Numbness and tingling only started after last and final TE fill

gaspasser

Hi! I had a PBMX with tissue expanders on Dec 8, 2015. I'm now about 6-7 weeks out and have had a few fills on my expanders. My last one was two days ago on Wednesday. I am almost completely done with my fills and following this last fill of 100ml on my left side I have numbness and tingling down the inside of my left arm. Today one day later it is now in my finger tips as well. I spoke with the nurse at the plastic surgeons office and she said to continue stretching my arm. As the day has gone, the numbness and tingling is worse. Motor function is fine on my affected arm. The right arm is filled to the same size and has no numbness. My tissue expander on my left side, that I'm having numbness is definitely more laterally placed and further into my armpit. He said at the time of my implant exchange he will have to move my implant he is placing more midline. I will call the office again tomorrow morning to let them know the numbness and tingling from my armpit to fingertips has worsened and not gotten better.

My question for you all is has anyone had a tissue expander be too lateral ( too much into the armpit ) that it had to be repositioned? I'm a bit concerned that I've had numbness for two days that is worsening despite stretching and taking their recommended Valium at night to see if it resolves. I'm relatively small chested. I was a 34 A to a small B before surgery. I am at theend of my fills at 300ml in each side. If the numbness doesn't resolve what can I expect will happen next?

Thank you so so much!

Sara

Moderators

Hi gas! Bumping your thread to get it into active topics, and get you some answers.

Hope this helps!

--The Mods

JenBois

Sorry you are experiencing this. I also have numbness after TE fills (I started the other thread that you posted on). My numbness lasted a couple of days and then would come on again for a bit if I used my arms a lot. I know some people have said stretching and movement helps relieve numbness; however, for me the numbness was worse with more upper body activity. I must also disclose that I use a wheelchair due to a spinal cord injury so I use my upper body more than most people. Like you, I am also small chested (32B). I find the majority of my TE bulge is lateral and partially in my armpit. My PS said the bulge tends to be there because the muscle is weaker there than the medial part of the pectoral muscle (the path of least resistance). I don't know if I helped at all but I hope your numbness improves.