Exchange City

Rachel, what size are the implants?

540ccs. I'm so tired of worrying. I was filled to 600 but asked for 480 implants. Doc said that when I was on the table after extensive pocket revision it was as small as he felt he could go. I changed PSs after mastectomies. My first PS put in the biggest TEs that exist (700cc 16cm wide) even after I had told him that I wanted to have smaller breasts than before DX. I was an H and wanted to be a C. I'm small framed and it was logical proportionally but I get that my 'foundation' was large so there's a limit to what they can do. My new PS is one of the best and I trust he made reasonable decisions when I was on is op table. I had Alloderm with TE's initially and believe he did not add more to the implants. I'm not sure though. I'm going to ask this Friday. I actually aesthetically have grown to like the way things are looking and don't mind the size but it they are too heavy and are causing bottoming out than @#$%^&*.

Minus Two correct as usual. Yes, do be careful when going back to certain exercises. You really need to let your body heal and it can take quite a while. Remember, “just because you can doesn’t mean you should”. If you have any pocket work, it has many stitches that hold that together. You will have plenty of time to do the things you want to do once you heal. You want to make this the last surgery you need, not to have to return to “fix” something that was damaged.

I was very careful with anything I did for about a year. I am 3 1/2 years post ex. I wore a bra all the time for about a year. I do have the 410 Allergan gummies. They do require that they are post pec and have to adhere so they don’t rotate. Minus Two has them too.

Bottom line is try to not do too much and you will be Successful ! Hang in there and best of luck.

Robin

I will be receiving my last fill the beginning of November and hope to schedule my exchange after Christmas this year. My TE's are prepect , my implants will be around 760cc's, which is approximately were I was pre BXM. What should I expect with surgery compared to the BMX. How long was your recovery, when did you start driving etc.... I have a 15 y.o. who is in a high intensity sport and practices 6 days a week, everyone has been so kind helping out, but hate to overburden anyone. As for implants, what are some of the things I need to make sure I know before I have the surgery, and are there things I need to be aware of after. I just read something about bottoming out?! Any articles you recommend for me to read before I meet with my PS to do the finals? Little nervous want to make sure I make the right decisions! I really appreciate all the advise my fellow BCS have given me through this process!

Rachel, I know every one is different but I would say you’re doing too much. 5 weeks is a bit early for working out especially if you just had implant exchange. There is a great deal of pocket work done during this process. I had revision exchange surgery in April... new implants etc. My surgeon made me wait w working out with weights for 8 weeks. Not sure how intense your workouts are but that could be the pain you feel.

I would call your surgeon ASAP & get his/ her advice, until you get in there I would chill. Keep us posted

Strengthandjoy: I am not sure if I am a good example. I had my exchange surgery on the right side only 3 weeks ago. I did not have much pain. I think I took one Tylenol the night after and that was it. I read a lot of posts before my exchange. It seems if you have a lot of pocket work or fat grafting you may have more discomfort. My PS is a minimalist. I am very happy with the outcome, but I am also not very picky, as long as I look balanced in clothes I am happy

I was told not to lift anything over the weight of a cup of coffee for two to three weeks.

Thank you Mominator. Yes I'm just walking on the treadmill and stair stepper and leaving my arms alone. I've realized I need to just be more gentle with myself. I was so pain free with my expanders and came back too fast. I'm also gently messaging and doing mobility movements slowly and carefully.

Dear blessedinthismess,

I'm not as far along in this process as you are and am so sorry for the disappointment you are feeling.

The one thing that has really helped to get my head around the appearance of my TE boobs is to try temporary rub on tattoos. Have you tried them?

They look much more like breasts. I even smile when I catch a glimpse of them in the mirror.

I think they are definitely worth trying if you haven't yet. You can find several companies that offer them just googling "temporary rub on nipple tattoos"

Here's one company... https://www.tatatattoos.com/

Hugs to you and all the others that I share this journey with.

Becky

Blessed - keep reading and you'll find that it takes 3-6 months for everything to settle - or maybe even longer. I know it's hard, but step away from the mirror and just don't look. You have every right to whine & complain although most of our family & friends don't really understand what we're going through. So this site is a blessing. At least - YES call your doc if you have ANY questions. Meds can be changed. And people who say you should be grateful to be alive just haven't been there. That emotion is for a year or two down the road. Right now - just take care of yourself and try not to over do. There is lots of healing going on inside.

I had my first exchange in April and hated the way it looked. I’m still nippless on that side and have since had radiation, but it looks much better.

I had my second exchange last week. The ps had to go slightly smaller. I don’t like the way it looks and can only see the flaws. I don’t feel like my nipple looks right either but the other side doesn’t have one. Maybe that’s why. Anyway, I’m willing to give it a few months before I figure out next steps. I really don’t want more surgery

Ladies, thank you so much for your replies! I must admit that it made me choke up just reading them. It is so nice to be able to come here to release all your fears and frustrations and be met with compassion and experience. While I hate that any of you are going through this, I am so thankful for you. Yesterday I took my second shower since surgery (gross but true), and I was able to find two positives already, and that helped SO much with how I've been feeling. First, I noticed that I got my armpit back! The left breast (cancer side) had the worst armpit and I had these horrible misshapen dimples, so it was hard to shave my armpits and deodorant would hide out and cake up in those areas. I would scrub the daylights out of it and could because the feeling is mostly gone. Now when I wash it, it feels like a normal armpit, (still numb though) and although I haven't dared shave it since the exchange, it will be so much easier and look MUCH better in a tank top or bathing suit. Also, I had a massive ball of fat on the right side, just behind and under my armpit, and he did lipo and it's gone! I know that the expanders compromised that whole area, but for some reason, one side was noticeably bigger. Not anymore! My mom and daughter keep going on about how I don't have a stomach anymore and were trying to help me feel better about how great the rest of my body is looking since the lipo, and while I am excited to see if any of my clothes will fit me differently, I won't be disappointed about it if I don't notice any change. Any improvement besides my breast reconstruction will just be a bonus and I will forever be grateful to my PS for going the extra mile to help me feel better about myself. I kept joking before surgery that he could take as much fat as he needed and wouldn't be upset if he had to "waste" it if it wasn't needed for the fat grafting. I do believe he really did take more than he needed! Also the two to three hour surgery took a little over four and when my mom told him that she was beginning to worry that it was taking so long, he told her "I'm sorry. I'm just a perfectionist." I'm not going for perfection, and I hope that I can be all done with surgeries now. I've been considering the nipple tattooing and am on the fence about it. I liked wearing white tops with no bra this past summer and not worrying about my nipples showing through. I may try the temporary ones once I'm healed up, just to see if the permanent tattoo is something I would like. Thanks for letting me know about those.I had no idea they made temporary ones! Thank you again ladies for listening and for letting me babble about my tiny victories. God bless you all, as we are prayerfully on the road to being done with all of this reconstruction and making progress on the road to complete recovery. ❤️

Today I realized that although it's hard to admit, I would go flat if it weren't for my DH. I've got it pretty easy with prepectoral implants. Little discomfort and full range of motion 6 weeks out from exchange but still they feel like big weighty impediments that I could do with out. I know its kind of taboo to admit these days that we do such things for our hubbies but he's worth it. I'll probably get used to em. I know life won't entirely be the same but I'm trying to get back to as much normalcy as possible.

blessedinthismess:

I'm hoping it's just getting used to implants in general and not because they are prepectoral. Interesting thought. Time will tell. I suspect they would be bugging me regardless of their placement.

Mastectomy Sister, thank God for the women that have shared their experiences here! I know, I too was much more anxious for the exchange than the msx. My theory is our body remembers the pain and trauma from that bigger surgery and we just get really anxious about going back to the OR. But, like you I came to this thread and read stories of those that had gone before me. I was greatly encouraged as post after post stated the exchange was so much easier than msx. I am here to say yes, it's true!! I had a lot of extra tissue taken "dog ears" from IMF all the way around to my shoulder blades. These incisions were so big that ps had to use staples!! And I had drains. But I was able to walk out of that hospital the same day, go rest for a couple days at home and within 3 days I was out hitting the malls for Christmas shopping. But I do want to warn you not to overdo it while you are recovering. Even though there is significantly less pain than with msx and TE's, there are still a LOT of internal stitches and you must be very gentle with yourself. I managed to rip a couple internal sutures just moving in bed. I know you are getting excited and it is a bit unnerving but you will do great!! Try to focus on other things to keep yourself distracted this last week. You want to go into this as stress free as you can. And eat pineapple every day or take Bromelain supplements on an empty stomach. It helps promote healing and eases bruising and inflammation.

Wishing you all the best!!

Heather

Hi — I just had a revision on Nov 6. PS swapped out Inspira smooth cohesive moderate 485cc for Inspira responsive full 605cc. They already feel lighter and much softer. PS did more fat grafting to fill in areas where fat grafting didn't take last time. I had a concave space above the left breast and also under left armpit. Even though it looked like left was bottoming out (I have pre-pecs), I liked the shape of it compared to the right. Oh well, it's completely different now. The right side made the nipple hang low because the aeroform expander expanded the skin on top of the breast and then the firm implants did not help with the shape. I'm hoping the fuller shape of the newimplant will help correct the problem on the right. PS said he thinks I will be happy and my friend who accompanied me to hospital said they look improved post op.

I thought that with the increase in size of implants, that not much fat grafting would be needed, but according to my records 100ccs of fat went into the left and 30ccs in the right. Doesn't that sound weird? He said he was overstuffing the left since it did not keep the fat before. He sutured some tissue to my ribs and pec on the left to prevent bottoming out, and it was so painful post-op I thought I was having a heart attack.

No heart attack, but now I think I have a huge seroma. I showered 48 hours after surgery and did some massaging when I heard gurgling and swishing of fluid in the left. That freaked me out as I do not have saline implants. I called my PS and was seen by the nurse immediately (I live over an hour away). Nurse said it's not surprising that left is so swollen given the massive fat injection. She said to massage it and come back in 2 weeks. Boob is so big, I feel like Quasimodo in reverse. 2 weeks feels like a really long time.

If it gets more swollen or painful I will email my PS and ask for better options.

Anyone have abig seroma that reabsorbs on its own?

Welcoming all thoughts and comments.

Ceci