TE TROUBLE
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Purple - Best Wishes. What a journey you have been on! Thank goodness for the women on these boards!
I PMd Whippetmom several times in early October about TE sizing. I am so grateful for her! This was my 2nd attempt as I got infection the first go round and IV antibiotics failed. I was also convinced that the first TEs were the wrong size. For the 2nd TE placement, I changed to a new PS since two of us got infection the same day.
I am petite at 5’2” and 105 lbs. The PS used Mentor low-height CPX 11.4 250cc and told me that she generally overfills which sounded good to Whippetmom. I was very sick after this out-patient surgery, my 5th this year, and at 5 days returned for redness and an additional antibiotic was given for 10 days
At surgery, I received 50cc and continued to receive 50cc approximately weekly and am at 250cc. After the last fill on Dec 2, I had extreme pain that last several days and more redness 2 days after the fill. On Dec 9, the PS cancelled the fill until the beginning of January as she believes the skin is too thin and may not tolerate a fill this week. Or maybe none at all. I was hoping to get to 350cc and am already scheduled for exchange on Jan 21.
Does anyone have any suggestions to reduce the redness or strengthen the skin? Sometimes I even get a little rash. Per the PS, I only use cetaphil and cerave soaps and creams and am only wearing cotton camis to prevent any irritation. Would discontinuing the AI help the skin? Also just discovered I have osteoporosis so may need to discontinue anyway. Should I push back the surgery in hopes that the skin will build some tolerance? Any other ideas?
Thanks all!
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Special I found a place who is sending me a mastectomy bra. I'm so excited. I actually might look normal with clothes on.
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purple - yay! Awesome! I am so happy! I am sending your prosthetics today and will PM you a tracking number asap.
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Divecat...thank you for these sites. They lead me to a site that is sending me mastectomy bra. With yours and SpecialK I will be able to look normal with clothes again. Thank you again
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purple - your package is on the way - sent you a PM with the tracking number.
howdidigethere - my experience with skin is that it is what it is. I lost my left implant earlier this year due to thin skin and healing issues after a repair, and currently my PS is doing fat grafting injections to boost the skin vascularity and thickness. This is a relatively new process, most often done on patients who have had radiation (I have not) but his theory is that it could work for me too. Talk to your PS about this - it could be a possibility for you. I don't think that being an AI has any bearing on your skin. Do you have allograft material in the breast? Sometimes you can develop something called Red Breast Syndrome, which is an inflammatory response to the allograft. You might have a discussion with your PS about trying a course of steroids and see if it improves. Here is some info:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24691314
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HowdidIgetThere - Special gave you great advice. I would only add that my PS required at least two months between the last fill and the exchange. Other docs want 3 months minimum, but some docs exchange in a week. With your existing problems & possible thin skin, you might want to postpone your exchange & wait awhile to see how everything resolves.
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I agree with Minus and Special. There's no point going ahead with an exchange that could fail due to healing issues. It's better to hold where you are for now, let your body get used to what you have, and move on if and when the situation improves. I know you want to get to the end, but if you have an exchange before your body is ready, you'll be sorry.
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i can attest to being sorry. I did my 2nd implant try too soon and lost my 2nd to an infection. I gave it a full year to recover and it went very well. Specialk beats me for surgeries. Sandy is pretty close to. Wait. It's hard but probably worth it.
Purple you are in my prayers.
Much love to all.
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SpecialK you are truely a special friend to all of our sisters here. Bless your heart! You always are there to help. Char0 -
char - that is sweet of you to say! Helping others helps me too.
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ladies since I share my hard times and frustrations, I think it only appropriate that I share my blessings as well. My first blessing came from SpecialK finding and sending me some prosthetic boobs. My second blessing came today via a phone call from the hospital I had my surgery on Dec. 5. The financial office had contacted me Monday to discuss my bill of $55,000 since I insurance showed cancelled. When I explained my situation to the woman she told me she would get back with me. Well today she called to tell me the hospital has agreed to pay for my Nov and Dec Cobra payments so that I will have had insurance coverage to cover my surgery expenses for my last surgery. I was beyond speechless and just cried. God has truly blessed me.
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purple - OMG - so great! We hear so much about hospitals and how unsympathetic the billing folks can be about things - so wonderful to hear about something nice! That must be a weight that has been lifted - and it lets you focus on feeling better. I am so happy for you!
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Purple – you have been greatly blessed the last couple of days after all you have been through. I pray that good things will keep happening.
Special, Minus & Sandra – Such great advice and a bit of affirmation on waiting if the skin doesn’t settle down expecially since this is already my 2nd attempt. And I may need to size satisfied if I can’t get any more fills. A 3rd attempt will certainly have to be something different with the either the fat grafting or one of the flaps.
The article about the sling material causing issues, mine is Alloderm, was good and I had wondered if it had bothered me in the course of the 1st infection. My redness the 1st time started below the breasts and made its way to above my horizontal incisions. Initially the 2nd time I had redness below but PS started 10 days of doxycyclene and that cleared it for awhile. Right now the redness is above incisions and a bit into the incision with some blotchiness/rash between in the evening. I haven’t changed laundry soaps and am still wearing the same camis that I wore all summer after the first TEs were removed so I don’t think it’s a contact dermatitis issue. And I didn’t know about the fat grafting to boost the skin so I’ve done some reading about that.
I will talk/email/send photos to the PS on Monday as I think it’s important to be taking some action to see if the redness can be reduced via steroids (thanks Special), antihistamines or antibiotics without waiting until my Jan 2 appt. Also ask about her experience with fat grafting. I will also let her know that I may defer my exchange if things don’t improve.
I am so grateful for everyone’s advice.
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Special I am still shocked but know it is truly a blessing from God. I'm praying and hoping this is a shift in my luck and things will begin to start falling into place.
Good luck to all who are going through your own issues and struggles. Know you are not alone.
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Hello everyone,
After 9 months of having my tissue expanders in....due to the wait period from radiation, I am set to have my replacement surgery for my permanent implants in February. Lo and behold, this week I developed an infection in my left breast. It started out as a small pink spot on the right side of my left breast and, then, escalated to a very deep red color. My PS put me on Levaquin (antibiotic) this past Monday, and I have a follow up appointment with her this coming Monday to see how I am coming along. Has anyone else ever taken Levaquin for an infection?
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Cannoli - I was given levaquin post TE removal (after 5 days ivanz & vanco) in June. With the 2nd TE expander redness a couple of weeks ago, I got doxycyclene for 10 days and the redness cleared. No culture was done to prove infection this last time, just the antibiotic given.
I hope the redness is gone and this works for you quickly.
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annoying I hope the abx work.
Purple I am happy that worked out with the insurance. Keeping my fingers crossed that everything stay on the old side for you. You deserve it.
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Purple, that's amazing! I feel like no one does things like that anymore...at least not corporations! I know a Special K or two and sometimes it's even me...but for a business to "do the right thing."....I thought that was dead. I'm so glad you shared all of this hear. It's renewing my faith in people!
How did I get there...I had major skin healing issues after my bmx. The scars and even a few extra area remained very thin through my entire TE process (7 months). I got small 40 cc fills every two weeks. In the end, my plastic surgeon confessed that he might not be able to get the size I wanted because my thin skin might fail if stretched too much. I pushed him on it and he defined "failed" as split wide open.
I stopped my fills in the middle of September. I did one last "over-fill" two weeks before exchange surgery (to give him a little tissue to work with during surgery?) He had to cut New incisions instead of going through and "fixing up" my old scars because most of the thin skin was where the scars were. He explained to me that thin skin doesn't have as many blood vessels etc. It's not just THIN. It's much less healthy than thicker skin. He also explained that he would not be able to graft or create nipples for me because my skin was so thin where the nipples would be. At the very least, he was afraid the nipples would fail, and at most he was afraid he'd subject me to an unnecessary infection and or more skin healing issues.
Long story short...too late...skin is what it is. I don't think any amount of waiting will thicken it up. Don't base you decision to wait on trying to thicken your skin. I do not know how many cc my TE were filled to, but I know my implants ended up looking very proportional. Sometimes, it's not about the cc' s! Don't be afraid to discuss with your surgeon "the look" that you want. Don't think in terms of size. Tell him if you want them to ride higher on your chest and stick out (like you're always wearing a bra and they stay in the perfect spot) or if you're looking for a more natural slope etc. I know I made it sound like the "bad choice" but I went with the first. I made the decision while wearing clothes...I look awesome in clothes! Lol I still feel I look a little unnatural naked, but that might also be because I have no nipples!
Good luck on whatever you decide to do, but be fair. Tell your ps what you want to look like...He should be fair back and tell you if your rib cage, skin, etc will safely allow for that.
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Radical - Thanks for your insight. I have thin flaps and thin skin. It is already difficult to be on this journey and to have the plans change again. But the most important thing is for the skin not to be compromised and I am thankful that my PS is cautious about that. I have 'zipper' scars since they've used 3 times already with the upcoming exchange being #4. And I also have separate SNBs and a lumpectomy scars. I talked with the PS about what I hoped to look like and even brought a bra to model. However, without the last fills, and being at 250cc, now she doesn't think we will be able to get the projection that I was hoping for. So we will re-look in early January and if it won't work, then it won't work. If I only have what I have now, it will still be wonderful!
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Thank you Moon. I received my boobs from Special today and an beyond excited to wear them as soon as I get my stitches removed. This site and support here is just amazing. I truly would not make it if you guys weren't here to let me vent. Thank you all
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Thank you HowdidIgethere. From my experience I truly believe I kept opening because my PS put in the wrong size implants. I was a 38 DDD when I had my mastectomy and he keeps pushing to put me back to that size. I told him I wanted max of 600 cc implants but he put in 800 cc implants anyway. I believe my chest area isn't large enough plus skin is so fragile to handle 800. I expressed this to him. With that being said... I would go slow and smaller then fast and no large. It's not worth the complications. Good luck with your exchange
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I agree with what the others say. Tell your PS what you want and encourage him to tell you if it's possible. I took in pictures because using language like cup sizes and cc's can be like you and the doctor are speaking different languages. Things get lost in translation. But pictures are much better.
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Purple - Thanks for the input. My PS seems to err on the side of being conservative which after seeing and knowing what you've been through is probably for the best. I'm hoping for this to be the last surgery so I need to get my arms around erring on the side of less is more. I've always had a small bust but was huge during 3 pregnancies. Keep healing!
Sandra - Just getting ready to ask for permission to access the picture forum. And I've also been looking at some other web sites that show pictures but also list the height, weight and ccs (can't remember if they list chest size). So I like your idea of printing something out that might compare to my height and weight and also the cc's that she has to work with.
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Hi all, saw the PA today about the continuing pinkness since the Dec 2 fill. She doesn't seem to think it's infection or related to the alloderm since it's in the upper area of the breast. So I am now 50cc less on both sides bringing me back down to 200cc. Wasn't expecting this turn of events. Will go back in 2 weeks to see if that calms things down and if it does may do the next fill at 25cc. If it doesn't change things, then we'll make a new plan. Still scheduled for Jan 21 exchange but wonder now it that will happen.
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Howdid,
Well, that's good news and bad news...focus on the good. If there is anything we learn, setbacks are actually normal...annoying, but normal.
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So normal that Moonflwr, for example, calls them mere "scenic detours."
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Radical - yes, good news trying to get things to heal and I'm really trying hard to focus on that. Everything looks so different with that extra 50 out. Still pink but it's only been a few days but my body is much less stressed.
Sandra - Scenic detours, that's a good one. I have a local BC friend and we have been at the same state of the journey several times with the same or similar detours! But we are determined to go to see Vinny together before the end of 2015:)
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I hope everyone is able to enjoy christmas without pain. Much love and Happy Holidays! and if you want to read a bit of a poem that I think captures the spirt of this time of year (LOL) go read Haiku for Fun thread..... LOL
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Moon - cute poem. Thanks for the referral.
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Hi.
Apparently I need to be here. Please tell me this will eventually all stop!!!
BMX on 9/12.
At 4 weeks I was still miserable and in a TON of pain. I was doing my stretches but my range of motion was decreasing. Only managed a couple of small fills. Wonder how in the world I will make it to full expanders with this level of pain.
10/22 discovered I ruptured the right TE and have a large seroma.
10/27 surgery to replace both TE's. PS finds I am completely encapsulated and cleans up all the scar tissue. I get full range of motion back and feel like a new person. Off all pain meds on day 2 post op. Over the next couple of weeks I get a couple big fills with no pain at all. Easy peasy! SO HAPPY that I can kind of see what I will look like after my exchange. Feeling confident and truly healthy for the first time since diagnosis.
11/19 get a 100cc fill on each side. No problem.
11/22 right incision is starting to look suspicious.
11/26 PS does an in-office scar revision for skin that is thinning, right about the area where the nipple used to be. No fills while this heals up.
12/3 check up in office. Looks good. Sorry, no fills allowed yet.
12/7 incision is starting to act up again.
12/10 100cc removed to allow skin another scar revision in the office.
12/17 Looks a tiny bit questionable. Leave it alone for another two weeks and will assess after the holidays.
12/20 late in the evening I spike a 103* fever. I assume its the flu. Until the middle of the night when the right side starts to swell.
12/21 admitted through the ER. Boob is twice the size it should be. Two days of IV antibiotics (vanco and gent)
12/23 surgery to remove right TE and clean everything up. Leave it alone for 4-5 months when I can start over on that side. I opt to leave left side alone since it is FINE and looks great.
12/24 - Christmas Eve - discharged for home. I feel great, though hating having a drain AGAIN.
12/25 - Christmas Day - We have family coming and I'm allowed to shower for the first time. I remove the bandages and have a total meltdown in the bathroom. Before this I didn't look bad, now I look grotesque. I never wanted to be a uni and now I am. Ok, I'm barely and A cup on the left, but a DIVOT on the right. OMG this is horrible. I can't even hide it in clothes because the material falls into the divot.
12/27 - yesterday - incision has opened up about 1 1/2 inches. Blech! Nauseates me to look at. Talked to PS who says if the drain is keeping suction I'm ok to wait until Monday to see her in clinic. Keep it clean and dry.
12/28 - today - I'm so tired of this. I just want to be done. I have a giant dent in my right side and the incision is buried in there. How will this ever heal????
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