All About Gummies

I have this small area close to the cleavage, where it sort of feels like the my tissue is not adhered to the gummy. It almost feels like there is a pocket between the gummy and my skin. Has anyone else had this? I see my PS next week so I will discuss it with her but just wondering if anyone has experienced this and if so, did it rectify itself?

Beesie, My goodness, I really don't want to have another surgery either. It really doesn't look bad and I only noticed it because it feels weird sometimes. Air pocket is a good description.

I will let you know what my PS says. Was hoping it would go away on its own but I guess I won't expect that now.  

Is it snowing in Toronto? We're having one of those snowfalls that makes you feel like you've stepped inside of a snow globe and someone shook it up. Big, white, fluffy flakes. Sent one of the dogs out but he did an about face and ran right back into the house . . .covered in big snow flakes. Can't say I blame him. Looks nice from inside but I wouldn't want to be driving in it.   

Beesie, does you air pocket area ever feel like it is going to rip larger if you have resistance on that side (carrying, pushing, pulling)? It's make me nervous. Did your PS say what causes it? It's almost like I want her to inject superglue into the area and seal it shut.

As for the snow. . . OMG . .. it looks like a winter wonderland here. And it's midnight and it's still coming down. I'll bet the ski hills are going to be open this weekend. My grand daughter came over and built a snowman in back yard . ..  that's how much snow there is! Funny how last Saturday was gorgeous, warm and the golf courses were packed with players. One week later, the golf clubs are being exchanged for skis. Gotta love this country!

Final try

I would gladly share my snow photos with you. I'm giving this one more kick at the can through photo bucket. If it doesn't work . . . let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Edited to add: And once again, it didn't

Hi ladies,

 I read all 25 pages over the weekend.  Thank you so much for sharing your journey.  Mantra and Sharon, your detailed descriptions are invaluable, and Lilah, thank you always for your unfailing support.  I just had my exchange surgery 3 weeks ago, and I thought I would share my story, and maybe it will help someone who is considering gummy vs round.

I am a Uni.  I had a mastecotomy with immediatee expander reconstruction on the right side in June.  (I had blood supply issues on the skin due to a prior lumpectomy.  The skin healed, but there is still lots discoloration now.  This is a side note).  Prior to surgery, I was a 34D, and I was quite happy with my natural shape.  I picked my plastic surgeon because she came highly recommended from my breast surgeon (they are in the same office), and the breast surgeon is considered a top doctor in NY.  Secondly, the plastic surgeon said all the right things my fragile ego wanted to hear at the time (I can do this, I can do that, yes, you can look like that).  She does not work with gummy, and when I asked about gummy, she essentially told me that when you hold up a round implant, it looks like a tear drop anyway.  So I bought that.

I was always under the impression that we would not touch my natural breast.  A couple of weeks before the exchange surgery, she said very casually that we would need to do a aerola lift for the natural breast to match the implant.  Then a week before the surgery, she said she would need to put in an implant in my natural breast to get some upper pole fullness to match the other breast.  I had blind trust in her at the time and we went with all that.

 I ended up having a Naturelle 700cc style 15 for my cancer side, and a 180cc style 10 for my natural side.  I am now a little over 3 weeks out of surgery.  I have pictures on the picture forum for like 4 days out.  First of all, they have certainly calmed down quite a bit.  They are smaller and more manageable today.  However, these are the issues:

1) They are both too big

2) On the implant side, the upper pole is very full and it does not match my natural side which has a slope. 

I had a consultation with another plastic surgeon this past weekend.  He spent 1 hour and 15 minutes with me, and we talked about a range of issues which are very interesting.  He is considered one of the top top surgeions in NY.

1) If he had known that I did not want my good breast touched at all, he would not have done the expander procedure.  There is apparently a procedure where they can take a piece of muscle from your back to make a pocket for the implant.  This procedure will enable me to have the natural droop that I like.  The skin tends to contract during the expander process (because it was smaller than my natural breast at the beginning), I lost some droop already.  I consulted with 2 plastic surgeion before, and this was never discovered.  They both considered DIEP and ruled me out.  So if you are a uni, I think you should ask your doctor about this procedure.  Also, they can take the back muscle out microscopically, so the scar is very small.

2) This is what he had to say about my unnatural looking cancer side.  My breast did have lots of width (about 16cm), but the height was much lower.  Width apparently is important to consider, because if they don't go that wide, one would lose cleverage and other things.  However, due to the limitation of a round implant, if I get the width, I would automatically get too much upper pole fullness.  So he said a gummy would be a more appropriate shape for me.  He did say that it still would not have as much lower pole heaviness as my natural breast.   

3) On the texture and softness of the gummies, he said that the gummy does feel harder than a round implant if you were just to touch the implants.  However, he pointed that a round implant never feels as soft as under the skin as the product itself, which I agree.  So he said his patients have not really complained about it.  He also said if you have more dense breast before (which i do), then the texture is not so different from the gummy.  He provided an interest statitic, 80% of the reconstructions done in Europe are done with gummies.  The lesson for me from this is that it is important to go to a plastic surgeion who can do both gummies and rounds.  Based on one's preference and body restrictions, we can make the best educated decision.  We should not let a doctor who does not work gummies to give us a biased opinion.

 Finally, I learn from my own journey that it is important to consult with a few plastic surgeons prior to the surgery.  Experience varies and thoughtfulness varies. 

Lilah,

 I was just on the picture forum.  I can not find your original thread.  what should i look for?

Christina

Christina I bumped it -- My Unilateral Journey -- and I even took a new picture (showing today, which is about 6 months post exchange).

Christina10-thank you for sharing your story. I am sorry you are not totally pleased with your results. Give it time and maybe you will like them more. If not than you are certainly should look into a revision. I just wanted to say I found your story interesting. Because your 1st Dr did not do gummies she pushed you into something that was not right for you. It is very obvious from your story and what you were looking for that a gummie would have been your #1 choice had it been an option for you at the time of your exchange. It is interesting how Dr #2 who does do gummies agrees. I feel bad that you had to go though all that really only because Dr #1 did not have that option to offer you. From the women I have talked to and seen pics on here and especially for uni's the gummies seem to be a very good option for them. I do not have gummies. I have silicone rounds but I relate to your story. Here's why. My Dr. does do gummies. He offered me gummies from the beginning and he said gummies would look good on me every time I asked him. I am a bilateral not a uni. However about half way through the process after reading everything I could about gummies and accessing what was important to me I began to doubt my decision to go with gummies. At my last visit it became clear to me that even though he did gummies in almost all of his patients, I was the rare one who would be happier with the rounds. It was a confusing decision for me but I went with my gut and ended up with the rounds. Reasons for me, I wanted upper pole fullness, something softer and movable, sort of opposite of what the gummy offered. I am happy with my choice (except for an issue with ripples) which my Dr later told me would probably occur with the gummies as well on me because of my thin skin. The  point here I guess is it really hard to know what to do unless you have ALL the options available to you and at this point in time not very many Dr's can offer both types of implants. It is very clear that the gummies definitely suit some women better than others as do the rounds. I did view your pictures and I think you look good. However, you should trust your instint and gut and if you are not happy and think you would be happier with the gummie then it is worth pursuing a revision.

Mantra-You and I are on the same time table and  I feel your sentiments. I went through the same rollercoaster of  emotions after my exchange. I too had a nightmare of a time finding bras and still am. I found a few that fit ok but have resigned myself to fact I can no longer just pick up a size and it will fit. I saw my Dr a few weeks ago and we cleared up a few things. A revision is an option for me for the ripples down the road. Not sure I'd even go that route anymore. Other than that there are times I really like my new foobs and times they still feel somewhat foreign to me. I don't know if the adjustment is so much about the specific type of implant anymore. I think it's more about accepting the new me and looking back on this journey. It just sort of all hits you. I am looking forward though to the day in the future when it is not something I think about as much anymore like you said. I didn't always think about my boobs before so why am I so consumed now. I think we will get there, imperfections and all, I'm still very grateful for having gotten this far.

Sweetie,  thank you for sharing your story and your understanding.

Lilah, I think you said it right.  I have a feeling implants are just a different kind of beasts, and one needs to have lots of patience and perspective.  The journey taken by everyone here helps me tremendously.

Hi Ladies--

I have an update I'd love to share about my quest to find a PS in the St Louis area who could give me the 410 that my doctor in Wash DC recommended...Late breaking news! 

I think most of you might remember my dilemma; my PS at Georgetown, who is a world-renowned PS and leading the 410 investigation in the US, suggested I get the 410. Was adamant I get the 410 not the round silicone.  I couldn't have my DC doc insert the implant and return to St Louis b/c of a "90 mile" rule that Allegan put in place...

 None of the docs in St Louis, where I relocated to stay with my family during treatment, were using the 410. If they were- they weren't in my insurance plan. And my goal was to have everything done in 2010, or at least the exchange, so I can return to DC, pick up my life and not look back!

 WELL...

 1) Option 1: My PS in St Louis, who is well respected locally, called the doc in DC. That doc is willing to send my St Louis PS the 410 to do the exchange. My question is: SHOULD I BE WORRIED IF HE HAS NEVER USED THE 410 BEFORE? HE IS SUPPOSED TO BE A VERY SKILLED SURGEON. The workaround is, i have to give Allegan a local DC address (a friend, family member, etc)

 FYI: When I saw this PS last week, he originally tried to tell me that "there really is no difference between a round silicone and gummie.  The round becomes a teardrop shape when you lie down." I don't know if I buy that. Sounds like that's something doctors who don't use the gummie say. apparently, my natural shape is that of a teardrop which is why my first doc was so interested in using it. 

2)Option 2: One of the docs here that is using the 410 but NOT in my plan runs a charitable organization. She is willing to do the operation before the end of the year, but would charge me a small sum--some amount LESS than my deductible (2500 Out of Network deductible). 

 3) Background: My father had cancer and his PS weighed in on the skill of all surgeons involved. He ranked them as 1) DC doctor 2) My original St Louis PS who would use the 410 for the first time on me and 3) the PS with the charitable organization. 

I've heard some say it's really the skill of the surgeon, not the implant, that makes the difference. While I should be happy, I'm thinking I should just delay and go back to DC and have the original doc do it b/c he is very very skilled.

 Or have the St Louis doc in my plan do the exchange even though I'd be his first--and get anything that needs to be fixed, repaired later in DC?

HELP!!!! Thank you all 

Lilah--

Old friend, old pal! :-) Thanks and good advice as always.

Yes that would be the easiest and the first solution I tried. Believe me-I had my bags packed and housing all set up for 2 weeks.  But for whatever reason, The DC doc's nurse was adamant that couldn't happen. And so was Allegan when I called. They are the ones sticking to the 90-mile rule.  And now, the DC doc's 2010 schedule is all booked up anyway so he couldn't do it now even if it was approved. 

 Good point: Why would DC guy give the implant to this doc if he couldn't do it. Sigh. Feel better already. Will let you all know what I end up deciding! Thank you

Hi Gemini, I know we talked about this a while ago, and I can not remember the endpoint, but I really think there is a way around the Allergan rule, and that may be if the PS is willing to just let it slide by and not call attention to it. I had my gummies placed at MSKCC in NYC (in June) and I live 250 miles away. I didn't need to use a fake address or lie to anyone ... no one blinked an eye about it. They do tons of gummies at Memorial and I think they just looked the other way. Can you tell the PS that you've heard of other women travelling > 90 miles and Allergan not doing anything about it?I know my address was registered  as I had to meet with people and fill out lots of forms agreeing to be in the study protocol. I put my name/address down a zillion times.

I too had to fill out a ton of paperwork about being in the study.  Some of the questions seemed awfully odd to me and I had no idea what it had to do with the implant.  I think it might have had to do to with your expectations going in and if you were already depressed or something.  I have received a $100 check though from being in the study so far though!  My exchange was in June.