distance between implants

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dorthi
dorthi Member Posts: 22
edited June 2014 in Breast Reconstruction

I just met with my PS and am stressing about what he had to say. He wants to do immediate implants after the surgery which I guess I fine but he said the Dr that's going to do the radiation wants me to have a space of 5 cm between the implants so she can do her job without the implants getting in the way. He said that's pretty far apart. Am I going to look hideous when this is over

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  • Alive4Five
    Alive4Five Member Posts: 2,394
    edited June 2014

    Hi dorthi! I'm afraid I can't be of too much help with the implant thing, as I didn't have recon. :(  BUT hopefully someone will be along soon to address the issue with/for you.

    What I do understand about having the 'immediate' implants, is it appears to be a pretty awesome thing; in that so often they do TE's (tissue expanders) first. So, I hope it all goes well for you!

    Honestly, I haven't even considered recon yet.....yet, lol  * I also wanted to respond so it would 'bump' up your topic to be seen again...*

    ((hugs)) to you and hang in there, you should get some response soon!!! 

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  • dorthi
    dorthi Member Posts: 22
    edited June 2014

    :) 

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  • Moonflwr912
    Moonflwr912 Member Posts: 6,856
    edited June 2014

    Just wondered how the Radonc does her job when natural breasts are less than 5 cm apart? Get yourself a ruler and measure the space between your breasts now. Then you could judge for yourself. Mine seem to be about 2-3 inches apart. And I think out bras are about that far apart. Get out one of yours and measure that. Sorry that's all I can think of. Much love

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  • DiveCat
    DiveCat Member Posts: 968
    edited June 2014

    moonflwr....I think the issue is there is a difference between rads being able to penetrate soft natural tissue, versus silicone implants, especially if they need to reach chest wall.

    OP...I had direct to implant but it was prophylactic so no rads or other treatments. How far your implants are apart depends on your ribcage shape, width of your chest, as well as how the PS dissects the pockets. As well as of course width/size of implants.

    Mine are about 2 cm apart along the cleavage line, or just over 3/4 of an inch. I have about a 29.5" ribcage. 5 cm on me would leave a very significant gap, require very narrow implants, and would not be very cosmetically appealing on me. However, as I said we are all different. 

    Another concern with doing direct to implant in your case is the effect of radiation on the reconstruction. Radiation makes implant reconstruction difficult and increases risk of failure and complications. Just things to be aware of if you go direct to implant, as TEs (if you still want implants and not or can't do flaps) might allow your PS to better monitor your skin and fill schedule to accommodate for how your tissues react to the radiation. Sometimes women with radiation need to get different sized implants on the radiated side versus other side as well, which is something you can't predict ahead of time. 

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  • dorthi
    dorthi Member Posts: 22
    edited June 2014

    My ribcage is about 32" I believe, but I'm going to remeasure to make sure. My PS says TE won't work w radiation, or at least it has a high risk of a lot of problems. Ugh! Idk, I think I need to write all these questions down and talk with him about it. Thank you all for all your input. 

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