TEs. A Beginner's Primer
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STLSurvivor, we want to send you a big warm welcome to the BCO Community discussion boards. We're sorry you are in pain, but glad you reached out here! We're sure some of our ever-helpful members will weigh in shortly to share their advice and own experiences with tissue expanders. In the mean time you mat want to take a look or post also in some of the other threads that Moonflwr912 mentions in the very first post of this topic, such as TE Trouble: https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topics/771702?page=281#idx_8418
We hope this helps! Please, come back to let us know how you're doing!
Best,
The Mods
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STL - sounds like they are filling too much & too fast. I only had 50 ccs during surgery and never had more than 50 with each succeeding fill - and those were several weeks apart. Yes, it took longer, but stretching is not fun. I can't remember ever having anything more uncomfortable in my entire life. Note - your doc can take out some of the fill in the interim to reduce some of the pain and then proceed more slowly.
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STL - Agree 100% with minus - sounds like too much, too fast. It can be hard to determine what the discomfort comes from immediately post-surgery - the surgery itself, or the fill amount in the expander - because this is all a new experience. The surgical fill is usually dependent on the expander size, and skin/pectoral laxity depending on whether the expander is placed sub-pectoral or pre-pectoral. The reason this is important is both a comfort issue since you are recovering from surgery, and to encourage the formation of a new blood supply to the skin, which can be compromised is the expander is too tight due to fill. A 100cc fill a week post-surgically after surgical fill that is more than half the total expander size is not the norm, and every time I see that, which is not often, the person is uncomfortable just as you are. In your shoes I would request that some fill be removed and then slow down the fills to smaller amounts, at intervals. Is there a reason for the accelerated timetable? Do you need radiation on a schedule?
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BUMP -- can anyone weigh in on STLSurvivor's experience?
Thanks!
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no radiation or chemo. By the time I was scheduled for the 2nd fill I cancelled it but I felt better whe. The drains came out. At that time they did the second drain removal I was feeling better so had the third and final fill.
The TEs are rated for 350ml and I am now at 390. They tell me that they will leave it this way for 12 weeks from original surgery - 1.26 - so final surgery will be towards end of April.
The pain has now improved to discomfort. They still feel like they're nailed into my chest but no more muscle spasms.
My new problem is a surprising mental breakdown. I have been well-controlled with venlafaxine 150mg qd for over a decade and it has either not been working or something has changed.
Have any of you had to get psychiatric help through this? And if so, how did you find a psych who could level out the chemicals again?
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Thank you. They kind of make you feel like. PiTA every time you email with questions and act like it is the first time they gotten the questions.
I think I have made peace with the size of the TE. Now have to figure out how to deal with them for the next 8 to 12 weeks!
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mine was prepectoral 350cc size. Hoping to be about the same as before surgery. They filled to 240 during initial surgery then 100 mg 1 week after on each side. Then last fill was 50ml each side. That is tight and uncomfortable but doesn't make me suicidal.
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Hi! Thank you for reaching out! I did not know to check back periodically. I thought I would receive an email if someone responded.
But thank you to everyone who took the time to respond.
I will check regularly going forward.
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one quick question....how do you get the med hx under the signature line?
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STL - good luck with the stupid TEs. They are the most uncomfortable things - like rock hard turtle shells.
BTW - no need to answer each with a separate post. And yes, you can select to receive notification of a new post. (see below)
To add your diagnosis & treatment, go to My Profile. After you've entered, you need to make it "public" for us to see it.
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And Moonflower still occasionally checks in, so thanks again for starting this thread Moon.
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Thank you, Minus Two. I think I have figured out at lease part of it! Now I just have to get my mental state back to baseline!
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Hello all! Thanks Minus Two and SpecialK for helping out. I had a hard time checking in here during the renovations on the site!
STL, im glad you are feeling better! Those TEs are not fun. But squishies will come, and you wont believe how much better they feel, even if you dont project out like the TEs.
I dont check in here as often as I used to. Im 10 years out from dx, and 7 from squishies! Time does fly.
All my love
Monica
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I just double checked, the links are still working on this board after the renovation, so the information above in the introduction is accurate. Yay!
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Bump
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Bumping this again. Hope it helps someone!
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I'm on a restart due to having left pain. If it's a relapse tumor or calcification again I'm thinking of doing mastectomy this time. Wondering if I could get TEs for both sides? My left was a partial with rads in 2011
They screwed me with rads because the left a bigger portion of breast because I had a bad hematoma. Only have basically skin and less than 1 cup of fat/tissue. Can I put a TE under the skin to hopefully add a small/medium implant? Had I been told my recon would not be possible and that my breast would be so small I would have done the TE and implant before rads or skipped rads. The surgeon scared me into the pm and said rads were required. She never even suggested an implant as a recon option.
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@bluewillowskys I know this was a couple of months ago, but I'm sorry to hear about your restart. I hope you were able to get TEs on both sides. I don't have any experience but certainly read posts here about women who had TEs and implants after radiation.
Maybe in the new format, this thread might pick up or be easier to find. I found it and have been reading through the whole thing and gaining a lot of knowledge and support just from the shared experiences. I don't know that I was prepared for what this would be like, or if I could have been, mentally. I am almost 6 weeks post bilateral mastectomy with TE placement (over the muscle). Recovery was tough and emotional for the first couple of weeks, but improved a lot when the drains were removed (two at two weeks and the other two about a week later). I have been filled to 450 cc (350 in the OR, two fills of 50 cc each) in 450 cc TEs.
I am doing well in my TE journey but it's not the most fun to say the least. I have exchange surgery scheduled for July 25, which is about a month later than I was expecting so I was really disappointed. I think I am done with fills. I'm happy with the size and my 38 C bras from before fit perfectly (if not better than before). I'm wondering if I should do one more fill though to ensure that with implants I won't be smaller? That's my question at this time and I will message my PS but just thought of posting on this thread in case there are others out there going through this who wanted to connect during the process. I feel very fortunate that things have gone as well as they have. I am so ready to have this behind me but I am more encouraged about the outcome than I expected.
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Has anyone had radiation before or after switching out the expander for an implant? I know radiation and implants don't mix together very well and I have heard lots of scary stories about the expanders coming through the radiated skin, and the implants getting encapsulated. My oncologist said it is better to make the switch after radiation to prevent it getting hard and encapsulated; my PS says I should get the implants in before radiation because there is a risk of infection when cutting into the irradiated skin and if you are going to get encapsulation it will happen before or after anyway. Also means that you don't have to suffer through 6-8 additional months with discomfort of the expander. I am so confused by the contradictory opinions and don't know what to do. PS prefers the flap surgery after radiation but I don't want to go through another major surgery. I am scheduled to have the implants put in next week and then the radiation a few weeks later and am starting to panic because I just don't know which of these bad options I could live with.
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Whippetmom, I don't know if you are still around, but I would LOVE some advice. I am getting to the end of the TE phase after having a failed immediate reconstruction due to wound necrosis. I waited 5 months, then had the TE's placed again and have had large fills (120 ccs each side) with no problems since. The TE's placed were Natrelle 400 cc 133S - MV- 13-T. I am 5'6 around 210 lbs with the majority of my weight in my stomach. I measure 41" around my chest under the bust line. I am currently overfilled to 540ccs with another fill scheduled for Friday.
I had to switch to a new PS because my old one left the practice. The new one seems to think that the TE's are too small for me and that I will not be happy with the implants. I was not large-breasted prior to the BMX (a full B, small C cup) and I don't want anything crazy. Maybe a D at the most. I just want something that will look appropriate to my frame. I also want to lose weight, so going much larger than a D will look weird, since I could stand to lose 50-75 lbs.
What implants would you choose? Or is my new PS correct that a DIEP flap is the only way I'm going to get the look I am going for?
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I’m just popping in here to say thank you to everyone who’s posted in this thread. I had a single MX in April and was completely freaked out. For some reason, I fixated on the TE experience to freak out about. I read this entire thread several times and it was so helpful. I got very lucky and had no problems. When I did get “iron bra” for a couple weeks early on, I learned about that here. This was my “home thread.” Now I’m having exchange surgery next week and reduction on my other side and am hoping my run of good luck and no complications continues.
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@mp2023 We sincerely appreciate your post! And are really happy you're sharing your own experience. It makes it so much better for people, so please come back and shower more about your other side! We wish you the best of luck with no complications!
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Hi @mp2023. It’s encouraging to hear you’ve gotten through your TE experience (almost anyway). Congratulations!! I hope you are very happy with the results after your exchange and reduction.
I’m partway in to having a TE and it’s going well I think. It’s not fun but I keep thinking it’ll be worth it in the end once I have my exchange and reduction also. I need to read this entire thread, I think I’ve read bits and pieces only.
Best wishes for a smooth recovery!!
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Popping back in with an update. I had exchange surgery and reduction and lift on the other side 2 and a half weeks ago, and it’s all good so far. This surgery was much, much less painful than the MX. I took Tylenol for 3 days and that was all the pain meds needed. None of the nerve pain when bending or moving like last time. All my incisions are still healing, but everything has gone well so far. I just have to keep reminding myself to take it easy!
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@mp2023 - Good to hear your surgery went well and you're feeling better. Wishing you a smooth and speedy recovery!
The Mods
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