Exchange City

I had my exchange in November but I had drains for one week.  We have a hot tub so I waited quite a while for my incisions to heal.  I know that I was told to stay out of it for 3 weeks after each biopsy. 

I was told no mammagrams after BMX.  I am one and a half years out from original diagnosis and have not had one.  I just had a check up with my BS this week and no mammo needed.

i hope some of you nice Ladies can help me

i am two weeks finished with my excpander and now have to wait for my surgerie for my inplant

but i  am getting some rippels and my boob is getting smaller it feels like it is leeking

anybody had that problem please help 

joanquilts I have not had any MRIS its been a year and 4 months now since i finished chemo. My MO said they only do that if I have pain somewhere that seems suspicious. It does worry me. She jsut tests my blood. I am officially post menopausal now. My friend had a CT scan and she is needing a hysterectomy. 

Erika better call oyur PS right away. perhaps they can speed up your excahnge date.

I had my implants put in, nipple construction and dog ear revision yesterday. I'm feeling really good today. Very little pain, more like a stiffness or a soreness. I do have 2 drains in place which is more annoying than anything. I should get these removed in one week when I return for my post-op. I'm all bandaged up so I can't see anything, but they feel so soft and squishy!! my PS showed my Mother and best friend a post-op picture before they dressed me. They say they look fabulous, but I expect them to say that! Lol! I was surprised to learn I got one 800 cc implant and one 750 cc implant. The larger implant is on my cancerous side. Apparently my non-cancerous side had more tissue and skin so a smaller implant evened them out. Has anyone else heard of this, or had this done?? I'm worried when I take off the bandages I'll look lopsided.....not that my natural breasts were perfect either tho! Lol

Hi ladies

I just had exchange yesterday. No fat grafting. Ended up in recovery 6 or 7 hours due to low respirations and vomitting from meds. Obviously they didn't use same meds as last time because I was fine after long box surgery. Not much pain. Only taken 1 Advil so far today. I'm a but sore but box I took narco or muscle relaxants and so far I feel pretty good, I haven't taken off dressings yet to take a look.

Congratulations to all you ladies that just had surgery. It's encouraging to read that you are doing so well so soon.

Just wanted to check in and share my experience with my exchange surgery which was three days ago (April 25,2012).  Keep in mind, I am comparing the exchange surgery to my MX surgery back in Dec 2011.  I know everyone has a different experience: my MX was very high on the pain scale...like extremely high.  Speculating about the reasons (from what I have gleaned from this site) is that I am on the thin side and I work out so maybe my pec muscles were tighter and thicker than the avg?  Anyway, I have had several other surgeries that have had differing levels of pain but when I woke up from the MX it was excruciating!!  So much so, that I was very apprehensive about the next part of the journey with the exchange surgery even though most were reporting that the exchange surgery is way less intense than the MX as was my PS.  Good news: they were right!!! YEAH!  My exchange surgery was at 7 am, I was out of surgery by 10 am (they probably didn't really start the surgery til about 8 am after all the prep b/c my surgery was about an hour and 45 minutes), and I was home by 1:30 pm.  THAT in itself is a miracle, as I do not come out of anesthesia very well!  I was not in hardly any pain upon waking up.  I took one pain pill at the hospital at about 10:30 am, and when I got home (I did sleep until about 6 pm) I didn't take another pain pill until about 8 pm or so.  The following morning I took one pain pill and haven't taken anything since.  Today is 72 hours post surgery...and while there is some soreness, it is manageable for me without pain meds.  And the implants?  Can't comment on how they look b/c compared to the expanders and now the "squishees" I look flat...but the FEELING is like night and day!  It is literally like a weight has been lifted off my chest..soft vs.hard! light vs. heavy!  And another piece of good news?  I have been sleeping in a recliner since Nov 21, 2011 (had a lumpectomy b/4 the MX, then the MX Dec 8, b/c they didn't get it all).  It hurt to lay flat.  Last night was my first night sleeping in my bed   Granted, I slept on my back and I am normally a stomach/side sleeper, but hey, I was in my bed!  Anyway, for all those with upcoming exchange surgeries...rejoice!  It really is so much better compared to the MX.  I could definately go back to work on Monday, but I have time so I will probably take a few extra days and go back wed or thurs.

redninrah:  I had a double MX and on one side the incision did not heal well.  At first, it was about a 1/2 inch rectangle shaped scab.  As the expansion progressed, it became round, about the size of a dime.  My PS was really watching it, but thank God it never opened up or ripped.  I don't have natural breasts anymore, and maybe I got used to the hard rocks on my chest (TE), but these "squishees" feel pretty soft so far.  I got the gummy bear silicone impants.  Good luck!

Hi ladies

I had my exchange on 4/25 and want to tell u I haven't had much pain at all. The day after surgery I took 1 Advil and was ok all day and ended up taking 1 pain pill in the evening but I was having severe cramps more than pain from surgery. Yesterday took a couple tylonnal and felt pretty good all day. Today I haven't taken anything so far. I do feel flat since the expanders but trying to be patient and wait for the "drop and fluff". I do feel better without the heavy feeling of the expanders. Very little bruising this time too. I feel a little discomfort kind of under my arms because I asked surgeon to move them closer together when he put in implants and he did and they look better. All in all this has been a pretty easy procedure. I had more pain with initial lumpectomy, good luck to everyone on their upcoming surgeries.

Re: Mammograms and MRIs: The information I was given by my PS says that silicone implants should be monitored with a MRI three years after the initial exchange, then every two years after that. It is to ensure there is no silent leakage. If a saline implant leaks, it becomes quite obvious as it collapses as your body absorbs the saline (salt water) solution. Not so with the silicone.

Re: TE leaking: I don't know if it is standard procedure, but my PS showed me that the saline he uses for the fills has a blue dye in it. So he said if I started peeing blue/green urine, I was leaking and needed to call him immediately. 

Well, I'm 4 days post op and feeling great. I'll feel even better when I have these 2 drains removed Wednesday at my post-op visit! I'm also looking forward to the unveiling of my new nipples! Right now they are covered up by huge yellow bolsters, stitched to my skin. I guess that's one way to keep me from peeking Hope all of you with recent surgeries are fairing well. To those of you with upcoming surgeries, just breathe....every day gets a little bit better. Xoxoxo

Hi Ladies,

I had a NSBMX with direct to implant recon Dec 27th, so I'm 4 months post op. My implants are saline . I will be having my final surgery to remove my ports in oct or nov, if I can stand them that long! They aren't that bad just really annoying . Anyway I'm considering exchanging to silicone implants for a couple reasons, and wondered if anyone else out there has done so after direct to implant? Also has anyone had the new gummi bear implants yet?

Thanks All!

6 days post fat transfer/grafting and small implant (125 ccs, for matching) on my natural side. Surgery seemed pretty easy (about 2 hours). A little achy/tight in the chest, but really had only 1 day of *pain* - the day following surgery. Quite bruised on my reconstructed side, and in the lower abdomen here the *harvest* was. The small implant has made my natural breast somewhat swollen  - but really just feels tight now. 4 small incisions in the extreme lower abdomen - where the cannulas were inserted for harvesting. Wearing a spanx-like thing for a few weeks on the abdomen, sports bra on top (not so bad if you dress cleverly). Aesthetics-wise - I think it will look great, much more natural, especially in a bathing suit. And the belly looks like it did before bearing before 2 kids . Overall - I am very happy with results already, the small implant so not a big deal. In terms of pain/inconvenience for results - WAAAY worth it.

Lauren I got high profile's also. My PS said that high profile offer a better projection from the body for us recon girls who has no natural breast tissue. I'm sure you're in good hands! I trusted my MD also and have been very pleased so far......ask me again Wednesday when all the bandages and nipple guards come off! Lol