BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101
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Whippetmom, I PM'd you.
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6 days out from exchange and glad to report after the initial 'great hamburger bun freak out' (thanks to all here for talking me off the ledge!)....the B-boobs have emerged! They are looking good!...found great inexpensive soft cup/ lightly padded Warners bras at TJMaxx. Wore a tight v-neck t-shirt to dinner last night and you would never know there was a BMX under there. Up to doc today to get stitches out (I don't use streristrips as adhesive gives me rashes, so my doc used real stitches).
Whippetmom-question...was wondering why PSs sometimes use different size implants on each side.I am 350 left/375 right---won''t that ultimately look uneven? After NSM I would think you are working with the same situation on both sides, so just wondering reasons docs would have to use different size implants.
Thanks all,
Ilene
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Just wanted to say "congrats" Ilene!!! I was right there with ya! Love the "great hamburger bun freak out"! LOL! I have a visit with my PS today and will have to tell him that one! I'm loving my B-boobs too! I feel like ME again!
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Susansgarden: Glad to hear you are loving your new Foobs and feeling like yourself again! Such a long journey!!
Takeadeepbreath: It is common to get two different sized implants! Sometimes they have to do more pocketwork on one side or one breast was always larger then the other (that would be me) so the PS tries to aim for the best symmetry and sometimes that means two different sizes.
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Whippetmom -- yes that's me and my dog (who totally manipulates me every chance she gets)! A few years ago just prior to BC and chemo, so that's my original hair. Sigh. I don't think I'll ever get it that long again!
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Lilah: Beautiful....both of you! Your hair will get that long again....
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Ilene: It happens occasionally - even with NSM gals. Our chest walls are unique - we might have more projection of the chest wall on one side more so than another, which might require a different volume. Any little spinal issue, like lordosis or kyphosis, no matter how minor, can throw off the chest wall projection just enough to require a modification in volume. With our own natural breasts, prior to BC, many of us had one breast smaller than the other. My right was always nearly a cup size smaller. So one of the benefits of cosmetic repair is that doctors can make up for that differential. For the first time in 58 years, my breasts are symmetrical!
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I am in an usual situation in that I had rads BEFORE my mastectomy and TE's (orig had lumpectomy/rads). Would this make my implant more likely or less likely to fail on rads side?
And I never got that card! I need to ask my doc....have NO idea what size they put in....
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Fearless_One: It is a hard question to answer. I personally think it is likely that the longer the period of time after rads - the more the skin has had to heal - might be beneficial from the standpoint of viability - skin integrity. There are two schools of thought regarding the timing of radiation and breast reconstruction and neither seems to outweigh the other, from what I have read thus far. But certainly, having skin which has not recently been traumatized places you in a good place in my estimation. Let me know once you find out about your TEs and I can help you with sizing issues!
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Whippetmom & rehm- I too will have "tear drop" shape implants. My PS is with a research program & I'm scheduled for Allergan Inamed 410s. I'll be monitored regularly for 10 years. They are gummy, but I've played with them and they definitely are tear drop shape.
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I am only 1 month out of surgery and one fill under my belt. But I was not told the size of my expander and when I mentioned the size I want to be the PA said you will know by how the TE's look. Does that not sound right?
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I am only 1 month out of surgery and one fill under my belt. But I was not told the size of my expander and when I mentioned the size I want to be the PA said you will know by how the TE's look. Does that not sound right?
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kerry32 - That doesn't sound quite right ... how are 'normal' people that aren't physcians or people who work with implants everyday going to know 'just by looking'? That sounds weird to me.
Whippetmom can tell us for sure ... but I think in the U.S. they're supposed to give a card with all the TE's specs. on it after your surgery. I received one and I think it is the law they're supposed to give it to you. Not sure about Canada and other places ... but ask your PS. You have that thing in your body ... you have every right to know anything about it you want to know.
xo
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Kerry -- just call your PS's office and ask them to tell you the make and model of your TE. Most get a card but I didn't (just got the info from my PS). I did get a card for the final implant. Knowing the make and model of your TE will tell us the width and the capacity. I think what the PA meant was that they will ask you to tell them when you are happy with the size of the TE as a guide for how big to make your implant. That said, implants of the same size as a TE will have less projection... so presumably they would use your expressed wishes about the size of the TE's suitability as a guideline. You should not have to guess though. So call the office and ask for that info; then measure your rib cage as per instructions in the header of this thread and Whippetmom can give you advice that you can bring to your PS to discuss.
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I never got a card for my TE. I know it's mentor. If I wanted to know though I'm sure he would tell me.
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I re-read the posts ... and Lilah is right ... probably what your PA meant was the size you want to be. Let them know when you like how your TE's look and then your PS can determine how many more CC's to fill you to get the same volume with the implant.
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Yes Lilah - that is what they meant - let us know when you feel that is the size you want to be - thanks for phrasing it right for me. I guess they are planning on doing the calculations to get the Implants to that size...but I will ask for the TE make, model. I am just at the beginning so I do feel a little overwhelmed and nervous that I won't get this right!
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Kerry -- that's not a bad way to do it. I think in some way that's how all PS's do the sizing (really). I know that's what I did... I waited till I was comfortable with the size and then my PS filled the TE more because she likes to overfill (not all PS's do it that way though -- some will put a larger implant in where the TE was). Still, information is power
I did find out what my TE was so that I could see what the implant options were in the kind of implant (gummy in my case) that I was to get; this made conversations with my PS about what I wanted easier.0 -
I told my PS that I though I looked good after 4 expansions. He smiled and said I think a few more. (He only expands 60cc at a time). I had 6 more! As I mentioned I'm ginormous. Good thing I trust him and I know his philosophy is to enhance the body's natural form not redefine it otherwise I would be a little concerned.
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LOL Iago -- well he is probably compensating for what he knows is the reduced projection / mass of an implant vs a TE
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Whippetmom,
I'm wondering if you could answer a question based on the information I have. I know very little about my tissue expanders, but know that they are maxed out (a little over I think). I am expanded to 475cc and am planning on getting 500cc Allergan (or Natrelle) round, smooth, high profile silicone implants. I am happy with my size now--don't really want to be smaller.
From what I've read on here, it sounds like if I want to look like I do now after the exchange, I would need to go with much larger implants. Is that accurate?
I'm 5'll", 140 lbs, and I just measured between 29" and 30" around my chest right under my breasts. Just based on this, do you have an idea of how much larger of an implant I would need in order to look like I do now?
Thanks.
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in my case my TEs were 450 and were filled to the flipping brim- PS brought in three sizes of implants in OR and went with mentor HP 550 -got me exactly where I wanted.. so far...I tried on a 36 C soft cup bra and it fits perfect..actually better than before BC- I was always kind of shoving them around in there hahaha
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Annettek,
Reading another post made me think that going about 100cc bigger is the thing to do too. I can't imagine doing that. Actually, I had been filled to 500cc a while back and after 3 weeks of not being able to sleep through the night because of the pain (even on prescription muscle relaxors), I had him remove fluid. He removed 75cc (which I thought was a lot). I felt SO small! I had him add 50 back, putting me at the 475cc. I have no pain--not even discomfort. Can even sleep on my tummy. When I had the pain with the 500cc, it was only at night, so I thought it was a weight issue rather than a stretching issue. But now since I'm in no discomfort and only 25cc less, I think maybe I could handle a higher volume. I just don't know.
I'm scared to go up a full hundred ccs and then be in extreme pain. But I don't want to have smaller breasts than I want because I'm afraid of that for no reason.
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Lillian - Near the end of my fills, I could only stand 25cc's at a time. There's no reason you have to have 100cc's every time your filled ... knock it down to 60, 50, or less. 100cc's at a time is a lot ... especially as you near the end.0
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Dawne-Hope,
Did you get larger implants than your expanders? If so, were they painful? Since every little bit hurts at the end, I'm scared to put in implants that are a lot larger because I'm scared they would be unbearably painful.
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TEs are saline and hard; silicone implants are much softer and also designed differently. A 500 cc TE will take up more room than a 500 cc silicone implant (literally). TEs are designed to stretch and that is another reason we sometimes call them "turtle shells"; the final implant is not. So I don't think you would have unbearable pain, Lillian.
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Lillian - I was filled with 310cc's and was exchanged with 325cc's silicone rounds. My PS liked to overfill ... so I thought I wasn't going to make the 300club. I was really surprised that he got 325cc's in there. The implants were not painful and the 325cc implants were not as large as the 310cc TE's.
A lot depends on your PS's philosophy. Do they like to overfill or not?
And a lot also depends on the style of your TE. Val61 had tiny TE's but exchanged for a lot bigger implants. So ... there are many variables at play here ...
Find out if you don't know, what is your PS's philosophy regarding overfilling? Some do, some don't.
Know that TE vs. implants is like comparing apples and oranges. The pain with the TE's is nothing like how the implants are going to feel.
Hope this makes some sense. Much love to you. Know that the last weeks of the TE are the worst part. Hang in there! xo
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Lillian- I was SO SCARED before the exchange as I was so uncomfortable with the final fill-I truly felt like I would burst- totally different sensation after exchange- sure there was pain but i believe now the pain was from the work done inside during the exchange- I think i would have been unhappy with anything other than what I landed up with. As everyone has said- the TEs are a different beast-they have to expand our bodies to accommodate our new boobs;) Every single day that goes by they feel more like a part of me and I am just 6 weeks out from exchange.
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Minus Two: Yes, the Allergan 410s are the only anatomical [[e.g., "teardrop"] shaped implants in silicone. The standard silicone implants are only available in "rounds."
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Lillian: Are you 5'1" or 5'11"?
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