TE TROUBLE
Comments
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lisamarie - depending on the laxity of the skin and quality of your scar, you PS may excise it, or just cut through it. I tend to scar decently, so my PS did not excise, and you can see the faint previous scars. My incisions are IMF so they can't really be seen anyway since they are under the breast. Also my implants are maximally filling the pocket, so no skin laxity - I have the same size implant as my final fill on the right (650cc) and a 25cc larger implant than final fill (600cc) on the left to achieve symmetry.
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LisaMarie - My exchange excision is underneath the breasts, too -- where that natural fold will be once they fluff and drop.
DM - great news on Kaiser!
Fluff and DM - Zipper garment? I can use that!
Curly - checking in to see how you are.....
T
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My PS said he will open part of the scar for the exchange surgery.
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My PS uses the original scar. So mine has been cut into at BMX, TE replacement (1 only), exchange, and at fat grafting because he did some adjusting to the one implant. Hoping that when they make the nip they use that same area to make the scar line less noticable, especially after tatoo.
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Curley: So sorry to hear you lost the new TE. Agree with all, let us know what infectious disease doc says.
Ladies who have had fat grafting... is it worth all the pain, fluid buildup, swelling etc? After all I've been through I can't imagine having belly swelling for 6 months as tatina is describing. Do you all notice a reduction in your belly fat too or is that benefit minimal?
DM: Good luck with the new doc appt. and yay on your fill!
Re: Incision line, I don't think my PS is planning to touch them sibnce I had so many propblems having it heal. He will create a new incision on the IMF line when we do the exchange.
I'm going away for a week next week so have been very busy this week trying to prepare, haven't been on the boards. Wishing everyone well!
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My FG is 7/6 but I would like to know whether or not the ladies who have had thought it was worth it too. I look fine without it - it is kind of an icing on the cake thing.
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Renn and Special K- it's far too early in the game for me to say if the FG was worth it. My ps's nurse said the stomach swelling would be better in a month but will take a total of six months to go down. I'm told he took about 250 cc of Italy fat from my stomach.
This week I decided to go the 3-D route for nips at NOLA with Vinnie. All is booked for October. DH is staying home and my sis and I are going on a mini vacation and ending it with a nips celebration.0 -
This may seem like a stupid question. If your scar is in the fold line, do you still have your original nip? How does that work? I'm embarrassed to ask, but I don't get it. My scar is straight across and it has been opened and closed multiple times. My PS should put in a zipper!
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curly - yes I do have my original nips. I had a skin/nipple sparing BMX - all of my incisions have been in the IMF. You have to be a candidate for this kind of MX - usually relatively small breasted, cancer not near the nip, not very much droop. I was originally a lumpectomy candidate - the BMX was my request - so I would have been left with nips anyway.
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Re: fatgrafting.....love it, but my implant had to be smaller due to the right side's infection and thin skin. Not a lot smaller but 425 instead of 475. Fat grafting filled it out. And.....I had 1700 cc's lipod out of my abs. I dont remember being all that swollen and what swelling there was didnt appear to be noticable after a week. It was really sore for about a week for me, thenimproved really quickly. I only took pain pills sporadically for a day or so. Not bad if you sat still, or stood up walking. Bending was murder. I dropped my phone as I stood up to go see my ps for a follow-up, in the waiting room. Had the staff in hysterics as they wached me bend down to get it. Called me old lady.
I was zipped onto that garment so tight, I could tell when swelling went down. Much more comfortable. At first my husband had to help stretch and hold, then we hooked, then we zipped. It was funny, but I tried the spanx a couple days later and pulling up and down was really painful. I almost cut it off. Lol.
I can wear a shirt now with very little flab. It is wonderful.
I am planning to have one more shot of it in the fall I think, since everything is maxxed out on my insurance. I did absorb some of it, so I figure do one last boost and call it complete.
Mine was probably worse since it was extensive. Really bruises.
DM....the Veronique garment is expenive....about $110, i think, but I look really excellent in Aything fitted when I wear it. : )0 -
fluff - my PS will only take out as much fat as he needs for the procedure. He also only really likes to take it from the abdomen - he said using other locations can create a new problem. I need filling of divots up high on the chest from the BMX, and some smoothing where I am rippling. My PS indicated there is a chance that insurance will not cover if he removes too much fat because they will consider the procedure cosmetic. He said if I want to lipo more extensively it has to be a separate thing.
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Ty everyone , I had my nips taken off as well and my scars go straight across, but they are healing so nice . thats why i was afraid to have them reopend , guess I will just need to wait and see. PS says 4 to 6 more fills , I cant imagine it . I have only had 2 fills and have 130cc in each side . my left is bigger than my right , he says thats because my right was cancer side and must have had more tissue removed , and he does not fill at time of surgery . He is an amazing PS and I just need to trust him , as he says when I get the exchange we will achieve semmetry . anyway ty again
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I will not do fat grafting again. The look 200% better then my old ones. I probably had pain for a week like fluff. I do notice my belly being flatter which I do like.
So what do you guys all think is going to happen in 10-15 yrs when we have to get new ones? Will insurance cover new implants and fat graftings?
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Chickadee, i have been wondering same thing ... wondering what will happen when years go by and we need new ones .. hmmmm
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I'm also curious about the fat grafting, whether or not it's worth it.
Tonight is our area's Relay for Life. My family has put together a team this year, and while I'm at the track tonight I will be holding all of you close in my heart.
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MTnester , I just gotta say I love the tattoo
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MT - Ahhh, you are a sweetie
I think insurance will continue to cover because these replacements down the line would be classified as revisions, and I think the law mandates that it has to be covered for BC patients. As far as replacing goes, the 10 year figure corresponds to quality guaranty from the manufacturer, not necessarily automatic or mandatory replacement. Since I have cohesive gels I don't want to replace them unless I have to. Two of my SILS and one of my neighbors have had theirs for more than 20 years, no issues. They were augmentation not BC recon, but an implant is the same nonetheless.
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Im keeping mine until they say the have to come out. If it is 15 ears, I will be 70. I might just be happyto be 70 and not care about foobs. Lol
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Go, MT!
Reading the fat grafting info from y'all with interest. I would love to have my PS do some extra & pay for it if it could be combined into 1 procedure. Don't need to worry about that for a while yet, though.
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Curly - I am still LMAO - did I read right? Were you saying you should just have zippers installed where incision line is? Boy, I think that would save us ALL a lot of time and energy. "Oh issues again... why lets just unzip and get busy"..... Important to note - I am currently medicated... maybe wasn't as funny as I thought!
Saw my new PT yesterday and I love her! I received a gauntlet to match my sleeve. I have stage 1 LE on my trunk, under pit that extends to back shoulder blade. She gave me exercises to work on LE and frozen shoulder, and I will be seeing her every week for a bit. Super happy to finally get help.
Hope you all have a great day
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Love it, MT.
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Thank you, MT!
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I've missed you all! Our internet cable got accidentally cut by the neighbor and we've been without access for a couple of weeks. I was going through bco.org withdrawal!!! It was good for me to take a break though.
Fat Grafting - I love it! It totally rejuvinated the radiated skin and really softened the look of the implant. I do think my belly is flatter, too. I was sore for a couple of weeks, but was only swollen for about 5 days. I wore a compression garment day and night for the first week.
My new implant looks so much better than the first one. It's not perfect, but it is not painful. Somethng just wasn't right about the placement of the first implant and I swear that's why it popped open. I have not had a single LE symptom since the exchange. Am I being totally delusional to think it wasn't LE at all???0 -
Got my drain out today from TE removal! Wow, I feel like a new woman! It is the simple pleasures that keep me happy. I felt so good I put on my Uncle Cracker concert t-shirt that says, "IT'S GOOD TO BE ME".
I must be feeling better. Happy weekend everyone.0 -
curly - excellent - happy wekend to you too!
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curlyfry thats Great- those drains suck. Great attitude with the simple pleasures making you happy and way to be positive with the t-shirt.
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TE PAIN AND NEED HELP/ADVICE!!!
Had mastectomy on May 7, 2012, left breast only and had the breast expander done at the same time...Incision would not heal so 4 weeks later I had surgery to have the incision redone...This entire time I have had some serious pain issues with the expander...5 weeks after initial surgery I am having severe pain around my expander but the most severe pain is directly under my expander...It almost feels like a broken rib and I can not get comfortable at all...Even the skin hurts to be touched...MY PS says my nerves are growing back and thats why I'm having pain...He wants me to phase off of the Hydrocodone and start taking Advil and I;m about in tears over the pain...My recliner has become my best friend and I feel bad for my husband because he takes good care of me and I can't sleep in our bed...Nothing helps to take away the pain, not even narcotics...I am hoping that someone out there with a fairly new TE will say that I am not going crazy and that this pain is for real and maybe someone has experienced this and can tell me what I should and shouldn't do....I am a desperate woman right now...I need some advice from a woman who has been there and back already...If this pain doesn't ease up in about 2 weeks then i might have to request that the TE be removed and forget about reconstruction...Any help would be greatly appreciated...I pray that someone will see this post and give me help/advice...Thank you for taking the time to read my post...I thank the person who created this forum so we can help one another!!! THANK YOU, SUSIE ROBERTS (REPLY TO ME AT rsroberts0012@aol.com)
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TE PAIN
Forgot to mention that after 4 weeks and I had my incision redone due to thin skin, I came home (hospital gave me a steroid shot) and I could not stop doing things like washing dishes, picking up around the house, and even using a rotary cutter to cut up fabric for a future quilt...The next day I was doing dishes and lifting heavy pots and pans...I am over doing it or is it okay to do these types of things...By the third day I was starting to have severe pain at the bottom of my TE area...This all feels like a nightmare and I can't wake up...I don't know much about forums but I hope someone reads my 2 posts and some dear and precious woman has something postive to help me...Hope everyone has a blessed and beautiful weekend...THANK YOU, SUSIE ROBERTS
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Susie, sorry for your pain. You do need to take it easy for a little while. Post-mastectomy pain syndrome is real---search the forums for more info.
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Thanks for the encouragement DLL66
What does Post-mastectomy pain syndrome mean...I have never heard of it...This is all so new to me...Thanks for trying to help me...
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