BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
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Thank you Deborah - I will be replacing the natural side's implant so I will have some sort of reduction/enhancement on that side. I figured I needed another 70- 100cc's in the TE so you have confirmed that for me. Silicone it is.
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I posted a new topic regarding final breast size after exchange. Eager to hear final results from people. Here is what I posted in case anyone on here can share their personal experience in that section too. Thanks for your stats!
Hello everyone, I am very interested in hearing the final results of the exchange from all of you.
- Are you happy with the end result or do your wish you would have gone bigger or smaller?
- Which manufacturer (Mentor, Allergan or other) style and volume/width tissue expander did you have? What is the manufacturer, style and volume of your implants?
- Body size - height, weight and ribcage size including frame type.
- Bra size before and after so others can compare themselves with your final outcome.
- How have they settled after the swelling has gone down? Is the fullness or projection what they were when you had the TE or at least what you wanted? If not did your PS say what should have been done to make them the size you were looking for?
I know that our implants are typically smaller than the TE but wondering if they are just not as round or don't stick out as much as you had thought they would based on the TE dimensions. I know implants settle too so just not sure how much more to go to achieve the desired size since I think I am done with fills now but up to me. I am coming from a mid B but want a full C with more of a natural look but also bigger than I was.
I have read on other posts that others are asking the same thing but don't see much on final results. Thank you for any feedback you can provide! Interested to hear what everyone says!
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Babyo20 - I think this is a good idea. A way for people to sort thru some info, and get some kind of information. I have asked questions on numerous threads, and never really got any answers, so I am just going to forge ahead and do whatever, and hope for the best. I will definately post my results (good or bad) on your thread.
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Don't get implants they are TOXIC. Mine neatly killed me had I not removed them last July!
Millions of other woman out there, same thing, lots die.
We can't use propaganda.
Plastic surgeons and doctors deny it. I'm living proof of how toxic these things are. Still living with lingering problems. But at least I'm getting better and cab function. Lots left right after explant. Lots of detoxing needed. Be smart.
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Tanya, I am sorry your implants did not work out for you but I don't think you can make a blanket statement like that, maybe for you they were toxic, but a lot of women have them for many many years with no regrets.
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Dear Tanya/Healing
You are entitled to your opinion, but this Topic is not a suitable location. However, if making statements like this you need to be more specific as there are many women are out there with long term implants, without complications, who would take issue with such statemments.
We neither condone reconstruction or non-reconstruction but these forums are for a balanced view of all options.
The Mods
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baby: I would change bullet point #2 to read: Which mfr (Mentor, Allergan or other) style and volume/width tissue expander did you have, and what is the mfr, style and volume of your implants?
(You cannot go by fill level, because it could represent underfill or overfill and this would not be an accurate comparison. )
Deborah
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Hi anybody please comment-
I just had a revision with alloderm to support the implant. It has dropped some- and its only been 6 days. Do silicone implants drop less when alloderm is used? It needs to drop quite a bit more for them to be symmetrical.
thanks
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Thanks Deborah for the information. I feel my projection is staggering right now too. It's very uncomfortable for me and I definitely have told my PS that I don't want this much projection after exchange. I will PM pictures to you tomorrow and I also have the PMT catalog that I can send a link to as it has some diagrams and pictures of the TE.
Thanks again for your insight!
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I see my PS Aug 7th and get a surgery date.
I had a right UMX
on Sept 30, 2013. My tissue expander is Mentor 354-6114 550cc 15.0
width, 10.9cm height and 7.4cm projection. I'm 5'6" 148lbs, ribs 31"
currently. . My PS
likes Mentor implants.I PM you photos.
Any and all suggestions or questions for my PS are welcome.
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BigT16: I am so sorry....once again...I have lost a reply post! I remember responding to your private message and it was quite detailed, but I just now checked my sent folder, and it is not there. I will put it together again tomorrow and resend. So very sorry for the mishap and delay in getting you answers to your questions! I think your PS is doing a great job though!!
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Stix,
Implants will still drop and fluff with Alloderm. While it is used to add some support/recreate IMF/ptosis, Alloderm still stretches, becomes flexible....especially over time as your own tissues integrate with it.
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Thanks divecat..
. so happy to hear that0 -
Divecat I was wondering the same thing. I had asked over in the picture forum if you can still wear a bra with push up pads with Alloderm (not that you would need too), I just didn't think it would matter if the Alloderm couldn't be "pushed up"....
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Hi and thank you for providing all this info.
I was wondering if the ultimate size of the implant has to be decided in the very beginning; i.e. immediately following surgery when expanders are placed? I believe my doc will use the Natrelle 410. I told her I wanted to be a B cup, but now I'm not so sure. I'm 5'11" 145-150lbs and my breasts are rather small, but to be honest I don't know what my actual cup size is because I've never put too much time into finding a perfect fitting bra. I just find one at Ross that covers what it needs to, and buy a bunch of them in different colors. And I haven't shopped for a bra in years. My point is that I've just assumed I was a B cup, but now I'm wondering if I'm actually a large A because my mother and a good friend have teased me about being so small (I don't take offense because I happen to prefer my breasts small). What I'd like is for the doc to make my breasts more or less the same size as they are now, but then I thought to myself, what if I actually look better with a slightly larger bosom? Can this decision be made later as the tissue expander is filled?
Thank you!
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when I mentioned to my 1st PS that I would like to go slightly larger he said he would see how the skin would stretch as we did fills. He would not commit to anything. he did go somewhat larger. I have 650 cc implants- and we are about the same height and weight. I definitely would not want larger. I would be just as happy with 500 or 550 also....I think- for me. I don't like to have a huge chest- its just not me... These implants are moderate in size for my height and weight. Naturelle 45-650.
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Since I got out of surgery for a revision it seems like my IMF has actually dropped some also.Is that possibly? As stated previously I had alloderm to recreate the fold.
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My skin is thin and rather "slack"--does the doc automatically fill enough to make the skin taught, or will the doc remove some of the skin so that it's more taught on a smaller breast? (am I making sense?) When I went through puperty, I went from a B cup to a D cup in a month. By the time I was in my 20s, my whole body slimmed down naturally, as did my boobs. Unfortunately, my skin didn't get the memo, and it seems to have stayed all stretched out. I certainly do not want to be big enough to fill to capacity.
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I'm having a lot of trouble getting the model number for my TEs. I know they are Mentor 350s, but that's all I can get. The wonderful nurse who does all my fills went through all of my records and can't find anything. She says she'll have to ask the PS, but he's out of town for huge parts of this month and the next. (I sent him an email several weeks ago that he didn't answer.) Did someone on here say she had gone to the hospital and gotten her full surgery records? I have considered calling my insurance company--they paid for the TEs, surely they know what model they are?
I have an appointment with my PS on August 21st, but I'd really like to walk into that appointment able to talk about specific implants to consider because my swap surgery is scheduled for September 4th. Also, I want to be sure I'm "filled up" enough to get the implant I want.
Any recommendations on who to call? Would my BS's nurse have better access? Should I call the hospital records people? Thanks!
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Elizabeth--I
too had a difficult time getting the TE info from my PS. I finally called the hospital and requested a
copy the operative report from my mastectomy when the TE’s were also
placed. The model number of the TE’s
were in the operative report. I then downloaded
the Mentor Breast Implant catalog and looked up the model number to determine
the dimensions of my TE’s. It really
irks me that we have to be a detective on top of all the other stuff we have to
deal with!0 -
Thanks, Lori! I sent an email to the customer services "patient support" of the hospital where I had my mastectomy. I'm hoping someone there can either find the model number or at least tell me how to request the operative report as you did.
It's also interesting to see that you had cancer of both breasts--me too. DCIS on the left and LCIS on the right that turned out to be hiding invasive lobular carcinoma. We're a small group. You've really been through a lot--I hope you're doing well now and can leave this all behind!!
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Iwannacookie - I am also going with the 410. It is my understanding, that the pocket needs to be made very precisely, so as to avoid rotation of the implant. My PS used a TE specifically for the apporoximate size I was aiming for. My original goal was 600cc, but I gave up at 480cc. PS said not to worry, the width/height of implant would still be larger then the TE, and he would make the projection part snug. HOWEVER, after a 2 week break from fills, I was feeling pretty good, and today I asked him if we could do one more fill, and go with just a slightly larger implant in projection, and he was very agreeable to this. Its not A LOT of difference in projection, but it gave me some peace of mind. Though he does not talk much in "cup size", he did say this would be much easier to get me to a full "B". I am at 540cc now. I am 5' 9" 155 lbs.
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twoam--do I understand correctly that you are saying one DOES need to know the desired cup size before the TE are placed? In other words, if I initially say I want to be a B, I wouldn't have the option to stop at an A, or go to a C as they fill them?
Also--do the implants only come in standard sizes, or are they filled to order?
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Geez--I'm looking at my posts and I realize I obviously didn't spend enough time with my PS.
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I had to request mine from medical rdcords. When they insert the implant they place a label in the chart with the brand and sze...it's that simple. Lori I am with you on being a detective
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Iwannacookie, I believe the advantage of using TE is that to an extent you will be able to determine the size you will like to be based on the amount of fluid put into the expander. At my first fill my PS said to just let him know when I liked how they looked. I could stop or keep going..it was up to me. I don't know about the implants...I think most are standard but there might be some that are capable of filling to order. I could be wrong on that. It's all pretty new to me too!!
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iwannacookie,
I don't think you can go by the "guess" of others as to your breast size. People seem to have a VERY skewed sense of what "cup size" means or are. Unless there was only a 1" difference between your underbust and your bust measurement before surgery, you weren't an A-cup. A 2" difference is about a B cup.
Case in point...after my surgery my mother commented the PS did not put in "very large implants". I laughed and said I was at least a 30D (my reference being that I used to be a 30E and having a pretty high "bra-size IQ" in respect to knowing how to properly fit a bra, etc). She disagreed and said no way was I as a D. Well, she was kind of right....as I still wear a 30E...meaning I have a 5" difference between my ribcage and my bust. No one ever really believed I was a 30E before either, because most people really just do not understand how bra sizing really works. A 30E really is not "huge" like people expect it to be:
http://www.brabandproject.com/gallery/search?band=30&cup=E&age=&brand=&sister_sizes=0&search=Search
Anyway, your TEs should have been chosen by considering the WIDTH and height you needed for your chest wall. TEs can be overfilled, so their "max capacity" does not mean they can't go bigger. I routinely see women on here have their TEs overfilled significantly How big you can go depends on your skin/tissues (whether they are very thin, or being stressed, etc). Silicone implants don't go bigger than 800ccs, but saline implants can go bigger than that.
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Elizabeth, what body size are you as that is exactly the TE that I have so want to compare a little.
mine is overfilled but waiting on access to the picture gallery so I can look at others who are similar to my frame. I want a full C but know I have o o to a D to achieve that look so wondering if I need more fills or not.Have you had a Annie to review my numbers whippetmom as I wanted sto know if you recommended additional fills or if I was oak where I was at. Thanks!
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Iwannacookie - I am going smaller then what my PS and I originally planned for. The implant is still bigger in width/height then the TE, so my PS said that it would still be ok. Sorry I didnt explain it better the first time. I had my last fill today, and am a bit loopy from pain meds lol. This link lists the different implants and TE's. I found it very helpful to compare, and then discuss the options with my PS.
http://breastimplantadvice.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/03/Allergan-catalogue-file.pdf
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Did I leave my brain In the OR.. well..just had a revision ...less than a week...and my plan was to put ice on the lateral side of my breast. Well...i got to typing on the computer...took the ice off in about 15 to 20 minutes...and tried to grab something hard on my breast...i thought what did they leave on me in the OR and I didnt notice it? Well not smart ladies. .The hardness on the side of the breast was a huge indent..which was extremely extreme painful when I moved...hard as a rock due to ice....not sure why I got instructions to put ice on it... it was in a manufactured bag also...but I quickly.... put some warm water on a cloth and bathed the skin in it..And massaged it. I couldn't get warm water out of that faucet quick enough. . Lesson learned. ....just a reminder in case u are a newbie..
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