BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
Comments
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Hi everyone - I just wanted to update...I have an exchange date of 3/21. I am really excited and full of anticipation, feeling a little nervous about what the "final product" will look like. My 350 cc TE's are filled to 450 cc (I'm 5'6", 125 lbs, 30 inch rib cage), and am hoping for about 400 or 425 implant, I will leave the final decision up to my PS and what he thinks when he gets in there. My PS will do a little pocket work on one side that has seemed to shift to my armpit a bit, but other than that I think it's pretty straightforward...no mention of fat grafting or any other procedures. I of course wonder how everything will pan out, but have faith in my PS all will turn out great.
Deborah, I truly appreciate ALL of your input and responses to my emails. I feel confident that the size you recommended will be a good fit for my frame. You are a real gift to all of us going through this and full of great insight...thank you!
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Heidi: Wonderful! Be very careful with those lateral sutures. No lifting, no pushing, no pulling. Look forward to photos!
Fire-Dancer: Hopefully, he can use 425 ccs. As I recall, you did not want to be too large, right? So glad you have your exchange date!
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Heidi: Congratulations!!!
Carrol & Firedancer: You are almost yippee squishy!!!! So much nicer then the TE's!!
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Deborah - quick question: as we have discussed, I would like to look like a small C, I will absolutely be mentioning the 425's...but when I went on to the Mentor site, I am not seeing the 425's, only 450. (I am filled to 450 in my 350 TE's now and feel a bit cumbersome). If this is the case and I have to choose 400 or 450, what would you recommend? I am comfortable with the idea of being bigger than a regular B, but worried about waking up a full C.;-) Where you would suggest I go as far as implant size if there is no 425? I think my PS is leaning towards moderate profile...I just don't want to be huge in diameter, but I'd like some nice projection...thanks again!!!
...hope you have a lovely weekend!!!
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Heading for my exchange on Friday 3/11.
My PS is going planning on 450 cc's HP but he's also bringing in 425 and 400. I am currently on pic forum and filled to 450 cc's.
I also have alloderm.
Actually, whippetmom also recommended 450 HP. (Thanks!) I hope I get that size.
Jan
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firedancer, sorry to butt in on your conversation, but I wondered why you or your PS would want to use moderate profile. Moderate Plus would give you more projection, and most people get the high profile for the most projection. The mod plus and high profile both come in 425 ccs.
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you know, cameron, I might have misunderstood him (PS), our conversation was about a month ago, and I may have forgotten the details as I did hear 425's, but might have mistaken the projection size...thanks, I think sometimes I get so caught up in numbers and details I might cross my info ;-)
I'll check out the mentor site again - thanks!
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Megan...so interested in these same questions. Most of all, I do not want WIDE breasts!
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A little update - I unwrapped the ace bandage for the first time last night and got a full view of my new breasts. I'm very pleased. I actually was happy with the size of the TEs, but they were just a little too far apart. Now they are closer together, so things look really good.
The only concern I have is that they are more full looking in the upper part of the breast. Is that what typically changes with the drop and fluff? My PS said that things will change quite a bit from what they look like now, but I didn't think to ask her exactly what.
Thanks!
Heidi
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thanks MBJ, I am sooo full of anticipation - two weeks from Monday I will be TE-free!!!
Heidi - so glad you are pleased with your results! It's sooo nice to hear :-)
Annie - YES, I am so afraid of big, wide boobies! ;-) When I think about the exchange, I am so excited, but just so anxious at the same time about being all-boob! I could handle being a smaller-size, as long as I've got projection ;-)
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I had my exchange yesterday. I am the same way! Wanted to be a bit smaller then I was prior to BMX. I told my PS that also. I would be happy with less wide but more projection. I ended up with 650cc HP Mentor which are wide... to me anyway. I am hoping that it is swelling around the diam and will go down some with that and with the drop and fluff. So far i don't mind the less projection that I got. Look fine with size there, its just the wideness I'm not sure of. I haven't taken a "real" look yet though. I feel so tight and sore still so I havent noticed too much difference from TE, except when I poke them gently with my finger....then they are sooooo soft. Love that!!!!
So, someone with 650 HP Mentors, tell me the wideness is not an issue and they will drop and fluff nicely! I was sooo anxious about this going in that I was unable to be too excited about the exchange. But I am glad to be TE free.
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Heidi -- yes as time goes by and the pec relaxes (and gravity does its work on the silicone) they should "drop" and "fluff"
EastCoastGirl -- I would say give it time to see how things settle...
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Heidi: I agree with Lilah, they will drop some and not look so high up top and there is also swelling. They change alot in the next few months.
EastCoastGirl: Congratulations on your exchange. Mine looked so much bigger after my exchange (see my before and afters on the picture forum) and they look so much smaller now. Lilah is right-give them time to settle-mine took 4 months!
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Anniemomofthree: The implants are wider then natural breasts, however, my PS followed the line of my natural breasts and they only feel slightly wider now that I have had my exchange and the swelling has gone down.
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firedancer....Cameron is right! I did not catch that. You most definitely want to clarify the style and you do not want moderate profile. Midrange profile [Allergan] or Moderate Plus profile [Mentor] would be okay. Forget 425 ccs then - Mentor does not have this size. Just stick with 400 ccs in Mentor. If you want projection, you want high profile implants.
For everyone: After the exchange, the implants often sit quite high on the chest wall, and/or exhibit quite a bit of upper pole fullness. This will resolve with time and gravity. Give it two weeks or more.
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whippetmom, I went to the Mentor website and read they do have 425 cc's in high profile?
It was listed in the "Smooth Round Gel High Profile Sizing Chart".
The catalog number was 350-4254 BC (425 cc, 12.5 cm diameter, 5.0 cm projection).Also on their website, in the "Smooth Round Gel Moderate Plus Profile Sizing Chart":
catalog number 350-4251 BC (425 cc, 13.4 cm diameter, 4.1 cm projection).Are these not available to women in the US?
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Cameron....Oops....I had the 425 cc confused with the 475 cc implant. Allergan has 475s and Mentor does not. So disregard. But I still think Firedancer should stick with 400 ccs.
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I feel so lucky to have you ladies helping to look out for me! Thank you for the clarifications - I really feel like I am getting such great support here with such a difficult choice & my concerns of making a 'mistake' in sizing - but I feel more in control with great info, so THANK YOU!!! :-)
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Deborah: I haven't thanked you lately and I am coming up a year April 20th for my MX. I still don't know what I would have done without you. Thank you!!!!
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Firedancer and MBJ: You are both so very welcome! Thank YOU for allowing me to help you!!!
It is a blessing to me!0 -
Yes THANK YOU Deborah for all your information and support!
I'm still not 100% sure I've got the right implant in - and being a UNI I think that I will never be matched - but I'm willing to wait it out before making a final decision regarding a revision. I've had a look at the charts and without going smaller again on my natural side I don't think I have much choice.
I've got some weight to lose around my middle so maybe by the end of the summer I will have better symmetry and/or be used to my "look".
I'm almost 5 weeks post-exchange now and although my implant side has dropped quite a bit I still have a lot of upper pole fullness. My PS told me at my last visit (1 week ago) that it will continue to drop and not be as noticeable with time.
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Whippetmom,
I am 5'3" and weigh 117. I just had my last expansion today with Allergan expanders, and with today's expansion I have been filled 320cc. I was a AA before my unilateral mastectomy, and my exchange will be in 8 weeks. I measure 29 inches around my ribcage under the breasts. My PS will augment the other side with an implant as well, and while I'm not as concerned with cup size, I definitely wanted to be bigger than a AA, which my PS said is doable. They will be using an Allergan Natrelle implant, not sure of anything else except that my original expander was 300cc capacity, and she wouldn't fill beyond 320 which is what I am now. Your words of wisdom would be great!
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MBJ- I had my BMX on April 20th of last year as well! I can't believe it's almost a year. It seems like one big dream. I'm also grateful for Debra and all of you ladies on here. You are all such an inspiration to me, brave,strong, funny, kind, compassionate and caring. I feel so blessed to have found this website!
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Dawn84: A high profile smooth round silicone implant with a volume of 325 ccs or 350 ccs would be just where you want to be. I do not know how tight your skin is, nor do I know the style of TE your PS has used. I cannot recommend an implant any larger, because you were very small prior to MX and you need some inframammary fold definition called "ptosis", aka, "droop", but because you are so small, you are not trying to match the droop of a native breast, right? So I think 350 ccs would be nice...and then your PS could then use an implant with less volume on the native side to gain symmetry. Discuss these volumes with your PS and see what he has to say. The reason I mention knowing the "style" of the TE, is that the low height or short height TE most often really requires implants with significantly more volume - in order to match the width of that style and it expands in such a way as to permit a larger volume implant.
Deborah
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Hi Whippetmom,
I posted a few months ago during my radiation txs regarding my upcoming exchange. For review, I am 5'5", 130 lbs, ribcage -32", TE - Allergen 133mx -14, single mx, currently expanded at 550ccs. You had recommended to me either style 15 with 533ccs or 587ccs, or style 20 with 600 ccs or 650 ccs.
I have an appointment tomorrow to discuss the specifics of my upcoming exchange surgery and I think my PS is only going to go as high to a 400 cc implant unless I get more TE fills because he likes the TE to be 150 cc to 200 cc more than the implant because of my radiation status in order to achieve enough droop to match my native side. Before the mx I was a small B but would like to be a little bigger, maybe a full B to a small C. I will be getting an implant also on my native side. He also mentioned doing some fat grafting. Do you think a 400 cc implant is going to look right on me? I do not know which profile he has in mind or the size of implant for the native side but I am pretty sure he is going to use Allergan. It is important to me to be as symmetrical as possible. I am not sure if I can tolerate any more fills, maybe 50 ccs at the most.
Any thoughts or advise is greatly appreciated. Thanks!
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Sweetie: I had no idea that we had our surgeries on the same day! How are yours healing up?
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Hi Deborah,
Thank you so much for your response! My PS didn't really take the time to explain the specifics, we didn't know that this would be my last fill, but they did give me literature on the Natrelle implants and there was so much information to process! My expander ID says style 133MX, but now that I look at it it says it holds 400cc and she said yesterday it was a 300cc expander. Either way she said that anymore expansion would only make it wider and not project outward. The reference # is 133MX-12, the SN is 1513951 if that helps with more insight! Thank you again
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I've posted my exchange photos on the picture site. Look for "A Tale of Two Titties".
Jen
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How do you get to the picture forum?
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bher: I wonder why he used a 14.0 cm TE if he wants to use a 400 cc implant? So then my preference would be at least 421 ccs in Allergan Style 15, which would be 13.3 cm. 450 ccs would be better, at 13.7 cm. How is your skin doing? Any stretch marks? Is it tight and shiny?
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