Exchange City

Maui she told me we could do it mid January. I have to call today.



She said my skin is great, but she wants three weeks for the muscle. She likes to have people live with their new size a little longer, but because I am so horribly uncomfortable she is making an exception to get me some relief.

Cindy ... My PS was talking mid/late January too but due to work I am planning it around February 14th.  I work at a school and there is a long weekend (for students not staff) but it would be easier to take off (one day is Parent/Teacher conferences, one day is Institute, and that following Monday is President's Day).  I won't need a sub for these days.

I am having some issues with my most recent and final fill.  Thought I was past all of the stretching/spasms but they are back today.  I really twisted my torso collecting my things from the car yesterday night ... and now everything is sore.

Hope everyone has an awesome weekend!

loulou-congrats on getting your date!! Good luck!

Sherry ... hope things stay copasetic with your girls!

I got my exchange date....1/24/13!



Can't wait.....😃

cindy - all i have to say is IM SO JEALOUS!!!!!!!!!! how many cc's are you up to?

i posted this question on the TE trouble thread (because they ARE nothing but trouble)

how big are your incisions if you had a skin sparring (not nipple sparring) bmx with TE's - mine run a good length across my breast.  My friend said she has seen some as small as 2inches or so - WTH? im wondering why mine are so big. 

Also for the exchange do they go in from the same incision as the original surgery???

Yeh Cindy!!  I'm so excited for you.  I have mine scheduled for 10 days before yours and my PS swears it will take the elephant off my chest and stop the burning around the edges.  I promise to report in and let you know.  Good news is he completely agreed with implant sizes suggested from the sizing 101 thread so that makes me happy.  Also have to have drains for a couple of days, but they are the least of my worries.

We also had the nipple & fat grafting conversation last week.  He said depending on my thoughts it would change how much work he does in January.  I agreed to the nipples (my type A personality will be really pissed off in 3 years if I don't do them) so the exchange is hopefully going to be simple and "easy" to recover from.  But still no running for at least 6 weeks and no upper body yoga until further notice.  He better take a lot of fat from my pooch now that he's cut off my exercise routine for 4 months!

thanks so much ladies - mine are probably about 4 inches long....i thought they looked really long but i guess its pretty typical

chrisrenee - so is there immediate relief from the hardness of the TE PLEASE TELL ME YES!

Yay, CindyLooWho!!! New Girls for the New Year!!!

rozem - I didn't have skin sparing, so my BMX incisions run across the width of my breast. However, the Exchange incisions are only about a third of the length of the original incision, and now, a year later, the original ones are nearly invisible.

Keep in mind, too, that an incision must be large enough to remove a deflated TE, and insert a new, permanent implant. If you are getting saline implants, this is no big deal, as they are deflated before placement, and inflated with saline once they are in place.

With silicone, however, the permanent implant must be inserted fully filled, as there are no adjustments.

Permanent implants will be softer than TEs, just because of the way they are constructed (no hard backs) but be aware that due to post-op swelling and other issues, they may not feel all that squishy right away.

As your body adjusts to them, and they adjust to your body, you will see and feel changes for up to 6 - 9 months. So don't be discouraged!!!

(But yes, the rock-hard boulders will be gone!!!)

thanks so much blessings...i am so miserable (as anyone who has read any of my posts knows) and can't wait to get them out,  need at light at the end of the tunnel for sure

rozem- yes ma'am you will feel immediate relief! But I loved the way my TE's looked when I had them. I liked that they were high and if I could have kept them I probably would not do nipples, just tattoos. lol. I love the soft feel of the silicone implants. My DH will go up to the new girls and start poking at them and giggle and say they are so squishy, I wonder if that is where the "exchange to squishies" came from? haha

Miserablex1:  I hear you on the weight gain since my run training has virtually stopped since July 3. I need to ask my PS to do some lipo out of this 8 pound fat gain in my middle section while I'm under next month.  My 3rd round of "6 weeks off" of anything I find fun that includes running, vacumming and picking up my 2 cute pekingese who I am going to have my co-owner in L.A. watch for a few weeks pre/post surgery, I need lots of interrupted nights/days of deep sleep to recover. 

Congratulations Cindy on getting your exchange surgery date set!  I can't wait for Christmas and New Years to be over, I'm ready for January now!

Hi everyone!

I had my exchange surgery yesterday. They removed my TE's thank God, and put in 650cc mentor moderate profile plus memory gel 650cc's. My TE's were filled to 800. I had DD before and we were trying to get me back there. I had nipple and skin sparing and other then a HUGE seroma in my left breast post mastectomy I haven't had many issues.

This is what I am dealing with. I look totally flat chested. I sobbed like a baby the entire drive home from the hospital and most of last night. I cannot stand the sight of myself. They are beyond tiny. I was very clear what I wanted and my PS told me "you have to trust me". I feel hoodwinked. Is this going to get better??????? Will they fill out or change?

Any advice to help me mentally get through this?

chawkins...thank you for validating how I feel!!! It brings me comfort to know I am not alone in how I feel or the emotional pain. I see my PS on Friday and boy is he going to get a ear full. I asked him for HP 700cc's and he said no that I had to trust him. I wanted full with projection (what I had naturally). Right now I am flat with mini mounds. I brought in pictures to show him what I was going for and that didn't help  

I am 5' and weigh 176 (I put on 20lbs since my diagnosis almost a year ago. I lost my ability to be active as I ran 5miles everyday until I found the lumps). I was a 38DD, 36E previously. There is about a 4" gap between what I have and my DD bra. I have always been a fit girl but had an hour glass shape. Now I am an angry pear. I told my husband yesterday if I could reach and load my glock I would use it. I feel robbed. YES I am grateful to be alive and have my health, but what good is a life if you cannot look in the mirror.

Had my last fill and talked about exchange.



She will use high profile mentor gummy bears, 650 or 700 ccs. She said she has found that high profile is best when the patient has no breast tissue at all.



Rozem she said she will move them closer together, she used a medical term. She also said she may put a couple sutures on the armpit sides, but she thinks the pockets will be such that that won't be needed.



My incisions are low, so she wants to wait to do nipples. Rozem she also said that because the TEs surface is rough it doesn't allow the muscle to slide over it freely and that is part of my discomfort. She is trying to get approval to use Botox during surgery.