redoing reonstruction

Happygirl1802

Has anyone redone their reconstruction? I'm eight years passed reconstruction but was just curious if they have to be updated.

7of9

I had reconstruction after only 4 years due to recurrence and radiation caused capsular contracture. Came out beautiful. I'm sure others will be along with more stories... good luck to you.

Yaniza

I'm just about to have my sub pectoral implants relocated to a prepectoral position. Scheduled for tuesday. Does anyone know of anyone else who has switched out their subpectoral for pre pectoral?

Palesa2018

Yaniza, please share your experience after the surgery. Why are the implants being relocated? I'm looking for information from anyone who has experienced capsular contracture, trying to understand what the different treatment options are.

All the best!

Yaniza

Hi Palesa,

I opted for pre pectoral because I was losing upper body strength and I had extreme animation deformity.

It's only a few days since the surgery and I think I've had too much alone time to think and worry about the possibility of infection this time around. I have four drains this time.

I wish I could have had prepectoral initially. I really do think that it's the way of the future.

Cheers

Meow13

My plastic surgeon recommends additional fat grafting as time goes on. I have decided not to bother, the corrections would be almost unnoticeable to me.

aisling

Hi Meow13, wondering who your PS was and what method of reconstruction you went with? I saw you mention in an earlier thread he was arrogant but he had great results! Thanks

Meow13

aisling, I sent you a pm.

msphil

hello I had reconstruction expander implanted after first fill I developed fever husband to E R i had temp 104 I was admitted expander removed my body rejected it thought I would later get reconstruction again But I decided not to wear prothesis in my bra doin great now 24yr Survivor Praise God. msphil idc stage2 0/3nodes 3mo chemo before n after Lmast got married was planning at diagnosis 2nd. Then rads 7wks n 5yrs on Tamoxifen. God Bless Us All

Goldfish4884

Hi Yanzia. Just wondering how you are doing with the pre pectoral implants, are you having much pain, are you able to move your arms much or how long do they say your recuperation will be. I am having the switch out in about 1 1/2 weeks. Did you go with the same style and size of implants. My PS said I might want to go a little smaller since they will be on top of the muscle, not sure yet. Hope you are happy with your results and doing well. The animation and under the arm boobs are driving me crazy. Thanks for any info you can give me

Yaniza

Hi Goldfish,

I'm not having a lot of pain although I'm being quite careful. I had my surgery on Tuesday and today I had 2 of my 4 drains removed. My plastic surgeon is happy with the results and so am I. There is a reasonable amount of bruising... a little more on the left side for some reason. As usual the drains are very annoying as is the requirement to sleep on one's back while you've got them. My breasts do seem a little larger than they were but not freakishly so. My doctor did say that they would appear a bit larger because they are not partially under the muscle. They seem to be positioned more naturally. There isn't a lot of difference but they do seem slightly closer together and less towards my armpits. The implants were completely wrapped in alloderm or ADM I'm not sure which brand and he had mentioned that he was using a heavier version because I'm thin-skinned. I see him again on Friday when he's going to remove the last two drains. I know he wants me to take it easy and not be lifting more than 10 pounds or twisting and turning too much. I'm drawing a blank on how long he wants me to be that careful. I'll ask him about that on Friday. I guess the main takeaway here for you might be to consider the size of your implants and perhaps going a little bit smaller because I am noticing that I am a little bit bigger than I was.

And I must say that the lack of animation deformity and the general feeling of having my chest muscles back in place makes me extremely happy.

I'm 5'7" , 116 lbs, with 325 cc Mentor Smooth High Round (exactly the same type I had with my dual plane subpectoral reconstruction)

Goldfish4884

Hi Yanzia - Thank you so much for the info, so glad you are doing well. That's exactly what I am hoping for, more natural looking, closer together and no more muscle animation. I think I will definitely go a little smaller, sure don't want to be any bigger. I'm an avid golfer and these rocks under my arms certainly effect my swing, Yes sleeping on your back is very uncomfortable. Take it easy and get those drains out ASA

Yaniza

Hi Goldfish,

I read that you are dealing with indentations on the outer sides of your breasts since your revision to prepectoral. It's coming up a month since my surgery and I have the same thing going on. Time has helped a bit to soften things. I will be seeing my plastic surgeon tomorrow to talk about a few issues. Healing from this revision surgery seems like it might take a bit longer so do tke care of yourself well. Baby those muscles that have been newly reattached to your chest wall!

Yaniza

Goldfish4884

Thanks Yaniza: My ps wants me to be a couch potatoe for 3 weeks, no driving, do nothing for 3 weeks. It's 1 1/2 weeks now and I am being very careful not to use my arms too much. These dents are quite significant on both sides, he said my pocket was way under my arms towards the back so he had to put lots of reinforcement stitching in and now each side is dented in about a third of the way. It is quite a deformity. He said maybe in a few months we could take out some of the reinforcement stitching, once the new pocket scar tissue has formed and maybe some fat grafting. Please let me know what You find out from your ps appointment tomorrow.

Happygirl1802

Hi everyone, the reason I started this thread, is because I really can't stand the way my breast feel. I believe I also have the animation deformity. Whenever I flex my pecs my breasts move and I just can't stand the way it feels. I would like to have my implants repositioned so they are not underneath my pecs. I'm just not sure if my insurance will cover it. Has anyone else had their breasts re-done and covered by their insurance?

I feel like my breasts are under my arm pits. It's been eight years since my mastectomy so I didn't know if there was a "re-do" period.

Goldfish4884

Hi Happygirl18: I had my exchange from tissue expanders to sub pec implants in April 2018. I hated the feel of them, the muscle animation and felt like they were under my armpits too. I had new implants put in September 7, 2018 over the muscle. My insurance totally covered everything. I don't know what my doctor put on the pre approval claim but they were definitely under the armpits and uncomfortable. I would definitely check with your ps, seems like they have to recheck implants every 10 years for rupture problems anyway. These are so much better, feel much more normal. He had to reinforce the sides because the pocket was way too big which allowed for them to be pushed towards the armpit by my muscles pressing down on them. good luck to you

Happygirl1802

Thank you, I am so happy to hear this.

megryan57

Hi Sisters,

I'm back on this site after many years because I am having a revision to my reconstruction 12 years later. I'm suffering animation deformity, my constructed nipples have disappeared and my implants are moving "east and west". I've struggled with doing this for years because I am very afraid of surgery. I suffered chronic post mastectomy pain for 3 1/2 years after my initial "big" surgery. As you know, all of this was/is life changing.

For those of you who have done this, what is the "cure for BAD? is it over the pectorals or under? I am having a hard time deciphering what I've read and heard. The deformation is getting worse and worse and it's affecting my......many things. Thanks as always for being here:)

MinusTwo

megryan - Hopefully you will get an answer, but this thread has not been active in 2 years so these women may have moved on. Maybe this will keep it active another day.