Fat Grafting, pros and cons
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Hi! Don't you think that they should put a garment on you after surgery? That is a shame about getting the "run around". What makes me worry is that there are no guarantees that the fat will stay. I will wait and see how it looks later. That must have been a real scary time for you with the infection. I was thinking, maybe I should quit while I'm ahead. I just don't want complications, and being a nurse, I keep thinking of what could happen. My 3 prior surgeries were absolutely necessary, so I didn't think about it too much because I didn't have much choice. Fat grafting is more "fine tuning" and I keep wondering if the rewards will outweigh the risks. Will your surgery be general anesthesia? My insurance paid for post mastectomy bras, but only from the mastectomy boutique in my area. I hope you get that insurance stuff straightened out. Wishing you well for your upcoming surgery and keep me posted.
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I'm ready for my tattoo as well because that will be the end of what seems like a never ending journey. Gotta hang out and wait. Another follow up 3 months. Then possible fat grafting, then maybe more fat grafting, who knows...Then gotta save up some serious $$ for those darn tattoos. I am spending all my $ for copays for all these dr visits. But gotta think positive and hope for the best.
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King ster,
I'm assuming they will put something on me but my pa said I need to go out and get something for compression. I had no idea so she said well u could get extra tight bike shorts and just pull them up real high... I was like what?!,! That sounds extremely uncomfortable for my stomach AND my crotch! Lol I'm going to try to go to the medical shop in town they have a mastectomy section maybe they'll have something. I need to also drop off my prescriptions for antibiotic and pain meds. That's another thing. I'm allergic to Percocet and dilaudid and Vicodin gave me nightmares where I was literally screaming in my sleep so they are giving me some other pain med. hope it works!!0 -
You probably won't need pain meds. My chest didn't hurt at all but if I pressed each of the entry points, it was tender for about a month. Nothing that would even require Tylenol. The abdominal donor sites were VERY sore...but only if I moved. The PS told me to get up to go to the bathroom but otherwise rest and let the fat find it's blood supply so it would live. The first week I shouted obscenities when I stood up but it only lasted 15 seconds. Get an abdominal binder on Amazon...they are worth it. Binding your belly helps so much. It still hurts when you stand up that first week, but less with a tight binder. There is no point taking pain meds for something that you only need once every two or three hours for a week. The second week is much better.
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mommy - this is what I woke up in, and I think Sandra had a similar one, and the price is more affordable for you:
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Mommy, you had me laughing!! I was just picturing those super high bike shorts:) How about spanx from like TJMaxx? Or why not those shaping type camies that go way down to the hips. Did you look at QVC? I know they sell stuff like that. Also, my mastectomy shop handles all that insurance stuff for me. It wouldn't hurt to give that a try. Please update me after your surgery, so I can make a more informed decision. Take care:)
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.I just thought of something. I bought the Dr. Linder bra for my exchange. That site also sells the Linder band. It goes around the tummy. It's about $40 I think. The bra was $50, but I do like it. And prompt with shipping too.
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Sandra, did your fat stay? Did it fix the problems? I watched videos on fat grafting, and it kinda makes me cringe. I don't like pain.
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Hi,What is the down time for fat grafting? Do you leave with drains? Trying to get an idea of how long I need to be out from work.
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So ladies I could just wear the abdominal binder for the whole recovery time?
Do u have to go bra less to have no compression on the breast? If I found a cami would I have to have the breast out?
What improves the chances of the fat grafting being a success?0 -
mommy - your PS should be talking to you about whether you need to be bra-less. You can definitely wear the binder the whole time - I believe that is what Sandra did. Not squishing the location where the fat is deposited is important - for me not an issue because the fat was put above the implants, not on top of them. Not being too active may allow the fat develop vascularity and not reabsorb, and the exercise restrictions help to not form fluid in the cannula tunnels at the donor site.
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Specialk ya my ps should be unfortunately for me she isn't. I finally got the code for insurance to cover it now I'm driving everywhere trying to find something to wear... Not totally understanding what I'm looking for! Ugh!!!0
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How about a girdle? There's a corset shop that has girdles0
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That would work, as would the type of camisole I linked that is scooped in the front to go below the breasts. I got mine at a regular department store.
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YOu found the won that's open on top what depo store and how much that's the kind I was leaving to buy can't find it in a store I found it on marena website but my inshurents won't cover it from them I just want to make sure that I get something that will work and give me good results thanks for your help0
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I got mine at Dillard's, but Macy's also has them, and often you can find either that, or the high waisted panty type, in Marshall's, TJ Maxx, or Ross. JC Penney also has them, and Target.
Do you have time to order something online? If so, Dillards.com has a high waisted panty for $36, open bust camisole for $58. Macys.com has the same open bust camisole for the same price, high waist panty or midriff shaper for low 40's, Target.com has a midriff shaper for $30, open bust camisole for about $25, high waist panty for $15.99. Penney's has high waist panty for $18 on sale, open bust camisole for $33.
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I'm sorry to be a pain... How do I know if it's enough compression/support to be effective?0
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Hi everyone I am new to this thread. I had a BMX in Jan. 2014 and botched reconstruction in April 2014. Finally got the courage to go to a new PS. Who is wonderful. Her game plan is exchanging my Saline implants for a smaller silicone and fat graph at time of exchange and again 3 months later. She asked me to gain a significant amount of weight between my consult and surgery date so that she has more fat to harvest. My question is does the donor sites eventually look smoother and sleeker or do I have to lose all the weight that I had to gain? Also although I am thin I always had a lot of cellulite on my thigh and saddlebag area. Does the lipo make the cellulite better or worse? Am I exchanging one problem (my droopy wrinkling implants) for a whole new problem (more obvious cellulite).
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mommy - it needs to be tight, so buy something you can adjust or is possibly a smaller size.
Jackie - most of us who fat graft don't see that much difference in the size at the donor area. Ask your PS how much fat will be used. Whether or not you need to lose after your procedure would be dependent on what you gained and what the PS used. My PS does not like to use thighs as it can be creating an aesthetic issue there - especially is you already have problems there,although there are people who post on this thread who have used the thighs with no problem.
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Yes, I agree with SpecialK. You need something TIGHT. My abdominal binder had to be so tight that it took help to get it on. It was thick heavy elastic, one piece with Velcro at one end. I centered it at the back tugged pretty hard and brought it around to just past mid-line in the front, then my husband would stretch the other side around to the front and across the mid-line, pressing the Velcro down. It covered from just under the breast down to the hip bone. My donor sites were in the upper, mid, and lower abdomen so it was necessary to have one like this. If you are only having a few hundred cc's taken, you won't need one that wide. It was tighter than a girdle but not so tight that I couldn't breathe. I wore it 24/7 for 8 weeks. Never had any bruising or problems of any kind.
My doc said absolutely no compression on any of the injection sites. I wore a soft surgical bra to keep everything gently in place and was told no exercise or anything that could interfere with the fat grafts finding a blood supply...so no trampolines! LOL. It's been 3 months tomorrow and it looks the same to me. Wonderful and worth the donor site pain. You are plenty sore for a couple of weeks but only when you move. Sitting quietly really paid off.
Some of the videos you see online show what seems to be a hundred small syringes filled with fat, ready to be injected. That's not what I had. I don't know what exact size syringe my PS used to inject the 1,000 cc's of fat, but there were only 7 small injection sites on my chest and 2 on my side. Each one had a tiny, very thin dissolvable stitch. You can see the scars now - they look like old healed blemishes - but they are very, very small and will disappear before long I'm sure. At the donor sites they were bigger incisions but most were a bit less than 1/4". You can still see them but they are fading. They drained for about two days, then closed. One in the center, mid abdomen, was about 1/2" and had 2 little dissolvable sutures. It took longer to heal and is still reddish. Under that area an area about the size of a quarter was tender for about 2 months. The other areas were tender for a couple of weeks. My chest was also tender for about a month. A couple of those injection areas turned a little yellow during healing but none of them every had any bruising. I've seen some photos of women with quite startling bruising both in donor and injection sites but my PS used the tumescent procedure which decreases or eliminates that side effect.
This photo is BEFORE fat grafting. The dark spots on my chest that look like bruises were completely filled in and look perfect now.
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Thank you Sandra for the info. I am considering fat grafting as my ps thinks I will need it to fill out the bottom area. Really encouraging! How many sessions of fat grafting did you need? I am only 2 weeks post exchange and in the waiting phase now:)
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I"m a UMX and am hoping to have my first fat graft to fill in my divot above the implant in a couple months. Since I'm 63 and on Arimadex I have very little skin elasticity with no estrogen in my system. Has anyone had fat grafting and found that the skin in the donor area was just loose. I'm a bit afraid I'll end up looking like a Shar pei dog.
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Kingster - only one fat grafting surgery was needed for my chest and left side. It CAN be repeated if your body reabsorbs a lot. Mine didn't. Several surgeries ago during another procedure my PS removed a "dog ear" on one side via liposuction. It was about 75% gone but as the swelling went down, it flattened out. Looked like about three or four tablespoons were "sucked out" of one spot.
Scubalady - you probably won't see any difference at all in the donor area. They do it over a pretty large area. Everybody expects it, but you really won't lose much weight. Fat is VERY light. It's much lighter than water. I had 1,000 of fat injected which is about a quart. That much water weighs 2.2 lbs, but fat is less than half that weight.
http://www.liposite.com/faq/10.aspx
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scuba - in a coded revision surgery they only take out as much fat as is needed to correct the problem, which is probably less than it seems, to avoid being seen by your insurance company as a cosmetic procedure. I had this same process bi-laterally, was on Arimidex when it was done, and had no problems with skin - my donor sites were spread over the abdomen and a bit from each hip. I had the process repeated after the loss of the left implant - in the same donor site on the low abdomen - still no problems, and I was 58 at that time.
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I had a right mastectomy and have never been happy with it. In reading through this forum, I see that many women have the same complaints that I have, rippling, a valley at the top, and the breast feeling really cold. I am thinking about having fat grafting and it has been encouraging to read about all the positive results. My PS didn't mention changing out the implant for a smaller one, just doing the fat graft. I work at an outpatient surgery center and he does many of these procedures, and comes highly recommended. Anything else you all can share about the procedure? He is recommending not to take fat from my abdomen because I am petite and he feels that it is best to spare belly fat in case of future issues.
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ok ladies, hope you realized that on my last post when I said I had a right mastectomy, forgot to mention that I had implant reconstruction, and that is what I have not been happy with. Important info to leave out.
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Ladies,
Did any of you feel lumpy after the fat grafting? My bs said she has seen many women come to her in panic because after the fat grafting they felt "lumps" but it ended up just lumps of fat...0 -
Mommyathome:
It sounds like she means fat necrosis, which is a risk of fat grafting surgery (as well as of other traumas to the breast). It's damaged fatty tissue which basically presents as a hard lump(s). They can range in size. It is benign, but obviously can cause stress and anxiety obviously and can lead to additional biopsies, etc. You ought not to end up all "lumpy" after fat grafting, more like you may risk getting some lumps of fat necrosis.
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The way she said it it was not a problem, not far necrosis but that because u inject fat it may be lumpy0
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Hi ladies. I'm home. Seems like everything went well. Sore in chest and abdomen but doable. I have a headache though. I can see that the fat grafting improved the areas but not sure how much is swelling. Can I ask again, what are some helpful tips to help the recovery and help make sure fat stays and doesn't absorb0
