Please tell me implants can be comfortable

JRNJ

Can implants be comfortable? No pain, chest tightness, rubbing against scar tissue. Especially saline. I had tissue expanders after double mastectomy. I was ina lot of pain for 4 weeks and felt constant pressure across chest area. Expanders removed due to infection. Hoping pressure was still recovery and not implants. It did start to feel better before they were removed and it wasn’t like instant relief when they were. Thanks!

ajminn3

following this thread- I’m hoping for my immediate reconstruction to go direct to saline implants following my BMX on 1/6. I have no idea what to expect. It will all really depend what they find when they go in.

OCDAmy

I'd recommend pre pec silicone. Mine is pretty comfortable and feels soft and natural.

MBPooch

I went direct to implant with my BMX with silicone implants and have been so happy with them. Have not had any issues at all, look and feel natural.

WC3

I don't usually find my implants uncomfortable. I feel like I'm wearing a very comfortable sports bra most of the time. I do get the occasional unscratchable itch or twinge of pain though.

JRNJ

Thanks! My surgeon does pre pectoral. I hear so many horror stories and my experience so far wasn’t great I need some positive feedback. Any more input from happy people? Anyone happy with saline?

VegGal

I am happy with my pre-pec silicones

Why, may I ask, are you interested in saline implants? They generally look not as good with mastectomy recon as there is no breast tissue to cover them. They are also heavier feeling, slosh, and are much more prone to rupture.

JRNJ

I’m concerned about silicon leaking into my body. However it appears you get mris with silicon and not saline which appears to be a benefit for cancer screening also.

VegGal

Saline implants come in a silicone shell as well. Exposure is still there. The newer silicone implants are cohesive, and when a rupture does occur, the silicone does not get runny and gooey. Instead, the damaged implant edges may cause irritation to the surrounding tissues.

I just had an MRI two weeks ago. Everything was very visible all around the implants, so I feel it will be a great tool to have going forward.

JRNJ

thanks veggal. Ill consider them. Have time on hold for chemo and will get expanders again. Also considering diep but leaning towards implants as dr said I don’t have enough fat. Just concerned they will cause pain and problems

OCDAmy

I know someone with saline and she is not happy with them. As Veg Gal said, the cohesive silicone are safe and more comfortable.

SimoneRC

Hi JRNJ!

I have pre pectoral silicone implants. I do not find them to be uncomfortable and they look pretty darn good! Please remember that people who are happy or are not having negative issues are less likely to post. As mentioned above, the silicone implants are cohesive gel, you will get MRI’s on an ongoing basis and saline implants have silicone shells. I really feel for any woman who has issues with her implants, as it must be terrible. Not to minimize anyone’s bad experience. Fortunately the overwhelming majority of us do not have problems with silicone.

Good luck to you in your journey and keep asking questions!

JRNJ

Thanks for the input and support!!

SimoneRC. Looks like you had fat grafting. My dr has never mentioned this. Do you think that's necessary or optional? Did insurance pay? Was fat from tummy (bonus)😃

Thanks Judy

SimoneRC

Hi JRNJ!

Many of us, especially with Pre pectoral reconstruction have fat grafting. I am thin with thin skin so have done two rounds of fat grafting. Insurance has paid for all of my surgeries, less deductibles and copays. They can take tummy fat. I did not have any, so they took thigh fat. Your Plastic Surgeon will work with you to find the best spots if you need fat grafting!

beach2beach

I went direct to implants after a double mx. Ive not had any trouble, tightness etc.

Lucysbff

I went direct to silicone implants, pre pectoral as well. It has been just over 3 months and I have had no problems with pain or itching. I haven't had fat grafting, right now I don't think it is needed, but will consider it when I see my surgeon at the one year appointment. I am pretty active, do Pilates and other more active classes at the gym 5 days a week and feel pretty comfortable with my new boobs! Went on a beach holiday a few weeks ago, and felt perfectly normal in a bathing suit (honestly more comfortably than before surgery!!).

I do think we read about the bad experiences way more often than the good ones, but I'm sure there are tons of happy results out there

Cpeachymom

jrnj- I have prepectoral saline with fat grafting. The FG was done on my radiated side only and I have a small implant on my good side to even them out. I also did not want silicone, my PS uses “Ideal” brand saline, yes the shells are silicone. FG was from my tummy, and I barely had enough for one round. PS was reluctant to take from anywhere else because he didn’t want to create “defects.” At least my stomach wasn’t smooth to begin with.

My radiated side is still too hard and high. Because we couldn’t get enough stretch of the skin, we had to skimp on the fills. The problem is he had to underfill the saline on my good side to get them to match. An underfilled saline feels just like a bag of water.

They are comfortable, I’m not in pain, the radiated side is always gonna feel tight, but it felt that way even before recon. I get rare zingers or phantom itch, but also had that before recon. They look fine in clothes. Not twins, but at least sisters.

JRNJ

Thanks all!

Cpeachymom I need radiation too. Since my drs are not a team it is a little unorganized. They said they “might” put tissue expanders in between chemo and radiation. I’m thinking they said this to avoid problems with skin stretching. What phase were you in during radiation?

MinusTwo

Yes, I believe TE's are usually recommended before radiation to solve the stretching issue.

Cpeachymom

I did delayed recon, so I didn’t get expanders until almost a year after rads. Often expanders are put in before rads.

Jpsara

Had BMX in 2013, with direct to implant, under pec. Many, many complications, resulting in 7 surgeries. I am having tons of issues with the pec muscle issues...spasms, tightness, chronic shoulder, mid thoracic pain etc.

Finally went back to reconstructive surgeon and he talked about redoing them with over the pec procedure, with Alloderm sling/coverage. Scares me a bit..I had some fat grafting done in my last surgery, but one wasn’t able to take much as tissue space was thin and limited where he could put it

Am very concerned about ripping and edges of implant showing...kind of like plant on stripper boobs? He also won’t do the fat grafting in same surgery...which means yet another one! I kind of hate to open Pandora’s box again after all the previous issues!

I am 62, but very active, and this pec issues is getting more problematic all the time. Thought I was done with surgeries, so really scared to consider a different procedure.

What about size and profile of implant as well...my current ones are a high profile...but still look kind of flat and round...not much projection.

Cpeachymom

Jpsara- you might want to check out this thread-

https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topics/835911

JRNJ

Jpsara, My PS does over the muscle. My friend has under the muscle saline implants, not cancer related, and has never had a problem and told me I should get under/saline. So each case is different I suppose. But I'm not going to request under, although he never discussed another option with me, he just did what he wanted. But those expanders are out now. I am kind of glad with the expanders out now I will be able to tell the difference between implant pain and post Mx pain syndrome. I have been pretty much pain free for several weeks now. Although some weird pain just started again in my cancer side which is freaking me a little. I'm trying to decide implants or DIEP, silicone or saline. Leaning towards saline implants over the muscle size C. Might not have enough fat to do DIEP. I was in severe pain for 3 to 4 weeks with the TEs and Alloderm pocket he put in. But the pain was getting better before they were removed due to infection. So still not sure which pain was from Mx and which was from having Alloderm stitched to my muscle. My scars are horrible, and I hope he can make me look half decent. I don't know if its the fault of the BS I dumped or the PS. The incisions are not symmetrical at all, and the left was voluntary. Someone else showed me their incisions which clued me in to how horrible mine are. But my skin is pretty thick. When they were in, I didn't see any implants through the skin or implant edges.

Can anyone else give us positive feedback about over the muscle implants?

LiveLoveLaugh2020

JRNJ yes implants can be comfortable! I too had a lot of pain with my expanders. Like severe pain for about 7 weeks. Just had my my exchange surgery a week and a half ago and it was instant relief right away. I don't have any pain or discomfort and I'm surprised how soft they are! They look good besides rippling on one side but otherwise fine.

OnTarget

I have pre-pec silicone and I'm a little over 2 months out from my exchange.

In general my implants don't hurt and I often don't notice them. I do have chest tightness and I'm still in PT for that. I also developed major cording with my TE surgery and minor cording with my exchange. It is resolving slowly. I have a pretty good range of motion now.

At night, my chest sometimes hurts when I sleep on my side. That has gradually been improving, but it is still there. I have a revision surgery coming up, so I'll be back to square one, but I expect this to resolve with time.

Overall, I'm happy with my implants.

JRNJ

Thank you all for the input! So I have a crazy update. Went for a consultation today with a new PS. I'm going to start a new thread because it involves DIEP and a bad mastectomy so I want to pull those people in.

JRNJ

OnTarget, good luck with your revision surgery. Why do you need that? What will they do?

DiveCat

Hi! I know you are doing DIEP now but am replying for future readers as I saw lots of pre-pectoral replies and I am sub-pectoral. At time of my first surgery even direct to implant was still not super common and pre-pec less so. I have deliberately chosen to say sub-pec due to my thin skin (I am still getting some fat grafting in May in a couple spots) and fact I have no issues with them being sub-pec.

In summary, I found after initial healing my implants got quite comfortable. My chest muscles had to relax first because they WERE under the muscle.

After my first surgery (direct to smooth silicone rounds) it took maybe 3-4 months for the tightness to relax but I found them comfortable and not noticeable after that. They were smooth silicone rounds without really defined edges so didn’t rub, at all. They just kind of move like a firm jello.

I switched though due to rippling to textured gummies from 2015 until last November. I had no real tightness after that surgery and recovery was quick. Any pain or discomfort was just with incisions healing and random nerve pain for a bit. At times over years I could feel the edges of those pinch near my armpit or a feeling of “fullness” near armpit. Those are a much more cohesive implant and don’t “slide” like smooth rounds do so I could be more aware of an edge but otherwise they were fine. There was no tightness or anything.

I had smooth silicone rounds put back in lastNovember. Because the profile and size was a bit larger than my last ones I had some tightness/pressure on chest for about 3-4 weeks, lessening as went on. And nerve pain twinges again. But again, healing incisions were worst part for me. At this point I am all healed and don’t feel any pressure, or discomfort. I find these ones super comfortable. Honestly I don’t even notice them at this point.

JRNJ

Thanks divecat. I may still need implants if I can’t gain enough weight lol. Both consults told me with diep it would be over muscle. I began to realize you can find a recurrence easier if they are under the muscle. too much to worry about in this process.

OnTarget

Hi JRNJ,

My PS had planned fat grafting at least 3 months after my exchange, and we added some revisions to that. I got capsulotomies (sp?) and a new right implant with more projection. I also got some pocket work on the right.

I guess minor changes, but I think they'll look much better.

Fingers crossed!!

exbrnxgrl

I’ve had my silicone implants for over 8 years. They are under the muscle and were done in a one step procedure, so no TE’s. I rarely think about them but if I focus on them, I can consciously feel that they are there. They feel quite natural, though natural for a 25 year old who’d never been pregnant nor nursed babies. I am a 63 year old grandmother of 3 with very youthful “breasts” 😉 Hoping things go well for you