Plastic surgeon - questions before surgery

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Jnnmn7
Jnnmn7 Member Posts: 66
edited September 2017 in Breast Reconstruction

Hi. I met my plastic surgeon in May after being diagnosed and he went over everything. Basically decided I would do expanders to implants, no nipple reconstruction (don't want to). He only offered under muscle, no skin sparring. I saw him again after chemo (did neo in hopes of a lumpectomy) and he just confirmed everything we already discussed. Is this standard? I know he is highly recommended and he showed me a lot of pictures of his work. I am totally comfortable with him but want to make sure I'm not missing something. Haven't talked to much about implant choice yet, I know I have time.

Thanks

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  • beach2beach
    beach2beach Member Posts: 996
    edited September 2017

    Hi,

    I don't know much about it all. It happened so quick for me. I opted for direct implants(under the muscle) at time of surgery and I had nipple sparing.(had they not been able to I would have been ok with that too). I was trying to avoid tissue expanders if I could. (chicken to go through surgery again, and I had tiny boobs to begin with) So tiny boob implants I got. I think if you are comfortable with what your PS says then you are in a pretty good place. I know some have posted that would rather have over the muscle implants, though I did not know that was even an option. I'm sure you looked all around this forum and have gotten some good ideas on what people liked and didn't like. Great that you could see his work also.

    I'm sure someone who has done more research with reconstruction will chime in soon.

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  • Peacetoallcuzweneedit
    Peacetoallcuzweneedit Member Posts: 233
    edited September 2017

    I was diagnosed May as well. Opted for double Mx and had skin sparing but not nipple sparing. I think, I will do tattoos of nipples vs any reconstruction of nipples. I have TEs under the pec muscle. There are over the pec muscle implants being done today. However, whether or not you are a candidate is another question...also whether or not your PS actually does that method is another issue. You would most likely need to do some research and advocate for yourself in that area. MY TEs took some time to get used to and one side failed and it needed to be replaced ~3wks ago. (very rare complication) I am awaiting final implants...and the decision of silicone vs saline was difficult for me and honestly still is. However, while my PS gave me options he feels like he knows what is best....I have talked to other women that their PS went through a whole "shopping" process with them. Mine said "my rec is high profile silicone gel." At first I bucked it and told him " I would decide" and after all my research and trust me I did a lot...even read all the FDA notes from their meetings about implants....I came to the same conclusion as him......just took about ~3mos.

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  • MinuteAtATime
    MinuteAtATime Member Posts: 76
    edited September 2017

    Hi, Peacetoall, Can you share with me where you found your saline vs silicone research? My PS prefers silicone, says it's safe, lasts longer, feels and looks more natural, but I have concerns about possible leaks. I know the gel is more solid/gummy than in the past, but afraid of that stuff touching my insides. I also found a good meta-analysis

    http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/14651858.CD010895.pub2/abstract;jsessionid=E9413FB21237FDC6E8F636C2AA8197E7.f04t04http://www.cochrane.org/CD010895/BREASTCA_differen...

    Would love to hear about/get info about research you found.

    Thank you!

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