Calling all who downsized after initial reconstruction

Mimi68

Hello all, ( and Whippetmom)..

I had High Profile Mentor round silicone 650cc bilaterally after my mastectomy and expansion four years ago. I am 5'6" and broad shouldered and not skinny but very toned, size 4/6 136#. My chest wall seems deep and wide, my breast are very large and heavy. My PS gave me a beautiful result, the one I asked for but now, my scapula get sore, fee are ripples and they have sagged. I would like to downsize, a, not afraid of losing some projection and need these to be smaller diameter. With my high waist, they look and feel like two large camterloupes sitting on my hips.

My question is two fold..

do you think going to a smaller volume ultra high profile vs my current HP would help narrow diameter while keeping them "perky". I am not afraid of going back to a small c or large b.

Has anyone had their remaining nipple for their prophylactic side removed? I lost my cancer side nipple due to the cancer and the reconstructed "flower" procedure fell flat after a couple of months despite careful shielding. I just want to be symmetrical but am wondering if that's a radical ask to have my natural nipple removed and do a 3D tattoo bilaterally? My BS had insisted on leaving it for "sexual pleasure" ..so odd, I have zero sensation on either side.

I would love your input and feedback.

Thanks all..

Mimi

SpecialK

I had a nipple sparing BMX with IMF incisions but had skin healing issues from the start, and after a TE loss and replacement after chemo, was able to successfully exchange for 650 HP Mentor smooth rounds. I had these for a couple of years but then required a bi-lateral repair to the allograft material, as mine was shredding. During this surgery the same area of compromised skin opened up, and after several surgical tries I lost the left implant. I did a series of fat grafts to the flat side and was able to place a TE and expand, but not to the previous size. Since my new left implant was going to be 200ccs smaller, I did need to downsize the intact right side to match. I had exchange surgery where a 445cc Inspira implant was placed where the expander had been, then the right nipple was removed in a traditional mastectomy incision and new smaller Inspira implant placed there to match. The nipple removal facilitated tightening the skin to fit the smaller implant. Inspira implants have more projection than rounds and my surgeon felt they would provide a better aesthetic. I look like a generous B/moderate C cup (which is what I was naturally - I now match the same volume that was removed in surgery), but sometimes still require a D cup in a bra to get full cup coverage. I am fairly petite - 5'2", about 125 lbs., wear a size 4 jacket. In a later surgery the left nipple was removed - it was not in the correct location due to so much surgery and looked weird next to the right side with no nipple. I will not attempt nipple recon but would do 3D tattoos if they can successfully achieved on the left side which has had a lot of surgery and where skin remains thin. The area is not smooth either, so I may not be a candidate, but I am ok with that.

TrmTab

Special K

Good to see you back on the boards, have been thinking about you this week with Irma. I'm sure your life has been turned upside down (my 90 y.o. aunt in Naples was removed from her home and put in hospital which I actually thought was okay vs being in a shelter) but seeing you back here means a small return to routine. Hope you are well.TT

SpecialK

trmtab - thanks! We were super lucky and there is still some level of disruption, but I'm not complaining - so many have it so much worse. My DD will head to the FL Keys tonight to return a friend's boat she picked up from there last week to protect it, and to take supplies down. She lived there for a year doing a dolphin training internship in 2014 and is pretty heartbroken about the situation there. What is the longer term plan for your aunt - Naples got tossed aroun, and how are you?

TrmTab

I love that Dolphin rescue/training spot on the keys, how fun for your DD to have had an internship there. My cousin in going down to Naples from Cape Cod this weekend to sort out issues with her mother, so I'll know more later, but she is still in hospital more as a holding mechanism than anything else.

I am "okay", had my exchange last Friday. Woke up to find PS had put in a different implant than we had agreed to, a textured cohesive vs the Inspira SRX. Given latest info on textured am not happy with that, but at this point I am resigned to heal from this surgery and then decide what to do next.

Right now I am so swollen and very bruised...on both L implant side and inner side of R (which was a big surprise, never got a good explanation why the unaffected breast would be so bruised up). Using ice packs on and off, totally off pain meds.

Have been taking pictures each morning to track the bruising as I saw the PS the morning after surgery, Saturday - no bruises, and on Monday morning when bruising was just starting to show...but now I am bruised all over and have shades from eggplant to orange to yellow.

Have been 24/7 in a post-op compression bra, swelling went up to 45" around my chest, now down to 44", but my implant is a DDD to my native D...hopefully swelling keeps going down.

I think I will send the PS's nurse my day by day bruise diary just so they know the full picture...once bruising starts not much to do but live the couple of weeks for it to pass through. Don't have another follow up with PS for three weeks...which seems like a long ways away.

Mimi68

Thank you SpecialK for your story. Did you lose a lot of projection with the 450 cc exchange?

Mimi

Mimi68

Thank you Trm Tab. I hope that you move beyond the discomfort soon!!

Mimi

TrmTab

Mimi

Sorry for hijacking your question when I saw Special K back on the Boards...for good or bad I might have some input to your initial question once my swelling goes down. Whippetmom initially said my frame would be well served with 700s, the PS has always been pushing 800s which I have...and it is huge. The implant is swollen as I am just one week post-op, so I need to give it time, but now a DDD on L and a D on native R breast. PS is not concerned as he will put an implant in R to augment, I am NO, put in a smaller implant on L! I don't want to be a DDD or DD but more a C/D....I don't think men should be PS!

Mimi68

No worries at all! The swelling can be very deceiving and put you in a panic. Hang in there. Mi e still look beautiful, they just are too big for me. Take care and don't over do it too soon!!

SpecialK

mimi - no I didn't lose much projection at all because my PS used an Inspira implant which has more projection than a smooth round. I can still wear the same bras that I did when I had implants 200ccs larger, but I have less side boob and look more streamlined and the projection is more frontal, if that makes sense. It actually looks much more natural. Also, at one point I had a 650cc smooth round in the right, and a 500cc smooth round in the left (for about a month) and unless you knew you couldn't see the difference.

trmtab - the swelling may decrease quite a bit so don't panic yet! And, yes, I like having a female PS much better!

Mimi68

Hello Special K,

Thanks for your response, I had my downsized exchange yesterday and ended up with 500cc HP round. I was hoping for 450-475 but he assured me that these looked best. Crossing fingers!

Mimi

SpecialK

mimi-yay! Hope all is well and things went as expected. 50ccs is very hard to see, it amounts to just over 3 Tablespoons within the entire volume of the implant, so an implant 50ccs smaller probably would not change the aesthetic muchvisually.

Mimi68

Hi Special K,

Yay is the word! I agree and thank you for your kind wishes and for reminding me that it truly is a small amount (50cc). I so excited to be done and I will say i was shocked at how much pain I compared to my original exchange years ago. I guess I’ve had some nerves regenerate. I should be off narc by end of day and every hour gets better.

Mim