expander fill questions

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rm22111
rm22111 Member Posts: 54
edited March 2014 in Breast Cancer #1
I will start my expansion fills next week. I had healing problems after bimas surgery and expansion placement so I am behind with fills. I finish chemo the first week and April and then will need to start radiation about a month later. How do people usually get them filled? Weekly? My plastic surgeon only comes to town every other week. I wonder if I might need to go out of town to his office if I need to fill up faster. My radiologist seems to have the idea that getting small fills weekly during radiation would actually be fine because the body could adjust to both at the same time. He is very knowlegable, but says that it is rare to find a plastic surgeon that agrees with him. He said he found one, but I do not think it is mine. Please let me know what you know.

rm22111

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  • Dot53
    Dot53 Member Posts: 239 Member
    #2
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    No chemo or rads for me
    No chemo or rads for me either.. but my plastic surgeon only does the fills once a month.

    Dot
  • Ladydi6365
    Ladydi6365 Member Posts: 26
    #3
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    I get my fills once a week
    HI M2211,

    I have had 2 fills and got them a week apart. sore the first day then after that not so bad. My PS has scheduled 3 in a row so he can continue to see me once a week. No Rads start Chemo next week. Small fills at 50cc is what he does and it seems to work just fine.
    sorry I can't give you more information... post op at 31/2 weeks.
    Diana
  • Unknown
    Unknown
    #4
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    Ladydi6365 said:

    I get my fills once a week
    HI M2211,

    I have had 2 fills and got them a week apart. sore the first day then after that not so bad. My PS has scheduled 3 in a row so he can continue to see me once a week. No Rads start Chemo next week. Small fills at 50cc is what he does and it seems to work just fine.
    sorry I can't give you more information... post op at 31/2 weeks.
    Diana

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  • ms_independent
    ms_independent Member Posts: 214
    #5
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    no chemo or rads

    I didn't have to have chemo or rads so, I can't address that part of your question. I also had a delay in the early days because of poor healing. I had to go back to the OR 2 weeks after the bilat mastectomy to have the incisions redone after cutting out dead tissue. Those incisions got infected...blah...blah....blah. Once he was finally able to start the fills he put in 100cc per week. The last 2 fills were 150cc 2 weeks apart. It sounds like there is a huge variation in how the plastic surgeons like to do this. I guess you'll have to wait and find out from him---does he have an office nurse?---you might get an answer or explaination sooner if you go thru her.

    Best of luck with the next phase of your journey!

    El
  • Different Ballgame
    Different Ballgame Member Posts: 868
    #6
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    It Depends
    I can only tell you what I know. I did not do radiation or chemo with expanders...my skin was called "virgin skin". It all depends on you and how comfortable (pain free) you are in the process of expansion. Some women do fill-ins once a week. Some women do every other week. I only had one fill-in that was uncomfortable with the expansion - your skin is stretching with each fill-in. With two other fill-ins, I took one dosage of Excedrin 2-3 hours later and then I was fine until the following week. I was able to do fill-ins once a week. Good luck.

    Lots of Hugs,
    Janelle

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