Can I remove my implants?

Talked to my Dr today. Will be seeing a Plastic surgeon about having my implants removed soon.

Laura

Mlpavone54, I finally had my implants removed on April 5. I feel so much better! It turned out that one implant had poked through the pectoral muscle, and the muscle on that side was damaged. Both sides had capsular contracture, and the capsules were quite thick. I wasn't sure how much relief I'd experience after the implants were removed, as a couple of PS's I consulted warned I may have post-mastectomy pain syndrome. Well, it was all implant pain, and now that they are gone, the scar tissue removed, and muscle repaired as much as possible on both sides, I am 100% pain free! Upon awaking from surgery, I could tell right away that much of the pain was gone. The post-surgery pain wasn't much worse than the implants!



I am almost 10 weeks post surgery, and I feel like a new woman. There's no pain in my chest, and my back, neck and shoulder muscles are no longer tight. I have started to slowly exercise, and it feels good. I do have concavity in both sides of my chest where the expanders pressed on my ribcage. It's not quite the smooth and flat results I had hoped for, but I have adjusted to my appearance. I have't been wearing a prosthetic and I am happy with how I look in clothes.

100 % pain free sounds wonderful! I used to be fairly active, spin class, step class, pilates. I've given all of this up because I'm just too uncomfortable. It hurts to even walk any distance. I see my PS July 20th and it's always the same thing that some people just experience more tightness, it could last up to 2-3 yrs!! I know I don't want to wait this long to get my life back - I just don't know what is a fair time frame to give this. I have not been able to wear bras since Oct 09! Thanks for the info. This website has made me feel so much better to know others have experienced this and that this feeling is real!

Tina it is so good that you are able to do many things that you were not able to do before.

Yes, tha PS wanted to look at doing larger implants..I could not even go there as I do not want further surgeries and the stress that goes along with a revision. I think for some people it could be an option. I want to steer away from repeated surgeries. He than suggested fat graphs and I considered that but then again there are more surgeries involved than one could be 2 even 3. I am still wondering why these things he mentioed would help with pain and tightness. Of course we all want to have good looking reconstructions but the comfort issue is the main thing.

Honestly there are things that will never be changed. My whole body has been effected. I am happy that my LE is doing somewhat better.I hope that will continue. . .

There is not an easy way. I feel like humpty dumpty.

All the stress I have experienced with the reconstruction process has left me worn out

Laura.

Tina 337 - This is so encouraging that you are getting your life back. I'm so ready for that!! I feel like my life is consumed with trying to feel better with all the things I do! Like I mentioned before, I'm just not sure how long to give this!

Lauralu - I would think long and hard about additional surgeries. I just had a revision to a revision in April. I had a capsulectomy and new implants put in. Scar tissue had developed around the permanent sutures of the revision creating alot of burning pain in my right breast and under my right arm. Even though my PS seems to think the problem is fixed, I still have extreme tightness, especially in the right breast. His reply to my complaints is always that he did alot of work on that side and the tightness may not go away for 2-3 yrs!!! Sometimes I think how our breasts look cosmetically is way more important to the PS than to us. I know that's how I feel. It's all about comfort and I will never take it for granted again after going through this! So much to think about!!

Pain is definitely minimized!! The first question I am asked when I see my PS is my pain level on a scale of 1-10. I could say 20 and the reply would be time and advil! It's been of such little concern on this entire journey! I am totally with you on how it is draining. It just stinks never to feel well. It's like the best 7 hrs of the day are when I'm sleeping!

mlpavone, I did have drains after the surgery. Annoying and uncomfortable, but they are your friends! I had one for a week, and the other for almost two weeks. I probably would have had the second one removed a little earlier, but I got all gung ho and walked 5 miles two days in a row and that increased the output. The trick is to get some exercise every day, but not so much that it raises the output. Same thing as after the mastectomy - output has to be under 30cc for at least 3 days in a row before drain can be removed. 

Laura, I think you're right about steering away from multiple surgeries when you have LE. That advice was given to me by a few professionals. More surgeries equal more scar tissue, which is definitely not good with LE. Did you see my thread on the LE forum that I started when I had my surgery? I must have mentioned Dr. Massey removed my implants - I feel like a broken record singing her praises. She was so careful about my LE. I will bump up my thread ("Surgery finally happening") in case you haven't seen. I also posted on the Charleston Bound 2 thread.

While you may feel stuck because you have limited choices where you are located, maybe your insurance will grant an exception if you need to travel out of network to have surgery done by someone who can provide the best care for your LE . 

Okay, I understand, Laura. I'm sorry about that. You really do deserve the best care. I think we all do! I had to eat the cost of a big portion of my surgery, and we are still struggling financially from that. I was fortunate that part of my surgery was covered, but we had a very high out-of-network insurance deductible. If we had to pay for everything, I never would have been able to do.

Knowing how passionate Dr. Massey is about her work and LE, I do think that it will eventually influence how other doctors and hospitals think about patient care and treatment. She is a true pioneer! 

Tina337

You had mentioned a Dr. Massey. Where is she and is she a PS? I'm so torn as to what to do. I did a spin class last night and hurt so bad today. I really want to pursue getting these implants out. I'm starting to have pain in my armpit on the right side where I had most of my issues. I'm hoping I can stand it until Sept because of vacations and a work trip the end of August. Did you take pain meds of any type?

Yes, I had my implants removed April 5 of this year and feel 100% better. No pain at all anymore. None. I wasn't sure what to expect either, so I am very pleased! Dr. Massey is a PS and operates mainly in Charleston, SC and New Orleans. She does primarily microsurgery, DIEP, etc. I am the only patient she has deconstructed without doing further reconstruction. She has worked with women who have implant problems and want to switch and have breasts constructed from their own tissue and fat. She does amazing work. The bonus with Dr. Massey is that she is also skilled in lymphedema care. That is one of the main reasons I went to her. I feared the surgery would worsen my LE, but it has not.

Thanks, Barbara. I must admit it was a long haul, and much of the time I felt very unsure of what I was doing. I consider myself quite fortunate to have found the resources and info that led me to the best care. Fear of my LE becoming any worse was a great motivator to do a lot of research. It's a shame my original PS and BS were of little help with regard to LE care or diagnosing my implant issue. Thinking about this reminds me of a discussion I need to have with my BS when I see him next. My unaddressed problem needs to come full circle as a learning experience for him and his team. Knowing what I now know, I am glad I didn't opt for revisions suggested by local PS's, and instead had an excellent surgeon perform a deconstruction. It cost me pain, time, and a lot of money, but at least I avoided further disaster. I have been bitter about my local care, but being where I am physically today makes me grateful for the way things played out. So, no more bitterness, but feedback so another patient doesn't have this experience.

Laura - My heart goes out to you, I hate the situation you are in.  It's just not right.  I'm so sorry for the pain and misery you have experienced.

I'm scheduled to have my implants taken out July 5, a week from tomorrow.  I'm a little nervouse about being flat, but I'm also very eager to be free of the implants. 

Actually, the article gives that percentage of 20% for breast augmentation. For implant removal after recon it says, "For breast reconstruction the figure could be as high as 1 in every 2 within ten years."

So what's that number really? Uh, 50%!!! I used several FDA reports to decide whether to replace my implants when they failed. If I had seen these reports in addition to the Mentor handout my PS gave me, I would have passed on the implants and recon. By the way, the failure rate for replacement implants after complications are even higher than the first time around . . 

Lauralu,

I know exactly how you are feeling - deserted and alone but finding this website and reading these posts has helped me realize that I'm not crazy and not alone in this. My PS tells me that I am the only patient that has ever had this pain and discomfort that I describe. I recently had a capsulectomy which has made the pain worse. I saw my PS yesterday to discuss removing the implants because I can't take it anymore. Of course I will be his first patient to deconstruct - hard to believe with the recent articles showing stats of problems with implants. I'm so looking forward to getting my life back and pray that it will soon be pain free!