BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
Comments
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KCmom....You might end up with 200 ccs to 300 ccs or close to it, if your skin envelopes are still pretty ample after MX. There is some skin retraction to be expected with delayed recon, but it depends on your doc's fill protocol during surgery. Ask Laura [Estepp] as she might know. You are going to be just fine!
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whippetmom, Yes we have Nordstrom here so I guess I should go check it out after 6 wks are over.
I did go into the bras thread 101 and checked the links provided for bras sizing. My situation is that the measurement of my ribcage is larger than the measurement of the fullest part of the implants. I think I will just have to go to Nordstrom and just try on alot of bras. Thank you.
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KCMOM good luck with your surgery.
Met with a second plastic surgeon, that I think wont take medicaid but he is checking. Gave me some more info on what to expect in my surgery. He said i should not have any issues I have lots of skin and get this, "good cleavage". Pretty funny thing to hear after a bmx. I got to feel and touch the expanders and all the different implants. I would love for him to do the surgery but I already scheduled with the other doc and my sister bought a plane ticket. I am home now for some lunch and too watch cash cab. Then I go to the oncology hospital to get my port flushed for the last time. They will take it out when i get my TEs. His name is Dr, Dillow in Leawood. He looks like Neil patrick Harris lol.
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wasin: You do not need to wait six weeks to go to Nordstroms! As long as you do not have any complications and you are feeling up to it, you can go in for a fitting and pick up one good starter bra. Wait at least two weeks, giving time for some settling to take place.
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Cindy: You saw your PS today regarding the area of disruption with the incision. What did she have to say?
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whippetmom....Yes, it's very disturbing looking! I tried looking pectoral neurectomies up but didn't come up with much. What is it exactly that they do? My PS mentioned at my last fill visit about cutting the muscle just above the implant to make room. And he was speaking of my side that I'm having the issues with. Not sure if he did it or not...but maybe that is what you are speaking of?
Oh, and I just sent you my photos for today.
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KC... Dr. R. will not fill your TE much at all. Maybe 50-100.cc. He feels there is too much risk. BUT... he will fill you up fast if you can do it ( if I can do it. YOU CAN TOO!)..... he will wait a week to fill you.
I received 50cc -75cc twice a week.
I did not have any muscle spasms... but some pain. I took Demerol for 5 weeks... three times a day. ( he will give you the pain pills needed to fill FAST...... just ask him.
Try to fill to 600 PRE RADS sweety.... because after talking with you. I feel.. you are going to want 650 + for sure.
I am 500cc.......and am a small/med C cup.
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Ok. now that I see Deb posting.... I know you are OK IN CALI !
This tsunami..... earthquake........ etc............. so so terrible....
(( DEB))
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Our beaches were fine today. Long Beach is a south-facing beach - the ocean was pretty calm all day, despite the earlier warnings.
EastCoastgrl: I am going to ask Melissa [orchidgal] to come here and explain this technique....I know too little about it...
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Deborah -- I think I forgot to say: your dogs are GORGEOUS!
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whippetmom, My PS told me to wear this surgical bra for 6 weeks 24/7. My breasts are looking a little better than before. I have sutures on the bottom of the breast on each side. My nurse told me that I can wear a soft bra after 6 weeks, otherwise it may aggravate the sutures.
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wasin: The recommendation from your PS sounds fine to me....
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WOW....Laura.....twice a week:) I am so excited but so scared ! Just three more sleeps until surgery, I HATE surgery but this is moving past BC and I am all for that. Thank you and Deb so much...I love you both:) I believe I will be starting rads on the 25th of April....that is 5 and 1/2 weeks from surgery. Do you think I can fill to 600 by then? Do you have stretch marks from the fast fills? Did I say how excited I am?
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KCMOM: I think you probably have pretty ample skin envelopes and it seems quite likely that you can be filled where you need to be filled prior to rads. Your reconstruction journey begins this week! Keep a photo journal...
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I have already began posting in the well burnt section....I think I am one of few that have had delayed reconstruction. I hope this helps someone that has had to travel this road vs immediate reconstruction:) Thanks again so much!!!!
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I'm having the same issue as EastCoastGrl, with my implant 'jumping' up and to the side every time I barely flex my pec's.
The strange thing is that this started happening 6 months after my exchange. For the first six months, it was very comfortable and much better looking aesthetically. It also had a higher profile which looked closer to my natural breast. Now it is flatter, more wrinkly, ripply and I have a tingling sensation near the armpit.
My PS didn't notice the difference, said that it looks normal to him and that it's very normal for the implant to move like that. I'm wondering what happened to cause the change. It went from feeling natural to feeling uncomfortable all the time. I have a follow-up with my PS this week and am hoping to be armed with more information when I talk to him.
I'll be very interested to hear more on this thread from Whippetmom and EastCoastGrl. Also, how can get access to the photosite? I think that could be helpful as well.
Thanks for the information!
Mel
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So excited, my exchange wasn't supposed to be until the middle of May but Thursday the Dr. office called and asked if I would be interested in having it done in 2 weeks! I said YES! I really want this journey to be over with, but on the downside, I won't be seeing my surgeon until the day before surgery at the preop appointment. I had a list of questions, and hopefully they can be answered then, but still so excited!
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Whippetmom: Sorry it's been a while, life got kinda crazy. In our last discussion you were concerned about me getting more fills because of my skin. I had an appointment with my PS last Wednesday and we discussed my skin, he had a look and thought it would be ok to continue with fills so I got another 50. He would like to do one more fill of 50 if my skin looks ok at my next appointment then exchange for a 350 - 370 implant.
Also you wanted me to confirm my ribcage it turns out it is actually 271/2"
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Preop appt? I'm feeling like I got rushed through a bit.
I saw my PS on the day of my last fill (didn't know it would be my last fill at that time) and he said ok, we are done filling...see you in two months for surgery. I thought it was odd that we wouldn't meet once more before surgery. Am I the only one who didn't have a final pre-op appt? I saw him for like 30 seconds right before surgery where he marked me up. That's it. And now with my issue on the left side implant I'm not real happy. There's things there that I feel should of been addressed at time of exchange. Is it also typical to just want to get the implants in with minimal work on the first go to minimize infection? Then come back for revisions. That's basically the feeling I got on surgery day. But correct me if I'm wrong....is there really any difference in having to go back in and "revise" things...you are opening things up again. Makes no sense to me...but I'm not a dr. Would love input from others experiences on this. Mel22, I had BMX so both of mine are implants but only the left side does this. Well, the right side does somewhat but it looks different, better. The left side distorts terribly. But it is also my "problem" side.
The right side is coming along nicely...wish the left looked like my right. Oh, and yes, my left one also feels funky to me..maybe it's those muscles??.....the right one feels more natural. 0 -
EastCoastGirl ~ That is odd that he wouldn't meet you before surgery? My PS has scheduled me for a pre-op one week prior to surgery so he can take measurements to order the implants. He won't even talk about the specific implant size until he does the final measurements at that time. Then he will do the "markings" the day before surgery. Though I trust my PS...I still am pretty nervous about the whole thing...it sure does seem like a pretty high percentage of us need to have revision surgeries.
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Thank goodness for this thread! I had to fight with my PS to get to where I wanted to go--What he had in mind and what I wanted were completely different. If I had just let my PS do his thing, I would be scheduling another surgery, not having my nipples done.
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EastCoastGirl: It seems that many of us have thin skin or not enough tissue or issues on one side or both sides that need to be addressed with an additional surgery. It isn't always because of our PS (Day is one that comes to mind). If your are still having issues 3 months or more they can always be fixed. Know that reconstruction is a work in progress and some of us need more work then others. Have you posted your pictures on the picture forum?
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Eastcoastgirl-I didn't have a pre-op per say either. I had seen him like two weeks before surgery to go over sizing and then he said he really didn't need to see me again before surgery. I often times felt rushed at appointments. I think sometimes it's just the way it is at a Dr visit and you have to really push to get all you can out of the appointment. I understand how you feel about having an issue and him not really taking care of it. I think you are right that they seem to want to do what is minimally invasive. My friend put it this way she feels the Dr thinks we have been through so much with dealing with BC that they don't want to make the exchange surgery more difficult. I do agree though it doesn't make sense to me to do less at the first surgery only to have to go in again to revise things. I felt same as you exactly. Maybe there's just a lot more to it than we understand and things are a lot more complicated than we think. I did ask the nurse and she said about half of the patients come back for some type of revision. So I guess it is common like MBJ says a work in progress. Now the revision becomes elective and it's hard to know if we should or shouldn't do it. I'm dealing with this issue right now and I go back and forth on what I should do.
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SusansGarden, MBJ and Sweetie...I think my PS had pre-decided he was going to use 600-650 in me. So nothing to measure or go over really except would of been nice to talk some things through about it all. What to expect, etc. I really do think I need work on my left one. Don't think at this point this will be something that will work itself out. Too many issues with it, IMO. Funny if they think we've been through too much to make the exchange surgery difficult. Ha, I would've rather had that because it's such an emotional thing anyway...and to come out of it fairly easily, nice, yes, but with issues is not a good thing. I don't know about anyone else, but I'd MUCH rather have more pain and longer recovery and had it all done in that surgery. Feel like it just gets drug out and then you don't want added risk of infection or making things worse by further messing.
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Whippetmom has been a tremendous help to me through this though. Thankful for her help.
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oh and no, MBJ, I have not posted pics yet. I have pics of my expanders also. Was planning to post them all to help others once I got my exchange. But I was just so upset that I haven't yet.
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Everybody, if you can, please post your pics! Even if you aren't done yet.
I started a thread of my own, as soon as I got my first fill. I update it every Tuesday with my new pics, because Tuesday is fill day!
It helps others to see the process, and even better, you gets tons of feedback. It helps you learn what to ask your PS, and you can ask about certain aspects of PS and others share their insight. So please do post your pics!
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Hate to be a cynic, but consider the financial incentive to the surgeon to do two (or more) procedures instead of one.
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Eastcoastgirl-I agree I would have rather have had a little more pain and discomfort with the first surgery than to have to do this all over again. Just doesn't make sense to me. My friend's Dr did a lot of stitching and pocket work on her to get things perfect and she was in a lot of pain post exchange, but at least she doesn't have to go back for a revision. By the way it's been four months for her and she is still in pain.
Jerusha-good point, hate to think it could be true.
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question from you ladies post exchange:
I saw my PS yesterday, we were discussing final size. He suggested that I will need to be over expanded slightly to maintain about size with TEs, because he will completely resect my masectomy scars to start with fresh scars, souns great since these scars are wide because of stretch. Is this usually done?
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