Anyone have breast implants prior to radiation?

Hi,

I had a BMX with reconstruction in February. My silicone implants are over the chest muscle. I had rads in May-June. So far, so good. No rippling, no CC. Good luck!

I had radiation on left side (recurrence) with silicon implant. Sorry to be the downer but I did get bad capsular contracture...showed up a good 6 months plus after and got worse thru about 12 - 15 months then I had revision / replacement last August. It's much better though another 8 months down the road feels like it's trying to come back. Not sure if it's a timing thing or summer exercise yard work. Started PT this week and I am getting back to stretching massaging (got lax). It sucks. I find wrapping an ace bandage (probably not recommended) at night to put downward pressure on it seems to be working as the CC had the implant climbing a good 2 - 3 inches higher than my non radiated side. My plastic surgeon assured me he can redo it again or I can do the more extensive revision involving back muscle but I don't want to be laid up that long. Life moves fast and being a six year survivor I'm on the move!

Hi, my plastic surgeon put me on Singulair (montelukast) to reduce the likelihood of capsular contracture. Here is an extract from an article I read:

"Effects of Singulair (Montelukast) Treatment for Capsular Contracture.Capsular contracture (CC) is one of the most common complications of breast augmentation surgery. ... Therefore, leukotriene antagonists Accolate and Singulair have been prescribed by plastic surgeons off-label to treat and prevent CC."

Again, no guarantees. Just hoping for the best. I start radiation in a couple of weeks.

Best wishes to all

I completed rads with implants in October. Still taking Singulair and massaging with tissue oil daily. Some stiffness to the breast but not too bad. I'm not consistent with stretch exercises which is important. Giving it a year then will see PS if any adjustments needed. I've also lost a lot of weight since surgery and the implant seems to have dropped somewhat.

Hello ladies, I will be completing chemo in February and looking at the next stage of my treatment journey. I had a double mastectomy with the first stage of reconstructive surgery (expanders in place). Reading the various comments and recommendations is very comforting! I am trying to decide which route to go, implant then radiation or FLAP surgery then radiation. I've been doing research and heard women have more complications with the implant (CC, pain, loss of mobility, etc) vs. women who go the FLAP route. Do you mind sharing why you choose the implant route vs. the FLAP? Also, has anyone undergone a FLAP surgery? If so, can you share your experience? Thank you for taking the time to share experiences. This is a complicated process to navigate and requires a village of survivors to help guide the process. Thank you!

Hi, I have done radiation post implants after double mastectomy. As some say, radiation is the gift that keeps giving in more ways than one. In the first three months post radiation everything felt fine but lately I'm experiencing serious tightness in the radiated breast. Perhaps signs of CC? I am still taking Singulair so things are soft to touch but feel tight.

I tend to go for the most extreme treatment even if not necessary because I want to throw everything at this disease that's why I did the double mastectomy.

All the best.

NJmom2boys - thank you so much! That's exactly what I think...why have a mastectomy because I have implants and MIGHT have CC? The 2nd doctor was very clear that it had nothing to do with a better prognosis for the cancer, etc. She said lumpectomy+radiation, for me, would yield the same result as far as survival rate. I would have a mastectomy in a heartbeat if that's what was needed to rid myself of BC - but not solely for preventive measures regarding CC.

Thanks for the insight about the RO - I don't have one yet (or at least haven't been given his/her name). I do think I'm in an area with some top notch doctors - I'll seek some recommendations and see what options I may have. I realize that each step of the way requires research and decisions. It's almost a full time job!

I'm happy to hear you're still doing well with regard to CC. That's great! And very encouraging.

Thank you again,

charleysmom

Hi, I just wanted to put my 2 cents into this thread. I had a left side mastectomy in 2007 and 4 rounds of A/C with no radiation. I had a tissue expander (done at the same time as the mastectomy) and after several months had the permanent saline implant put in. Fast forward to 2013 and I was diagnosed with a local recurrence in the mastectomy scar. After having head to toe multiple type scans showing no metastatic disease I had the lump excised. Final pathology came back again showing no lymph node involvement. After healing I began rads which consisted 6,000cGY. Several months after finishing rads I began to notice increased tightness and changing shape in the left "breast". Over the next couple of years it got increasingly worse till June 2015 I developed cellulitis and was hospitalized for 5 days until it cleared up. From that point forward my "breast" was so incredibly tight and painful that I ended up having a lat flap surgery in 2016 in order to cut out the radiated tissue and replace it with the muscle and tissue from my back. What I didn't realize when I agreed to this surgery is that the radiation damage was in my back/shoulder/rib areas in addition to the chest wall. I have been in PT for 3 years and also had HBOT to try and help. In December I had the implant removed and went flat in the hope of relieving the pressure and tightness that wraps around my left side. It helped a little but I am still in pain every day and deal with spasms in both the chest and the mid back. My oncologist suggested a bone scan to rule out any possible metastatic bone involvement causing my pain. She didn't feel that was the case but it was more a situation of ruling it out. The scan came back clean. I have recently seen the cancer rehab specialist my oncologist referred me to who said that have radiation fibrosis syndrome. She prescribed Trental and vitamin E. I have not been on it long enough to know if it will help. I'm sorry to sound like Debbie Downer but I wanted to share another side of what can happen with radiation when you already have an implant.

Thanks,

CTLmom

Good morning. I was just wondering what you ended up doing with your implant situation. I have 6 yo silicone implants and will have a lumpectomy and then radiation. I was going to downsize my implants and I may still. THe PS seemed wary of doing that and then doing radiation but the radiation oncologist felt okay about doing it. The PS seemed to also feel why have implants at all, just do fat transfer and avoid any potential complication. I am unsure what to do.