Implants
Just want to see how many women have had an implant reconstruction and have no issues with it. Success stories and how many years have you had it and still healthy.
Comments
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I had a bilateral mastectomy December 2017 with TE. I had my silicone implant surgery October 2018. I've had no problems. They healed really well and my scars have healed well and are fading nicely. In August 2019 I had 3D nipple tattoos done by Vinnie Meyers. Everything has gone great but they aren't perfect. My left is a little lower than my right. Exactly how my natural breasts were. Also a little dog ears on each side. In general I'm pretty pleased.
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I've had these set of implants - mid profile Mentor silicone implants since smmer 2008 - no problems
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I had silicon implants 2 years ago and am having them removed in January. (this will be a 3 hour surgery to do it right en bloc).They look fine but they function lousy. I had 6 months of physical therapy because my pectorals hate them. They are uncomfortable at best, at worst, burning, pinching, "iron bra" feeling. I don't like to think what they are doing to my body either. Make sure you know what you are getting in to. You can't take them off. They are the gift that keeps giving the plastic surgeons. 40% of women need "revisions" and they are not supposed to last a lifetime either. Sooner or later they have to come out. Expect months of dealing with really uncomfortable expanders before you get your permanent ones. Some of us have to wear a bra 24/7 because they are so uncomfortable or to keep them up. Some folks get sick from them (go to the Breast Implant Illness Facebook Page or the Flat and Fabulous page. There are warnings out about them now. I am not saying they don't work for some women, they do, just look before you leap. Plastic surgeons are salesmen. Mine told me there was NO reason not to do them and if I did not like them she could just "pop them out". I wish. And I have a friend who did the fat transplant. She had to have revision surgery, hernia surgery, surgery to the other one but they still don't match, so that's not a panacea either. The plastic surgeons seem to think a "revision" is nothing because they don't have to live through the surgery and the weeks or months of recovery. I searched "Explant" on this site and was surprised to not find it, there are more than a few of us doing it. Good Luck!
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I was originally going to do DIEP but apparently my abdomen is all skin and no fat (take that personal trainers and fitness gurus who tried to tell me otherwise!). I do have fat elsewhere though, in all the wrong places. I have silicone implants for now, which I've had for a few months. They are above the pec implants and I do have some rippling but sub pec implants are not an option for me.
They don't feel as weird as I thought they would, and they have a nicer shape than my natural breasts. Sometimes I get an itch "under" them on the inside that can't be scratched and drives me a little crazy, and I have some persistent redness on one side that my doctors are not concerned about. I have some reactive fluid around the implant on that side but that is not abnormal.
Last night I had some aching on both sides. I don't really know what that was about. Maybe something to do with the weather or maybe I stretched too much.
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8 years, Allergan Natrelle 457 cc’s. Placed during a one step procedure, no TE’s. I rarely even notice them! Best of luck to you
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I also have Allergan Natrelle, 345 cc's. Done direct to implant the day of my BMX, no TE's. Recovery was surprisingly easy, they are very similar to what I had and have caused me no issues at all. Keep us posted on what you decide!
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I also did direct to implant Natrelle. Recovered well and about the same size as I had before.
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beach2beach,
I am also the same size as pre-bmx, which was what I wanted. I think that made it easier and that can also make one a good candidate for a one step procedure
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I've had sub-pectoral implants for 4 years. No complications, no revisions, and they look great. Last year I went to the UK and stayed in the same hotel room with a long-term friend who saw me change. When she saw them she was very startled and said, "Wow, those look VERY real!" My PS did a great job on the reconstruction and the fake nipples (which are a perfect size), and Vinnie Myers' tattoos were the icing on the cake.
(I did have TEs - not for long as you can see from my profile - and they were quite painful, but worth it.)
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Just to say that I had TEs and no pain at all. I mentioned this to my PS, and she said that most patients actually tolerate them well. We just tend to hear the horror stories. So TEs are not uncomfortable for everyone, but going in you should be prepared that they might be, and then if they are not, that's a bonus..
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I had direct to implant, pre pectoral, pretty much the same size as before. It’s only been 6 weeks, but so far so good, I am really happy with the outcome. Certainly feel strange compared to before, but not as weird as I was expecting!!
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I love my implants. I knew I would be miserable with a prosthesis and would never be happy flat. There was no question. We're all different, but truly if I couldn't have had reconstruction, I would have just retreated into my bedroom and never come out again. And that's from one strong, positive, woman who doesn't usually give up. I got Allergan 410's after 6 months of TEs in 2011.
Mind - I was really fed up with my big breasts before cancer. I raced home every day just to strip off that horrible bra. So I had reconstruction smaller than my originals.
When I had a local recurrence, my BS was able to do an Auxiliary Node Dissection on the right w/o touching the implants or the capsule, so I'm still rocking along 9 years later. The only difference is radiation caused this right side to be a little tighter & higher.
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MinusTwo, are your implants under or over the muscle
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