BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
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I just had BMX on Tuesday. My breast weighed 2.5lbs each!! PS said my chest muscle was very strong and put in 500 ccs in my expanders. I was very large - 36dd. But I know I can't go back to that. Actually don't want it. My question is, is this where they start with the fill? I'm liking what I see now..Even though its lumpy, Does it even out?
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Thank you Whippetmom! Believe it or not, I had zero droop with my native breasts. Not even one pencil! They were awesome. Sigh. At 51, my PS looked at me like I was a freak of nature! Right now with 450cc, I have no upper pole at all. My PS likes to keep the pec muscle at the top at thick as possible because she says there's less chance of rippling. I will talk to her about the Style 20 vs the Style 45 when I see her on Thursday. Thanks again.
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3littlebirds: I like the way your PS thinks...especially about the pectoral musculature. Keep me posted!
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angelfaith: Think of the TE like a deflated football, with its wonky edges. Those edges smooth out and fill in as the football is filled. So you will see improvement, absolutely.
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anyone on here get exchanged to an ultra mentor implant? I haven't seen many on this site so wondering for those who have how the projection holds and what to expect as far as settling goes since they are not as wide as the others. If there are any members who had them that may no longer be active on the list I would love to chat with them. Thanks!
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good morning wheeptmom!! It's 6:10 am I am ready, I am atvmy hospital bed waiting for the fun to start
will post a msg as soon as I wake up and the nurses give me my phone back 0 -
Enerva- Best wishes today!! It will be a great day!!
Ally
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ok ladies it's 11:22 I am back in my room and in a lot of pain but still smiling so far so good breast look way better already. No drains, no fat grafting and I think we are good. Still didn't see the doctor so I don't know what zise I got but they look good. Not huge, but I see not rippling so far. Hoping it will stay this way
Finally overr
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Enerva: Thank you for checking in with us! Keep us posted on how things progress...
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Enerva- Rest and heal...you are doing great!!
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Congrats, Enerva! Take it easy.
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Hi Whippetmom,I had my second stage consultation with my PS yesterday 8/28/14 and brought along your recommendations. Last Tuesday I had a fill to 700cc's and decided to stop at that. The PS agreed on the 45 style 800cc silicon implants during exchange surgery with pocket work. Thanks again for your guidance. The PS agreed with your recommendations and I feel I will reach the size I am looking to be.
Now, I am waiting on my exchange surgery date. I am excited and cant wait to get this all behind me.
FYI - I did not know that some insurances with pay for Bra's. Since my last fill, I'm in need of some support. I found out my insurance will pay for an unlimited amount of bra's every year as long as their accompanied with a prescription from my PS and I work with their preferred vender Nordstrom's. I called my PS office today for a script and have an appointment with Nordstrom next week for bralette's (since I have TE's I don't want to wear actual bra's). When I called my Insurance I gave them HCPC code L8000 (which was given to me by the Nordstrom Prosthesis Coordinator).
I wasn't sure where to post the BRA info. If I should add this post in another forum, please let me know. Thanks.
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redheeledwomen - Thank you for posting on the bra thread too. It often gets lost that some insurance companies cover bras. Good for you that yours does!
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Yes, thank you Redheeledwoman, I had no idea!
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Hi Whippetmom:
Saw my PS yesterday for my last fill and am at 500cc. We talked about Allergan Style 20 vs 45 and she likes those styles for me, but usually uses Mentor. She will use Allergan if I want. I haven't researched Mentor, but she says there are styles that correspond to the Allergan. Do you know what styles those would be? Apparently one of her colleagues insists on Mentor because he thinks there is less rippling. What do you think of Allergan vs Mentor?
Anyway, she will bring in both styles at exchange and see which looks better on me. She is planning on trying sizes 550cc all the way up to 700cc - eek! My upper pole is not expanded at all (I have Allergan 133 MX13 TEs), so I guess she's planning to cram the extra up there. She also wants to do fat grafting at the upper edge of the implant to prevent the dreaded "shelf". I was surprised at this because we had never discussed it before. My right side is sitting slightly lower than my left and sticking out to the side a little (which we had talked about before), so she's moving it up and in.
My exchange is Oct. 3. Any thoughts?
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redheeledwoman: Do you know how much jealousy you are going to garner on the Bras 101 thread? Unlimited bras from Nordstroms? That is amazing! Go to the Bras 101 thread to post your information and also to get some recommendations while you are still in the TE stage.
And congratulations on your upcoming exchange date with plans in place!
Deborah
OOPS: I see that Estel posted you already have gone to the Bras 101 thread!
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3littlebirds: Mentor implants are fine. They do not have style numbers, but they are categorized by "High Profile" and "Ultra High Profile". They correspond to Allergan Style 20 and Allergan Style 45, respectively. Some plastic surgeons feel that Mentor implants have a higher fill level than Allergan, which is to state that the implant is filled with more silicone than the Allergan counterpart. If this is true, then this might account for findings of less rippling. So if your PS likes Mentor, stick with Mentor.
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Hi all! This is my first post and reading here has been extremely helpful. My question is about implant sizing.I am preparing a tissue expander exchange to implants after a double mastectomy and radiation. I am 5'7'', 150 lbs, and 33" ribcage circumference. I currently have Mentor354-9214 for expanders and my PS has chosen Allergan FF-410425 and FF-410375 for my implants (they are full height, full projection; he'll decide which ones - 425cc or 375cc - when I'm on the operating table). My TEs are filled but I'm tempted to get them "overfilled" since I'll be upset if my new breasts are smaller than my TEs.
My question: Is there a way to know from the above dimensions what approximate cup size I'll be? I was a small/mid B cup before and I want to be a C cup now (or full
. Any thoughts? Thanks!
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Hi there - I had RT MX - my PS plans to lift my very droopy sagy left at same time as swap out of TE to implant - it will be a mentor smooth round something... silicone,,, i had been a 34 small C prior to BC - i hope to get a full C but that depends on if he can get the left to look like a full C cup - we discussed I believe implant near 300 cc or 350 cc,,, briefly - supposed to have my third fill on Sept 2nd and then he wants to do one more after at least and overfill me as I was very droopy - like VERY DROOPY - my skin is thin and I am 5'6" and 124 lbs and small bones, , any advice for type impant you feel may be best
here is my picture before my mastectomy,,, no bra on... so you see basic shape and size,,,
and me in sundress few yrs ago -
any advice is appreciated - I plan to have second surgery mid Fall,,, i have to wait 6 wks after final fill at least so I was told so my skin is ready to receive the implant,,, but of course it will be nice to have it done with FASTER,,, trying to be patient!
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Superbody - Read #4 in the header above.
And go back to pp 384-385 in this thread and read about discussions re cup size.
You are going to end up with a bigger cup size than you think because implants are wider than our natural breasts. Don't be focused on cup size. What you think is a b/c cup may not be what your P.S. thinks is a b/c cup. It's important to be clear in our discussions with our P.S. and cup size is not a good way to communicate because our definitions / presuppositions of what a b/c cup is may not be what our P.S. thinks … it's too nebulous of a criteria to use when we talk about breast size.
Talk in terms of what size you were before. The weight of your natural breasts were measured and written down in your chart. Talk to your P.S. in terms of that weight … what you were before instead of using cup size.
Bottom line, though, in answering your question, is that you are going to be bigger in cup size than you were before. If you are like most women, you were likely wearing the wrong size before BC. Don't be focused on cup size.
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Whippetmom,
Just wanted to let you know that you nailed it! My PS will be swapping out my TEs for Sientra shaped implants on Friday. I seem to take the road less travelled each time I get a choice! But with your help I did have a much better understanding of the choice I was making.
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Superbody:
The Allergan 410s your PS proposes do not correspond properly to the dimensions of your tissue expanders. Here is what we have in terms of dimensions:
Mentor 550 ccs: 13.5 cm wide and 11.7 cm height and 7.4 cm projection
Proposed implants:
FF-375: 12.5 cm width and 13.0 cm height and 5.1 cm projection
FF-425: 13.0 cm width and 13.5 cm height and 5.2 cm projection
You will be smaller with either of these implants than you are with your TEs. Please read the section in the thread header under the photos of the anatomical implants. There is specific criteria to follow when using shaped or anatomical implants. Your PS is proposing using implants which are narrower than your TEs. I think, at the very least, if you truly need that exaggerated height, he should use FF 535 grams, which is a tighter fit in that pocket and lowers the risk of rotation. A closer fit, if the anatomical is a must, would be the MF-470 grams, with dimensions of 14.0 cm width, 12.9 cm height and 5.6 cm projection.
If you like the size and projection of your TEs, the closest approximation would be a round, silicone Mentor ultra full projection style implant, 700 ccs, with a width of 13.5 cm (approx) and projection of around 6.4 cm. I think though that a high profile Mentor 600 cc or 650 cc implant would be a good size for you also. (Please note that with silicone rounds, you typically need implants with a volume 100 ccs or so greater than the TEs to approximate that TE volume.)
Deborah
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Sparkle: I need your TE information. Please read #3 and #6 above in the thread header. You also may need to augment your native breast if you are hoping to go up in size to some degree.
Deborah
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Enerva, Best of luck! Keep us posted!
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Hi. I am new to this forum and afraid I have come after the fact.😔 I had a NSBLMX in Oct 2013with TE's placed. (133 MV 400 ml)Then exchange for Allergen natrelle style IJ 492cc. In Jan of 2014. I have a great deal of rippling. I did have rads for Hodgkins Lymphoma in 1990. At 2 month follow up my PS suggested bigger implants. I did not think this would work. I seem big enough and am not sure if this will help? Then he said no one can fix this! Ugh! Have any of you had success with fixing rippling just with an implant? Maybe my original PS was right? I am now looking into FG as well. ..... I messed this up by not figuring this out before the MX. None if the other PS's I have consulted with think bigger implants will help. .... So confused. How do I start over? Thanks for any thoughts. XoDnice
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Just a P.S. I remembered that I filled to 470cc's if that makes any difference? Thanks for your thoughts!
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Whippetmon, I finally got the nerve to post photos on the picture forum, so I'm ready for your guidance on an implant. I started a thread with photos and details on the picture forum titled "Scheduled for exchange September 17th and would really appreciate it if you could give me your guidance on implant size before I see my PS again next week.
My PS uses Mentor, I'll be getting silicone (not saline). I believe I have all the details in that post that you need, if not, please let me know.
I've heard nothing by praise from friends and family on how strong and composed I've been through all this, but I've finally reached the "freaking out" point now that I'm going into exchange as I'm worried about the outcome and symmetry. Haven't decided if I will do nipple recon or just 3D tattoo yet, but want to wait until the implant is fully settled before making any decision.
Looking forward to your advise.
Thanks!
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Pilates4me: Great! Please check in with us after your exchange!
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Dnice: Well, in some cases, larger implants DO ameliorate the rippling issues. Not in all cases, but in some, yes. But I would like for you to send me photos, which you can do via private message by using the landscape icon next to the goggles icon above, or by emailing me. In the interim, I have an idea that if your PS could use a Sientra smooth round HP implant, you might get less rippling. I would advise that fat graft transfer be used also, especially because of your prior history of irradiation from HL. The fat grafting could really alter (for the better) the integrity of the skin on that side. But please send me photos. If you cannot link them via PM, let me know and I will give you my email addy.
Deborah
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I just posted this in TE TROUBLE but may this is a better place. So here I go again ;-)
Hello ladies. I had my exchange surgery on Friday and so far so good. Recovery is super easy and I like what I see. I do whish that I had more projection, but I knew that I was going to have less than with the expanders. My PS used Sientra shaped implants filled at 370cc's with fat grafting and I was just wondering how much "drop and fluff" I should expect with that type of implants since they are a cohesive gel? Any at all? How much change should I expect in the next few weeks?
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