TE/Implant OVER pectoral Can exercise, comfortable &NO RIPPLES!
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I flew 6 weeks post op with zero issues. I was a little concerned with the change in cabin pressure. My TE is filled with saline; I only have the one side.
I flew again today, 3 months post, with no issues. Due to work travels, I won't be able to get the TE out until end of Feb, I can't wait!
I hope that helps!
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Love2hike - I flew with bilateral tissue expanders with air in them just 2 weeks post-op and then again at 4 weeks post-op (15 hour international flight!). No problems. I didn't change to saline in them for fills until 8 weeks post-op because I was out of the country and when I returned the surgery staff were on vacation themselves. I will be flying again a week before my exchange surgery (sched for Feb 24th) and likely 1 day after they add a little more saline to over-fill. No concerns.
- xo
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Hi reneeCA, I was told once my a PS I had for some of my reconstruction surgeries that my skin was too thin. I subsequently got Fat Grafting with the Brava dome . I also got Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy. I switched PS's and did the Prepectoral TE, then finally an implant.. I am not sure how the problem got better, was it doing Fat Grafting first that reversed the problems, or the HBOT ? Or a combination of the two things. It had me very worried for a while, but it all worked out. Could you tell me your PS's first name so I can add him to the list?
Thanks
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Thank you for the responses Andraxo and PickMoreWildflowers! I'm glad to hear flying was not a problem with the TE's whether filled with saline or just air!
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for what it's worth, my PS said he'd remove the air & replace it with saline if I had to fly anywhere. He's actually going to a conference at the end of the month & this is one of the issues they'll be discussing
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I would like to add my forward thinking surgeon to this list - Dr Mark Venturi in McLean, VA.
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Hi macb04- my PS botched my implants. I am looking for new PS to possibly do pre-pec.
Lovetohike - thannks I will look into the fat grafting
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Oh reneeCC, I am so sorry to here that your PS messed up. I will PM you.
Hi Hopeful07, Thanks for your PS's name. I will add him to the list.
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Hi ladies, did any of you have pain with your tissue expanders? If so, what did you do for it? Thanks!!!
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It would be uncomfortable, so I did massage to the area, sometimes hot packs or ibuprofen or Tylenol. Hope this helps you. Maybe someone else will chime in with another idea.
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It would be uncomfortable, so I did massage to the area, sometimes hot packs or ibuprofen or Tylenol. Hope this helps you. Maybe someone else will chime in with another idea.
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littleblueflowers- I've had discomfort that comes and goes with my TE and have found gentle stretching helps as well as a warm (not hot) compress. I also put a little padding between my bra and skin.
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love2hike- good advice. Brings up an interesting point. Bras. Can you wear them with TEs? I think that would help with pain...Maybe make the skin stretching more gradual?
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I thought it was okay to wear a bra........have been wearing one for several weeks. I want the support for the other side that does not have a TE. Do most women not wear a bra with TE's?
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OMG! I have pre-pectoral TEs on both sides. I wish I didn't have to wear a bra! I've been in one 24/7 since my surgery on Jan 4! My PS insists on it to help support the alloderm forming to the right shape, I think. Finally last week he said I can wear whatever kind of bra I like so I ordered some of those comfy stretchy ones which is making it a little more tolerable-especially while sleeping. I think he'll have me wearing a bra until my exchange surgery, which will happen 12 weeks post-surgery (early April, I guess) unless I have to have chemo (won't know that until Wed) which of course will delay the exchange until chemo is over..I can't wait to ditch the bras! Lol.
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I haven't been on here for a while.....
I've had my pre-pec implants for 5 months now. I've worn some type of bra the entire time. When I had my TEs I had a few evenings where I went without anything and I could feel an ache (for lack of a better word) by the time I got home but not in a bad way and with no consequence. I did that for fashion reasons at the time. Otherwise, I always wore a bra with my TEs.
Now, I've been given the real ok to do whatever I want. Because the fat grafting only did so much for me, I've actually enjoyed wearing a more plunging style underwire that pushes my implants gently towards the middle. Gives me a little cleavage (I'm small so cleavage is a a little bit exaggerated), but I like it. My ps/pa did ok this. It hides the inside edges of my implants when I wear this as I don't have a lot of padding. I do only select bras that don't place pressure on the top and inside edges where the fat was injected to hopefully help the fat "take" - not sure if that truly matters but seems logical.
However, I've gotten used to wearing a soft bra (I think it's a bali seamless bra - seriously the most comfortable thing ever, like almost wearing nothing). Today is the first day, coincidentally, I didn't wear any real bra at all.
About the alloderm healing - I did wear a bra to help with this per PS and after exchange was instructed to wear an underwire to hold implants in place better as they healed. Today as I reached well over my head to grab something, feeling the stretch, I thought, boy, that stuff sure better be healed fully! I'm sure it is, I feel fine
Other than that, I kind of feel like these are really part of me. They cause me no discomfort and I do basically everything at this point - except lay on my stomach. Although, at my last appointment I was told to let my body tell me what is ok.
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That is interesting! My PS said no bra with tissue expanders because it could impede circulation. And wow! Now that I'm done expanding and waiting for exchange, these suckers are CROOKED! I'd love to be able to disguise that with a bra lol. Righty is making a run for it! I did wear an underwire bra one day right after a fill...It definitely helped with pain.
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jessiejake: I was going to give my underwire bras away. Guess I'll hold onto them in case I need them after the exchange surgery. It's great to hear from someone further along. Glad you're doing well with your foobs!
Littleblueflowers: maybe you can start wearing a bra now to get righty back in line. You've had your TEs for a while now, right?I'm thinking if you were going to have circulation problems you'd have them by now. See what your PS says...
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I should clarify the bras I wore with my TEs weren't underwires - I wore the bali one I mentioned which is soft cup style (I love those) or a sport bra style. My TEs were crooked, too. My DH kindly pointed how much in a picture of me when I was finished with expansion. Here's the kicker, though - my PS knew my TEs were crooked and just kept assuring me she'd correct this at exchange. Turns out it's me - she tried her best to raise one/lower the other but I'm just a little off
It was more noticeable with the TEs and now I don't even notice it, but that may also be in part practiced avoidance of staring at them! It's hard not to stare in the beginning but I truly think I've settled into a fairly level look now.PugsMama, it may not be a bad idea to at least hold onto those bras for a little while. I was scrambling to get the right bras after surgery and wished I could have had something read before hand. Also, I found I needed way different bra sizing than I thought I would after implants. I needed to try several underwires to find ones where the wire didn't sit on the implants. I read on here somewhere that implants typically require a bigger cup size than the real thing. I found Zappos to be a good source of odd sizes and easy order and returns - which I did a lot of. And, I should add, I don't think I would be wearing underwires except that my PS recommended it after exchange to try to hold the height adjustments she attempted to even out my foobs. When she first recommended I wear the underwire for a while I was quite surprised. Apparently it isn't common but I've encountered several ladies on here who also were advised of this for various reasons.
It is interesting, littleblueflowers, how the bra support (I'm thinking it's the band or the underwire) can add some comfort. I think if it fits properly (wire off the implants and not compressing TEs or implants too much) then it's helpful.
Good luck and best wishes!
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I always wear a bra, except when in the shower, or while sleeping. It is mostly to keep my real righty from sagging, otherwise I am so comfortable I think I would go braless more of the time. I have a small amount of truncal edema at times, which is exacerbated by the bra, which is why none during sleep.
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Jen - I have pain in one side or the other everyday. I don't take anything for it because it goes away. Oddly, I think it hurts the most when I first wake up - usually right under/behind one of them. I still go for a run or lift weights anyway....Neither of which is painfree, but I have to exercise to stay sane! I don't wear a bra at work, but I do wear a spandex form fitting T shirt or tank for support under my military uniform. When I'm out of work and out of my home I now wear the bras I used to wear before mastectomy which are lightly lined for nipple coverage and don't have any wires. I hate bras. The old ones barely fit because these expanders are not real breast shaped and already seem too big for my liking. My sports bras are also not comfortable right now - because they tend to compress real breasts but expanders do not compress - but I wear them for running. I used to have L sided truncal edema for the last month of radiation and a few months after, and couldn't wear anything with a band for more than a couple of hours, but now I can wear a bra all day.
Two weeks and 4 days to go until the exchange - yay!!
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Well fancy that. Bras! I'm going for it. If nothing else, it will help keep Bethany and Tanya warm since I work outside all day! Andra- so jealous of your exchange date! And happy for you. My PS can't work me in until MAY! 😲Anyway, it was a pretty day at work today so I wanted to share a picture...
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Beautiful area littleblueflowers.......I love the snowy outdoors! I work inside all day with preschoolers so am envious of you. Hope you find a comfortable bra.
Andraxo- I am back to working out too even though I have some soreness here and there. Not back to the level I was before but am gradually getting there :-)
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The list is still growing, now up to 28 PS across the US doing Prepectoral Implant Reconstruction. Keep sending them my way.
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well ladies, I'll be taking a ride on the chemo train. Will be done mid -April so I know that will push out my exchange surgery date for a while. Grateful that my TEs are comfy, but if I have to wear a bra 24/7 until then, I will not be a happy camper! Also thinking I'll have to sleep on my back for the foreseeable future...ugh. Did anyone sleep on their side with TEs?
Having a major snow day today...looks like Littlebluflowers' picture around here!
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Oh, PugsMama, so sorry about the chemo!
I've had a pre-pectoral TE on my left side since April of last year. I can sleep on that side, no problem.
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raven4mi: that gives me hope! Thanks!!
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Sorry you have to do chemo PugsMama. It's not fun. I see from your stats that you will be getting Taxotere and Cytoxan. I had 6 rounds of those exact drugs. Did your MO talk to you about neuropathy? Taxotere can cause terrible peripheral neuropathy, which can be permanent (CIPN - google it!). Please look into obtaining Elastogel mittens and slippers - 2 sets of each. You can prevent the neuropathy by keeping your hands and feet very cold during chemo. by keeping them on ice and rotating them every 20-30 minutes. It is similar to how people save their hair by freezing their scalp with gel caps but you don't need the mittens/slippers to be as cold as they do for the scalp. I researched it and did it. No neuropathy. Can give you more details if you need it! you can also search for more info through this website.
My TEs have been in bilaterally since Nov 9th. I couldn't sleep on my side for about a month post-op, but can now for a little while. I'm usually a back sleeper with some time on my side.
- xo
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Andraxa, thanks! I'll order them from Amazon. I'm getting a tour of the infusion center on Monday. Did your place have a freezer you could use?
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I am freaking out about something I felt in my "bad" breast. I have under-pect implants with fat grafting below. What I felt was rippling on one side, I think-not a lump or hard thing and I can't always feel this rippling. I saw in the original subject line of the thread "rippling", does that happen after post-reconstruction? What is it?
Claire
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