BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
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MBJ: Wait, wait wait! whippetmom is "always right?" Oh, I don't think I want that kind of pressure! Eeeks...And if I told my husband THAT one he would be finding a way to get onto bc.org and post a few savory thoughts of his own on that topic!!!! LOL
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Deborah: LOL!!!! Well, you are you know, just because our husbands don't appreciate how great we are, doesn't mean it isn't true!!!
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stlcardsfan - the cardinals ... how sad. Terribly sad. I'm a STL card fan too and they just fell apart. I feel your pain! Sorry I can't help you on implants ... but you're in good hands with whippetmom! Saw your reference to the cards and had to respond!
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STLcardsfan....You are talking to a football widow here! My eyes glaze over when the game is on so I cannot help you with your name change.
If you want to email me photos, you can do so. If you feel too huge right now, then I would say stay with implants with a volume of 400 ccs to 450 ccs - in a midrange profile style. In Allergan, this would be Style 15. In Mentor, it is called a "moderate plus profile" style of implant. The implants will be somewhat smaller than your TEs.
Deborah
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There you go MBJ...within days I have shown you that I am often wrong. My DH just told me [picture his eyes rolling to the back of his head] that the Cardinals are a baseball team, not a football team. Shows you how much I know.
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Ahh...see...STL...Dawne-Hope can help you...
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whippetmom - but the Cardinals ARE a football team! It used to be the St. Louis baseball and football cardinals ... but the football cardinals moved to Arizona ... and the L.A. Rams moved to St. Louis ... so now it is the Phoenix Cardinals and the St. Louis Rams! Go impress your husband, whippetmom!
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Deborah: I'm so not into sports! I thought the Cardinals were baseball, too and now Dawne-Hope has just showed you, that, yes it's true, you truly do know everything LOL!
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The Los Angeles Rams are in St. Louis? How did they sneak THAT one by me?
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But St. Louis DOES have the Cardinals baseball team, right? I just looked it up. So you were lamenting over the Phoenix Cardinals football team....Now I get it. Hey, this all goes to show you we can talk about things other than implant sizing on this thread!
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Deborah,
Thank you so much for educating me about implants. I don't want to be a "B" cup I would like to be around a "C". So are you saying that a high profile implant with 450 mls or a midrange profile Style 15 with 371mls to 416mls would provide a "C" look? What about the TEs? Will the TEs I have in now accomadate these implants? How many mls of fluid do the TEs need to have to accomadate the implants you are recommending and will these implants have ptosis?
Thanks again, I really appreciate your imput,
Pam
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Pam: Read this: It is extracted from what I have posted in the thread introduction above:
"WHAT CUP SIZE WILL I BE?" OR "WHAT SIZE IMPLANT DO I NEED FOR A "C" CUP?"
I CANNOT PREDICT CUP SIZE. PLASTIC SURGEONS - THE SMART ONES - ADMIT THAT THEY CANNOT PREDICT CUP SIZE WITH ACCURACY!
It is very difficult to determine cup size with breast reconstruction patients, as volume does not easily translate to a specific bra size. There are so many factors which determine how implants will look on any one individual, e.g., your ribcage circumference, whether your chest wall is bony or if you have a fair amount of adipose tissue surrounding the chest wall.... if you have any ribcage deformities or other structural issues which might impact implant placement. We can sort of "project" where you might want to be...or estimate the implant volume which you could "aim" for - so that you can sort of look at the prize ahead of you. Most of us have found though, that it is better to continue with tissue expansion until you have reached a desired volume and appearance, and then compare these dimensions with the breast implant dimensions found on the links at the top of the Exchange City thread in the Breast Reconstruction forum.
FOR MORE INFORMATION RE: IMPLANTS VS. CUP SIZE, READ WHAT THE EXPERTS HAVE TO SAY:
http://www.realself.com/question/Breast-implants-size-full-b-cup
http://www.breastsurgeondallas.com/breast_augmentation_faq.html
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Pam: Could you measure your ribcage circumference again and verify it is 33 inches. Are you pulling the tape nice and snug, wrapping it around the ribs under the TEs?
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Whippetmom,
I am 32 inches when I pull it snug. Why did you ask? Does this make much diffence? Will the TEs I have, filled to 430ccs the amount I will reach on my next and probably last fill, provide enough of a pocket to accomadate the 450 ccs in a high profile implant Style 20 that you recomnmend. I understand that there is no predicting but it is difficult when I don't have any pictures to look at. I did purchase one reconstruction book that was recommended but did not find it to be very helpful.
Pam
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Pam: I just want to make sure you exchange to an implant which is appropriate for the width of your ribcage. I just know the height to weight to ribcage averages and so I had you pegged between 30 and 32 and so there you go! So my recommendation would be 450 ccs in a Style 20, if Allergan, or a Mentor high profile round silicone implant. Allergan has a "style number" and Mentor does not.
Many of us have implants which have a larger volume than did our TEs. For instance, my TEs were 133MV-13 - 400 ccs - and my implants have a volume of 550 ccs. Plastic surgeons vary widely in their method of taking a patient from expanders to implants. Some feel they need to overfill. Some do not. Mine did not. I would personally feel that implants with a volume of 450 ccs would be most appropriate for you, in the high profile style, but your PS is the one to discuss this with, as he can see how your skin is responding to expansion. I would even venture to state that 475 ccs is a nice size as well, but I think we might be pushing it at 450 ccs for your PS and his expansion methods. If it is less than 425 ccs or 450 ccs, I would recommend the Style 15 - which is the midrange profile - as you at least will have sufficient width for your frame. I think that the 397 cc or the 416 cc volume implants would be the two sizes I would recommend for you in that style.
Deborah
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Wow, this is really cool!! I have been so overwhelmed with my diagnosis, that I just told my ps to do whatever...I let him be in total charge, just didnt want to think any more, or research! I guess I should step in now and take the wheel somehow!! I was only a size a before and figured if I'm going to have to go through all this I may as well get a normal size now.....that is if I can handle any more pain of the expansions. I think I am up to 250cc's and the last filling got really painful...skipping the filling this week!
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tsmc4 - I think it was at 250 mine starting getting extremely painful as well. I was only expanded to 290cc's. I took a couple of weeks off in there too. Couldn't handle it. Extreme pain all the way down my left side. Take the fills slow. My last two fills were only 25cc's a piece. Not a race here, it's OK to go slow. You're almost there!
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tsmc4 - now I think about it .. I think I was actually expanded to 310cc's and was exchanged for 325 allergan style 20 silicone implants. my brain is a little slow here! Know you're not alone, take it slow, as slow as you need to. There was a four week break between my next to last and final fill.
whippetmom -
) Yes, St. Louis has a baseball team and I think she was lamenting over the BASEBALL team because they blew the final part of the season. They totally could have won the pennant, but fell apart. My understanding was that instead of rooting for the St. Louis Cardinals, she is going to start rooting for the St. Louis Rams. 
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Oh, I am so confused now. I'm sorry about the Cardinals, but I think I had better stick with implant sizing and leave the sports world entirely alone.
tsmc4: Here is an extraction from the informational part of the thread above...
If you are interested in discussing implant sizes, make sure you compile and provide us with the following information:
Height, weight, 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.0 -
Sorry - didn't mean to cause such ruckus over a Baseball team.
I was referring to St. Louis Cardinals Baseball and the meltdown that they had. I have been in the St. Louis area for 6 years now, and before that was in the Chicago area - Chicago Bulls Basketball Michael Jordan Era, now that was fun, Chicago Bears Super Bowl shuffle, Chicago Cubs - will they ever win? So, when we moved, we were kinda of in limbo, then the Cardinals won in 2006 and boy was that fun. I also work right next to the baseball stadium so that kind of adds to the excitement.... Wait this is not a Sports Blog...sorry
whippetmom - could you pm me your email address. I think I found a way to take pictures. And the reason I said I feel huge is partly because of the bra I have been wearing. I don't know why I am wearing one, it's not like these things are going to move, but anyway, have been using the Wal-mart front close sports bra and the Sports tank. After the last fill, I had to go up to a 44 just to make it comfortable. I had been using the 42 for all previous fills will no problem. Oh, and side note, when I measured my ribcage I wasn't sure how tight to pull the tape measure, so 33 maybe on the big side as it wasn't pulled super tight. Thanks so much.
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STL: Blog on honey!!! Yes, PM'ing you my email address right now....
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I found out today my PS uses drains for exchange surgery. I'm sooooo disappointed. Sigh.
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Hi all: I saw my new{hopefully} PS last week, and he suggested removing the TE I received from another PS who put in one way too big for me, and replacing it with a spectrum implant which would be used as a TE in my situation, and also doing a muscle sparing latismus at the same time. I just need coverage towards the bottom of the breast where the infection had been. Is anyone familiar with the spectrum implant or had one used as an expander? And what is the difference between the latismus and muscle sparing latismus? Hope all had a great time in Vegas...Thanks in advance for your response.
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whippetmom
pictures just sent to address provided via pm.
thanks so much
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This is for whippetmom: What do you think of the idea of a spectrum implant, and if so, what size would be good for my frame..26 inch ribcage..5''3" 102 lbs.There is a textured and a smooth..Which one would be best. It would be used as a temporary measure instead of a regular TE.What is your opinion? Thanks again for all your information.I presently have a Natrelle style #20 475cc in the other breast.
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tory: You know drains are merely an inconvenience....a matter of days to endure them...you can DO this!!!0
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joie...
The Mentor Spectrum expandable is used for single stage reconstruction, but we have only seen several women come through the forums in the past two years whose doctors used this implant. In your case, I think it is a novel and perhaps even ideal approach to continuing your expansion without the need to have yet a third surgery for the exchange. A number of unilateral MX gals here have the Mentor Spectrum expandable used as augmentation for the native breast, as it enables the PS to be more exacting [the Spectrum can be expanded in very small increments] and thereby gain better symmetry with the opposing breast.
Deborah
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joie...If you want to talk with women who have this implant, their photos are on the pictures forum....Nedeza and Sandysunshine...
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joie: Oops....did not see your other post about the Spectrum. Well, I cannot tell you what size you will need...the Spectrum is "expandable", which means it will go in deflated and the PS will gradually add saline and "inflate" the implant until it matches the opposing native augmented breast. He will select the width of the Spectrum, based on the width of your native breast. So implant "sizing" is really not required in this case. Additionally, you will have the latissimus dorsi flap to add volume to that breast, and we do not know how much of that volume will be made up with flap and how much with implant. I think that this is the best possible solution for your reconstruction dilemma....
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whippetmom - yes, I know drains are an inconvenience and I actually believe they do good, but I still hate them. This will be my third go-round and I had just hoped to avoid it. Oh well.
Since I'm here I'll update you instead of sending a PM. My PS & I decided that she'll take 600s and 650s into the OR & see what works best. She thought I could go up to 700, but I really don't think I want to. I have some time to decide - I won't be having surgery until after the first of the year. Money (new deductible year) wins out over comfort. She also allayed my fears about symmetry and the seemingly huge gap between my TEs, so I am looking forward to the exchange, despite the drains. :-}
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