BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101

pch · November 2015

Whippetmom, My TEs are Mentor 450 ml, medium height with lot 6898175, serial number 6898175/063, model 3549213, currently inflated to 265 (orig. 250, with one 15 ml fill and another 30 coming tomorrow). They are very high on my chest, about 3.5 inches below my collar bone. The deal is that I want projection without looking like I got an 80s boob job, but I'm slightly scared about the rotation with the anatomically shaped implants. (I earlier said Memory Gel, but I didn't realize there were different kinds, including MemoryShape, and that some were round and some anatomically shaped). My PS only uses Mentor. I like him very much. I have no reason to switch based on brand. I'm just hoping there's a style in there that will work with my small but boxy fifty-three-year-old frame (I used to be 36-27/8-36). I'm so thrilled that I finally get to have smaller boobs after a lifetime of being so big. And I don't want to screw it up. How common is rotation with the more anatomically natural MemoryShape implants? And is there another model that will give me projection with a nice natural slope? I keep meeting women that need to wear bras to keep their implants from looking flat from the side, or who feel the implants are smaller looking than they expected. I want to go smaller, ,but not disappointingly smaller.

BTW, given the description of how I want to look, my PS suggested the Gels (I believe the teardrop ones). But I'm not sure if it's because I mentioned them so many times myself or if that was a spontaneous opinion on his part.

Let me know.

Thanks!

(Just to refresh your memory: 5' 2", 110-115--in a perfect world topping out around 112/113, 30" ribcage. My litmus test: I want to be able to eat a burrito and not have my stomach stick out further than my boobs.)

Asante314 · November 2015

PCH. I think that is a great litmus test. May just have to use that.

Thanks for today's laugh.

Frill · November 2015

PCH, I'm taking that one to my next PS appt!

katedanielle · November 2015

Hi Whippetmom,

Would love to hear your opinion on my impending exchange surgery;

Height: 5'4 Weight: 150lbs ribcage: 35in

I currently have mentor 450cc tissue expanders (medium height I think?). My PS is looking at using Mentor medium height Moderate profile plus implants (CPG322) in either 375cc, 420cc or 475cc.

Naturally I was a B cup, but would like to achieve a full C. I would love to know your thoughts, and what volume you think is best.

Thank you!

whippetmom · November 2015

Pieday:

Call your plastic surgeons office, and ask the nurse or his assistant what size tissue expanders he has ordered for surgery. That should give you an idea of what he has planned. Come back here and let's discuss what you gather that information… Manufacturer, style, and volume, I will need, and you can always have a discourse with him later,if need be.

whippetmom · November 2015

Frill....that is a great story. Just want to reassure you that 650 ccs will not be huge.

whippetmom · November 2015

pch:

I think with your size of tissue expander, you're looking at mentor memory shape around 495 mL in the moderate height high-profile anatomical implant. I also think I would prefer for you, with your current concerns about rotation, Mentor Smooth rounds, high profile, 475 ccs or 500 ccs. You also could be a candidate for mentor extra full projection style implants, although you would need to be in the 600 mL category with that style... 590 ccs to be exact.

whippetmom · November 2015

Katedanielle:

Proposed implants seem too small for you. You need to be in the high 400 to 500 cc range, to achieve what you want to achieve. Because you call them CPG implants, you must be in Canada? I think that the corresponding anatomical implant would be the Mentor memory shape 495 mL medium height high profile. You could even use the next size up. Your TEs have a projection of 7.0 cm! You do not want moderate profile implants. They would be too flat and too small. I think you need to be in the 500 mL and up range.

27heart · November 2015

Hi whippetmom! It's my first time posting in this thread. I'm having my final chemo today, and I'll be heading for a bilateral mx in Jan! I would love to hear your thoughts on a suitable size for me, but I haven't got down to measuring myself yet. Just wanted to say hi and thanks in advance!! I'll post details when I have them.

whippetmom · November 2015

27heart: Glad to help when you are ready

pch · November 2015

Thanks Whippetmom. I'm at 295 in the TEs right now and that already feels about as big as I'd want to be. Do mLs in TEs feel/look bigger than they do in implants? I want projection to avoid that flattened/doughnutsilhouette I hear people complain about with older implants. But I don't want to look all busty again. I'm looking more for a full B/small C.Thanks for clarifying! I really appreciate the feedback!

Asante314 · November 2015

Thanks whippetmom. I will try to get info from PS Next week If they don't have info I will schedule appt. I have a surgery date but was told he didn't need a preop visit. BS preop is a month before surgery.

On a different thread my daughter fell in love with the whippet competing in the dog show that aired after the Thanksgiving parade. She had know idea my thought and thanks went to you when I heard the name.

S

27heart · November 2015

Hi Whippetmom, here we go!

Background: I'm 27, Asian, single, will be doing bilateral mx with removal of all lymph nodes on the cancer side (left), and prophylactic on the other.

Measurements: I'm now 171cm, 55kg. I plan on losing some weight that I've gained from the steroids in my chemo, 50kg is my ideal weight (if it matters). My frame has always been described as slim, or "skinny".

My ribs circumference is 27". Current bra size is 34DD. My ideal size is probably a full C or D.

Mx details: skin sparring mx with total nipple clearance on both breasts. Stitches should be done in a line along the chest on each side at where the nipples were. A month of radio therapy on left chest and underarms. I will eventually get nipple reconstruction when everything is settled.

I am given both options of taking up TEs or implants for immediate recon. So I'm in a dilemma, and I need to decide by this week.. Not so good for the chemo brain!

I do know of the pros and cons of TEs vs implants, and it seems that TEs is the way to go since I have radio therapy on the same plate. The lure of an immediate implant is strong though. So perhaps anyone here can share your thoughts with me please?

Whippetmom: I do not have the exact Brand’s of TEs and implants my Ps uses yet. I will fill that in this week when I see him. May I know what kind of size/implant shape and brand suggestion would you recommend for my frame please? Or how much saline to be filled in the TEs eventually?

Final question... Does it hurt to refill TEs?

Frill · November 2015

Whippetmom My PS said she uses Mentor and Allergan TEs, and then quizzically asked if I had a preference. I guess she doesn't get that question too often. Should I have a preference? Reading through the last answers, there are so many different types....

When I think about it the 650 once it's in, probably isn't that big. It's just the whole holding it in my hand thing. Which begs the question, will 700 feel that much bigger? When I looked at 700cc reconstruction pictures online, I said YES PLEASE.

Gosh, so much worrying.

ALSO, this is the important question in all of this. I haven't looked at my poor deflated non-TE breast, but my DBF casually mentioned last night that it looked like I had stitches all the way across my breast. Is that normal? All that was done was sentinel node removal and the MX on left side. This wayyyyyyy different from what Lucy Lawless said surgery would be - a circle around my nipple, everything out through that, sewn closed. I know I had the whole BP drop/almost die thing going on, but that doesn't seem like license to just rip me open, especially when I was sooooo freaked out about scarring and made her show me exactly what and where. We should have had a conversation about that at the hospital, not just let me figure it out at home when I would theoretically be looking at it at some point.

orla_mb · November 2015

Hello and thanks for this wonderful forum. I was diagnosed with unilateral bc last November and had a skin sparing mastectomy with TE placement. I have an Allergan TE 133 SX14 expander. Volume is 500cm3. I was filled to 370 cc but developed an infection in June of this year and 200 cc of saline was removed. I was at 170 cc and have had had 2 fills which has brought me to a current 270cc volume. The expander itself got a bit distorted and has a couple of edges. My ps thinks it should be fixable at the final exchange. I'm hoping it will hold out til I can do final surgery.

I'm 5 feet 1 inch tall,weigh 124 lb and rib cage measures 32 ins. My bra size pre diagnosis was 36D but I'm now wearing 36 C. I lost around 26 lb during chemo so my good breast is sagging a lot now.

My question is how much further should I be expanded to get to.the size I want? (34-36C)What would be the best type of implant? Would it be feasible to lift the droopy boob with silicone in order for them to match?

Again thank you for the terrific support you are giving to us.

whippetmom · November 2015

27heart

I personally think there is more control over the final cosmetic result with tissue expanders, and the tissue expander would likely fare better with radiation. I would think you could be in the 325 cc to 425 cc range with implants. Talk to your PS about his plans for sizing. I personally had no problem with my tissue expanders. In fact, I loved them and was reluctant to have the exchange. But because my PS adhered to my request that I be at least as large or a bit larger than the TEs, I was very happy with the outcome. Perhaps some other gals will chime in about their TE experience.

whippetmom · November 2015

Frill....could you send me photos via private message? If you cannot link photos (using the landscape icon next to the goggles icon in the task bar), message me and let me know and I will give you my email address.

whippetmom · November 2015

orla:

The chief focus is going to be achieving symmetry with the native breast. I do think that in most cases, a lift and/or small implant (augmentation) helps with achieving that symmetry. If you have some droop with your native breast, even after mastopexy/augmentation, the MX tissue expander needs to be expanded sufficiently to create a pocket a bit larger than the implant to be used, in order to achieve some ptosis. Again, a lift might reduce that need, depending on your degree of ptosis. You probably want to be in the 500 cc range with an implant on the MX side, and perhaps a smaller implant on the native side

27heart · November 2015

Hi Whippetmom! Thanks for the info, its reassuring. May i know what cup sizes would 325-425cc be please?

orla_mb · November 2015

Thank you Debbie for your informative response. I saw my PS today and he told me he won't fill the TE more because my skin is too thin and he is worried the sharp edges may extrude. He want's to put in a Mentor anatomical implant 300 cc and do a reduction and lift on the other side. I'm a bit disappointed as I was hoping for at least a C cup and I really don't know what the final result will be.

whippetmom · December 2015

27heart: I do not predict bra size. You might wear a D in a Freya or Chantelle and a B or C in the typical brands you find in department stores (other than the high end like Nordstroms or Neiman Marcus or Saks). We are all different and we have different chest wall configurations and size is simply not predictable. Aim for the 400 cc range if you want to err on the larger side

pch · December 2015

Whippetmom, you had mentioned Mentor Smooth rounds, high profile, 475 ccs or 500 ccs for me. I'm going to look into the rounds as well. But I think that might be kind of huge. I'm looking to end up a full B/small C (smaller than the full C/small D I used to be). You say above you don't predict bra size (because they vary). But I feel like 500 ccs would be bigger than I think I'm going for ... advice?

whippetmom · December 2015

pch: Okay....with your concerns about being too large, go with 475 ccs in a Mentor HP or a moderate plus profile Mentor 375 ccs or 400 ccs. Just to give you an example though, I am 5 foot three and weigh112, and my rib cage is 29.0 inches in circumference. My implants are high-profile smooth round -550 ccs. They are not too big for my frame at all. Bra size is a bit of tomfoolery, because after breast reconstruction, bras fit differently and you simply look different in clothing. The visual difference is that you will look smaller, in clothing, than your bra cup size. I am concerned enough also about your tissue expander malpositioning, to query whether anatomicals would even be appropriate for you.

pch · December 2015

Whippetmom, "I am concerned enough also about your tissue expander malpositioning, to query whether anatomicals would even be appropriate for you." Why, because the expander is too wide/high capacity? Like it would create too large a pocket for the anatomical to settle properly? (I was thinking that, but I know nothing.) Yeah, my bra size just with the tissue expanders at 295 is around a C, but my breasts definitely look smaller in clothing. My PS keeps saying not to go by bra size, but I'm using it as a known metric--like if a D looks like this before all this, I don't want to look like a D anymore. You're about the same size as me, a bit more slight it sounds like. So thanks for that info. And the anatomicals--is my thinking right about that?

whippetmom · December 2015

pch

The reason is twofold:
Your TEs are underfilled (and unless you have a sufficiently formed pockets - upper and lower poles), the anatomical dimensions are not going to correspond to where you are in volume/shape with the TEs. Therefore, you might end up with smaller implants than you would like. Secondly, the TEs are malpositioned in the superior position, which means you probably have little lower pole expansion, and too much distortion in the upper pole, and so any style of anatomical might be at additional risk of rotation. I think you need a smooth round silicone implant. Again though, your PS knows the dimensions of the skin envelope and you may have sufficient skin available because of your pre-BMX size. I am just offering my opinion based on information you have provided.

pch · December 2015

Thanks WM, I think I probably do have sufficient skin (sadly!). I asked today and was told that any extra skin (that's a little wrinkled now) will be trimmed at surgery if I choose to go smaller than I was. I have at least one and possibly two more fills scheduled after today to "overfill" and create a sufficient pocket (I'm at 325 as of today). So based on what you said, I'm probably on the right track. I may choose not to go for anatomicals based on the risk of rotation anyway, but at least I know where I stand. Thanks so much!

CateM · December 2015

Hi Whippetmom, I would love your opinion on my implants. I had bilateral Mx with direct to implant recon. The implants used were Mentor Siltex Round Moderate + Gel cohesive 11 (324-5325) 325cc, the question I have is how round will these look?

I'm 6 weeks post op and I've just been released from my compression post op bra. My foobs are very flat and very firm and I'm wondering will the implants plump up and round out? In your opinion are they the right size for my build, they feel like they are going to be tiny and wide. Thank you in advance for your opinion.

I am 5'6" and weigh 120lbs with a 29" under-bust measurement.

MsVeryDenseBreasts · December 2015

Has anyone heard anything about the situation with Sientra voluntarily stopping the sale of their implants (as of Oct)? There is very little info on the web other than how this is affecting their corporate valuation. My doc said they had a contamination issue at their manufacturing plant and that it would be ~ 12/9 before they restart production. This certainly gives me pause.....Thx.

AZ85048 · December 2015

RE: Sientra implants - I found an article that explains what's going on and why pretty well...

http://www.pacbiztimes.com/2015/11/12/goleta-breas...

whippetmom · December 2015

Cate: you were in a compression bra for a very long time! Is there a reason? Give it six more weeks. They might be on the small side, but it depends on your pre-BMX breast size. I do not know why they are so firm... unless it is due to 6 weeks under wrap.

BREAST IMPLANT SIZING 101

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