up or at least I think I am. I am 5'8" in height and 144 pounds. I am fit and have wide shoulders and a ribcage under my expanders/under a bra that is 30 inches in circumference. Before the surgery I was a 34B bra size. I have Allergan tissue expanders and with the expansion they are not too wide but wider than my natural breasts were and are a little under the arm. Enough that it's not as easy as it was to shave under my arms. At this time each expander has 400 cc in them and will have 500 cc in them as of Tuesday, Dec. 10. My goal is a full C cup. I don't want to go too big but right now I feel that my projection is about a full B cup at 400 cc in the tissue expander. Again, it's difficult to get a true bra measurement since they ride high and give that pushup bra look. Any advice is much appreciated regarding how many ccs my true implants would need to be to get me to a full C. I've read so many things about the exchange surgery and feeling they are so much smaller than they thought they'd be. Also, my PS is great. He is overexpanding me. I will ask him on Tuesday just how much he is overexpanding. I was a full B cup before and that's why he's overexpanding since I am going to a full C. I don't want to look fake but I do want to be happy with the finished product after all of this. Any information you can provide is helpful. Thank you.0 -
hi pinklotus,
Be sure to read paragraph #3 and provide the info listed so Whippetmom (or others) can give you a more accurate answer (info about TE's you have)0 -
Trying to post but system keeps saying I didn't write a message so it can't post anything. Prior to that it let me post a couple of words only. Never have had this kind of problem. You don't suppose it's because I'm just back from the hospital on day 3 after exchange surgery? Maybe I DO have general anesthesia brain fog. LOL.
Exchange surgery was painful, which was unexpected. I got Allergan Natrelle 410 anatomical shaped silicone implants, style FF.
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In regards to paragraph 3, I have moderate height and I know the PS said that we could fill them to a capacity of 700cc. I do not have the actual model number of the TE but know they are Allergan. I believe that's all the information you need? The other is listed in my first message. Thanks.
Pinklotus0 -
at the time of your surgery, were you given a card (like a credit card)? That contains about the TE's including the specific model number.0 -
No I wasn't. We discussed getting a card when I received my implants. I can contact my surgeon's office and ask for this information.0 -
it would be good to get the info. My TE's were Allergan style 133MX-15T, 700 cc. I never learned what all that means (since TE's are temporary) but others know what all that means. You can look it up from the links Whippetmom has listed above. Using that info, corresponding implants can be determined. Also, you might want to ask whether your PS prefers Mentor or Allergan implants (they don't always use the same brand, mine uses Allergan TE's and Mentor implants).0 -
Babs: Tina is right. It has to do with the Alloderm.
You had Red Breast Syndrome. There was no need to remove your implants. The condition resolves eventually and it is a benign issue. It resembles cellulitis and so can be alarming. But it ALWAYS eventually resolves. You can scroll down and read about it below. It has become quite a common SE....so I wish your doctors had researched it further....
http://www.plasticsurgerypulsenews.com/9/article_dtl.php?QnCategoryID=86&QnArticleID=180&QnCurPage=50 -
Mimi68: Not sure which style of Mentor TE you have [there are three styles], but I think that high profile smooth round silicone implants with a volume of around 450 ccs would be nice on your frame. Why don't you let me know how you feel about the size once you are expanded to 350 ccs, and then we can see if we need to reasses that recommendation.0 -
pinklotus: Yes, as Maddy states, there is more information required regarding the volume of your TEs. I know they are moderate height TEs, but they could be 400 ccs or 500 ccs, and your PS has come up with 700 ccs as the arbitrary number he can reach with overfill. The TE information will be in your chart. The key issue for me is the width of your TEs.0 -
whippet mom. My entire breast was red and warm to the touch and it went down my arm. Plus the second time I had it it presented in a larger area. The worry was that I would keep having it come back and that it would be worse each time I am looking at fat grafting. What are your thoughts on this? I am quite bummed out about this
Babs0 -
Hi Sandra how bad was the pain, from 1 to 10. I am getting nervous. This Thursday i will see my PS to ask her to agree on the Implants style i want. I will also ask for the card with the info on TE and Implants. Let me know what was your experience with the exchange, was it the same as the mx? or a bit better? Thanks
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Enerva,
Since I had a BMX with immediate implants, I don't know if it is comparable to BMX with tissue expanders like you had. I didn't have much pain - just a rush of tingling pain when I first stood up that lasted seconds. I was surely sore at first but never needed anything more than Tylenol. The second surgery, I had one implant taken out because of infection and a TE placed. That was also not really painful, just quite sore and uncomfortable from the debridement of necrotic tissue, repairs to parts of three muscles and loss of a lot of tissue.on my side and under my arm. Tylenol worked fine then but I needed a muscle relaxant too. Ouch! Those muscles were unhappy on the TE side for a couple of days.
This time for the exchange I didn't expect pain so I was surprised. Just sitting still in my bed it stayed at a 3 or 4 but the minute I moved, it spiked quick to an 8. Standing was (and still is) an ordeal. I couldn't help vocalizing when the sudden increase in pain jumped to a 9 when I stood up. It made me shake a little...never had that before. It only lasted a few seconds before it calmed down to about a 6 as I walked to the bathroom. The doc decided to give me a tiny bit of morphine (although I'm allergic to narcotics) and monitor my heart and breathing for trouble for two days. But it caused a nasty headache caused more nausea, so they stopped it. Back to IVTylenol.
The pain is on my right side, not where the TE was on the left. Because I had a bigger implant on the right for 3 months, the PS had to do pocket work on that side to put in the smaller implant. Yikes, it's painful. Not a 9 anymore but a 7 for sure. The left side that had the TE exchanged for an implant is fine. Just a little sore like you would expect. I can use that left arm & hand to clean myself when I go to the bathroom. The right side? No way. Still hurts way too much. I'd say the pain of this surgery is 80% more than the last one or the BMX.
Remember though, I've pretty much sailed through things for 3 months, so this must be karma.
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Sorry I was way to busy this weekend to check in.
Enerva I had my exchange and it all went well I took the rest of the week off work and did what I was told but I had issues about a month later the radiated side Popped open overnight and I found it in the morning so they had to redo that side. Did not think I did anything wrong it just happens sometimes. I just felt like the pressure was still there and more than I want to feel like. Rocks and ducktape. so they had to go. flatsy
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Whippetmom Yes if you have someone in KC I would love to go and see It can't hurt. I know it will never be pretty again but if I can get ride of the lumps that would be nice. Flatsy
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Sandra and Fat13, Thanks for the info, i am a bit worry about the pain i havent had luck its been a long 9 months with the TE and just hope all goes well on xtmas eve. Tjanks again
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Enerva - If you don't have a lot of pocket work or lipo the exchange shouldn't be very painful at all. It just kind of depends on what all is being done. I don't remember your circumstances (simple swap vs pocket work needed or fat grafting or lipo, etc).
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