Exchange City

what about showering after the exchange. How many days were recommended before doing it and then just put the compression stuff back on after?

Nebraska--Every doctor gives different instructions so ask yours for his! My PS told me to keep the incisions dry for 1 week when I was scheduled for a post-op appointment. I was not tightly wrapped after the exchange--just had lightly taped gauze over the incisions and I did NOT have drains or fat grafting. This is what I did: I have a handheld shower head in my shower. I wrapped myself in Press & Seal like it was tube top and got into the shower but removed the handheld shower head from the mount. I wet my body with water trying as best as possible to avoid my chest; turning the water off to lather up so as to avoid getting water where it did not belong, and then rinsed off. The gauze remained completely dry but my advice would be to replace it with dry gauze should it get wet. I washed my hair separately in the kitchen sink to keep water away from my chest. It was a process but it felt so good to get a shower every day! Just the shower process was exhausting and enough reason to take the first week off from work!

Good luck and let us know how it goes for you!

Nebraska. . .I could shower after two days from both BMx (even with drain) and EX. My PS used internal stitches and surgical glue. Every PS is different. I had some lipo on each side of foobs with EX, but no fat grafting and no compression required.

Scottie

Suzanne, mine is more squishy than the TE, but I too thought it would be more so. I am only 4 months out from exchange, so wonder if it takes time to relax and soften?

I don't believe any implant is like an actual breast, but it's what we have. I don't believe that mine will ever sag or move like real tissue. I have had mine for a year now. Mine did relax and drop though. I have just been trying to focus on the good things. No more mammograms;) I'm free of having cancerous breasts. I have more empathy than ever before. And am surrounded with family and friends that love me with or without breasts. It takes ALOT of getting used to. Mine still feel "pressure" and other times don't really bother me. I do believe mine look better with time and feel better too. Seems like it takes forever. Some implants (like gummies) are more firm, but you get less ripples. I have mentor memory gels. Reminds me of slightly deflated rubber balls, lol.

That is encouraging to hear kingster - I had a single mastectomy. Right now the implant side seems to be higher than the other. But PS said it should drop some. Hopefully. I think I do have to get used to it. I actually got used to my TE to the point where it didn't really bother me all that much. So I guess I will get to that point with this too. I just expected "squishy"!

Suzanne and bikefam,

Kingster is so right on! We have a gift to be able to have reconstruction. We had bc and we have a new normal. I have the gummies and they are more firm as kingster said. I saw my MO last week and she said my reconstruction is beautiful! She asked who did it. I am very happy with mine. "Squshy " means softer than TEs.

Robin

PHY: I started swimming 6 weeks after my exchange, after not swimming for 5 months, all through the TE phase. It was slow going at first-5 laps really slowly. But now at 4 months, I am back to my distance (40 laps), although not as fast. Sometimes I have a little soreness after a swim, but generally I think the PECs are getting back in shape. Still feels like everything is moving around, however, but I think that's the new normal. Keep at it.

I have an appointment with my PS on 4/15. I am going to break the news to him that I want implant only. No flap surgery.

Hello All,

I am new to Exchange City. My TE's were exchanged on 3/21 for gummy mentor implants. I am very pleased. On 5/10 my PS will make a nipple from surrounding skin. I will need to have a nipple shield type apparatus to keep the new nipples from being flattened. Has anyone used the Medela Nipple shields sold in pretty much all baby stores? Would this be comfortable?

Thank you ladies!

Thunder7

After reading people's exchange stories I'm a little confused. I have tissue expanders in and I'm going to have to get a job soon. I was moving and between jobs when I got my BC diagnosis and have been off work 4 months already. I recently had a tissue expander infection and that means it will be at least 3 more months before I can have the exchange. Being off work for 7 months is out of the question so I started the job search. My PS told me the exchange would be a very easy outpatient procedure and he could do it on a Friday and I'd be back to work light duty on Monday. I have above-the-muscle expanders and the implants will also be above the muscle. I don't know if that makes a big difference? From what I'm reading it sounds to me like the exchanges involve fat grafting and drains......

I had a nipple-sparing UMX in January and then had the NAC removed because of close margins. In May I'm having a PMX and must decide between nipple-sparing or not. My PS and BS are leaving the decision to me. I was leaning toward not saving the nipple just for better symmetry, but I'm confused about how they do the exchange surgery. The PSNA told me that they would make the excision across where my nipple was. Do they cut through the muscle to replace the TE underneath? Or do they peel back the skin to put the implant in from the bottom or top of the muscle? In either case, I would prefer to have the nipple-sparing surgery so as not to cut through the muscle or disrupt the blood supply to my skin. Can anyone fill me in on how they do this?

grandma - if your nipple is to be removed, or has been, the exchange incision will be in the same spot, usually across the front of the breast. The pectoral muscle is cut or opened with electrocautery to place the implant and perform any revisions to the "pocket" to position the implant correctly. If you have a nipple sparing procedure the incision is made in the inframammary fold (IMF) under the breast, but they will still cut through the muscle in this case as well, and most likely will attach allograft material on the underside of the muscle to hold the expander or implant. One positive with an IMF incision is that there is often better blood supply because the incision is closer to an uninterrupted blood flow area below the breast whereas placing the incision across the front of the breast means the entire incision is in an area that has compromised blood supply.

Stacey - I currently have a TE on the left side that is filled to desired size (480ccs) and am now waiting for surgery May 17 to exchange to a silicone implant, remove the nipple on the right (I had bi-lat nipple sparing) in order to remove extra skin as the right side needs to be downsized to match the left, now smaller, side.
I currently have a 650cc implant on the right, and from 2012-2014 had a 600cc implant on the left. I will also have fat grafting bi-laterally. If all goes well, and that is a big if, this will be the last surgery, but later I will need a 3D tattoo done to place a nipple on the right, Because of all the surgical intervention I have no symmetry between nipples. I can't have the left nipple removed because that side is too fragile and my skin issues are right where the nipple is, so the solution - which turns out to be multi-purpose because it allows my PS a way to use a smaller implant on the right, is to remove the nipple and some skin. This is going to be a long and complicated surgery, but I have been happy with this PS - I changed docs last year and I have had two surgeries with her so far, she is very meticulous and works hard to achieve the best aesthetic result possible. I have other friends who have been her patients and all of us are happy.

Thank you, momwriter!! That's very encouraging.

SpecialK, may this be your last surgery and may your results be great!!

MrsGreenJeans I'm a nurse but I'm looking for a nonphysical nursing position as it seems to me it will be quite some time before I can go back to work otherwise. It really stinks looking for a job when I know I'll have surgeries coming up. I imagine they might do fat grafting at some point.. grrrr I just want my life back.