Unhappy with Silicone implants-anyone ever switch them out for Saline?

SamuraiMom

Had a double mastectomy 9-9-09...reconstruction after expanders on 3-11-10. No nipples yet.

Boobs look lumpy, moundish, small (750 cc implant)-I'm not a petite person so they look small to me.

Considering swapping them out for larger salines.

Doc says saline not as soft feel as silicone that was my initial reason for going silicone.

Any other experiences or advice out there?

Thank you to all who reply!

JoJo

dyaneb123

My doc says I have to do
My doc says I have to do saline because of the size of my breasts...He says silicon implants dont fit big breasts. Mine are about 800 cc..like you I have a large frame and the one I have alredy had done doesnt look big...I like it ..and I'll have the left breast reduced and the other implant put in this week.Right now it's a little hard, but will soften up over time.

DebbyM

dyaneb123 said:

My doc says I have to do
My doc says I have to do saline because of the size of my breasts...He says silicon implants dont fit big breasts. Mine are about 800 cc..like you I have a large frame and the one I have alredy had done doesnt look big...I like it ..and I'll have the left breast reduced and the other implant put in this week.Right now it's a little hard, but will soften up over time.

I had a lumpectomy, but,
I had a lumpectomy, but, wanted to wish you good luck JoJo! I am sure others that have gone thru what you have will reply and give you some help!

Hugs, Debby

pinkkari09

I planned on going with
I planned on going with silicone, but curious to know what you do, It'll be a while before I need to decide, I'm fresh out of radiation and have some expanding to go yet. Best wishes to you:)
~Kari

SamuraiMom

pinkkari09 said:

I planned on going with
I planned on going with silicone, but curious to know what you do, It'll be a while before I need to decide, I'm fresh out of radiation and have some expanding to go yet. Best wishes to you:)
~Kari

Saline v. Silicone
Hi Kari,

Thanks so much for responding.

After trolling the internet for hours I had very little luck finding before and after photos of reconstruction patients with saline. Most photos out there are of augmentation not reconstruction. OR reconstruction with silicone.

But when all is said and done and another conversation with my plastic surgeon, I've decided to swap them out for saline. The flatness of the silicone doesn't give me the look I want. I've seen silicone on other reconstruction photos and they looked great but those were all on very petite people.

I'm at a 750 cc silicone and the feedback I've gotten is that I look flat. Mind you I am 195 pounds so I think that makes a HUGE difference in outcome.

To me, the silicone implant looks like a flat hamburger bun that never really looks outward and round on my particular body type.

In talking to other women with saline implants they say they are not as soft as silicone.

Lucky for me I have two dear friends with saline implants who let me have a poke.

They were equally as soft as the silicone. (both have had them for over a year so they had really settled in)


I struggled with the whole,"I should be happy to be alive and have made it through two major surgeries-so let it go-be happy with it all and move on with a nice push-up bra" phase only to come to this final conclusion.

If I don't feel sexy on the outside, I won't feel it inside. I just turned 40 last October and have just realized the importance of not settling in this arena.


I've decided to go to a saline implant with an external port. A week after the surgery and as many times as I see fit, I can go into the office and have the saline implants filled until I get the desired look all while I'm awake vs. the surprise results after surgery with pre-filled saline/silicone implants.

The control freak in me really likes to have that kind of input and ability to make post-op changes without additional surgeries.

After all, this seems to be one thing I CAN control now after this whole breast cancer nightmare!

I have vowed however to take pictures of my saline breasts AND my silicone breasts and post them on the internet (no face shot of course!) to hopefully help other women my size come up with their own conclusions.

Wish me luck and all the luck to you in your journey!

Love,

JoJo

KathiM

SamuraiMom said:

Saline v. Silicone
Hi Kari,

Thanks so much for responding.

After trolling the internet for hours I had very little luck finding before and after photos of reconstruction patients with saline. Most photos out there are of augmentation not reconstruction. OR reconstruction with silicone.

But when all is said and done and another conversation with my plastic surgeon, I've decided to swap them out for saline. The flatness of the silicone doesn't give me the look I want. I've seen silicone on other reconstruction photos and they looked great but those were all on very petite people.

I'm at a 750 cc silicone and the feedback I've gotten is that I look flat. Mind you I am 195 pounds so I think that makes a HUGE difference in outcome.

To me, the silicone implant looks like a flat hamburger bun that never really looks outward and round on my particular body type.

In talking to other women with saline implants they say they are not as soft as silicone.

Lucky for me I have two dear friends with saline implants who let me have a poke.

They were equally as soft as the silicone. (both have had them for over a year so they had really settled in)


I struggled with the whole,"I should be happy to be alive and have made it through two major surgeries-so let it go-be happy with it all and move on with a nice push-up bra" phase only to come to this final conclusion.

If I don't feel sexy on the outside, I won't feel it inside. I just turned 40 last October and have just realized the importance of not settling in this arena.


I've decided to go to a saline implant with an external port. A week after the surgery and as many times as I see fit, I can go into the office and have the saline implants filled until I get the desired look all while I'm awake vs. the surprise results after surgery with pre-filled saline/silicone implants.

The control freak in me really likes to have that kind of input and ability to make post-op changes without additional surgeries.

After all, this seems to be one thing I CAN control now after this whole breast cancer nightmare!

I have vowed however to take pictures of my saline breasts AND my silicone breasts and post them on the internet (no face shot of course!) to hopefully help other women my size come up with their own conclusions.

Wish me luck and all the luck to you in your journey!

Love,

JoJo

Good luck with whatever you decide...
I lived in an era where silicone was all there was to choose. But, back then, all was above muscle, so that is a TOTALLY different look!

I have a friend who had to have her implants (from augmentation) replaced with saline (from breast cancer). She says that, indeed, the new ones feel different. 'Soft' is not the word she used, 'less like real breast tissue' is what she said.

And don't beat yourself up about wanting to look the BEST!!!! You should be VERY proud of yourself for all you have gone thru and 'stayed the course'!!!!!!!!! And a bit of self esteem never hurt anyone!!!!

I only had a lumpectomy, but if faced with a reoccurance, will definiately consider reconstruction....probably silicone....

Ta-ta's up, whatever you decide!!!!

Hugs, Kathi

SamuraiMom

KathiM said:

Good luck with whatever you decide...
I lived in an era where silicone was all there was to choose. But, back then, all was above muscle, so that is a TOTALLY different look!

I have a friend who had to have her implants (from augmentation) replaced with saline (from breast cancer). She says that, indeed, the new ones feel different. 'Soft' is not the word she used, 'less like real breast tissue' is what she said.

And don't beat yourself up about wanting to look the BEST!!!! You should be VERY proud of yourself for all you have gone thru and 'stayed the course'!!!!!!!!! And a bit of self esteem never hurt anyone!!!!

I only had a lumpectomy, but if faced with a reoccurance, will definiately consider reconstruction....probably silicone....

Ta-ta's up, whatever you decide!!!!

Hugs, Kathi

What I hate most about this experience is that it has taken my optimism and replaced it with realism. A control freak like myself has finally given in to stop expecting a certain result and now to expect that anything can happen and be ready to roll in either direction-happy, sad, up, down, sideways and inside out.

Found out the saline implants I was so excited about to replace the silicone are no longer in production.

I know that I should take it as a sign that better to find out now that they weren't that great than later, but man oh man I wanted to have the control of filling them each week until I got the result. They were a control freak's dream come true.

I finally felt like this was the one thing I had control over in the process. I was amazed, excited and relieved.

So am I back to the reality of waking up from another reconstruction with the surprise ending.

I have to go through with it because I'm so unhappy with the silicone.

Two steps forward...sorry to moan.

Anyone out there been through mulitple reconstructions?

Angie2U

SamuraiMom said:

What I hate most about this experience is that it has taken my optimism and replaced it with realism. A control freak like myself has finally given in to stop expecting a certain result and now to expect that anything can happen and be ready to roll in either direction-happy, sad, up, down, sideways and inside out.

Found out the saline implants I was so excited about to replace the silicone are no longer in production.

I know that I should take it as a sign that better to find out now that they weren't that great than later, but man oh man I wanted to have the control of filling them each week until I got the result. They were a control freak's dream come true.

I finally felt like this was the one thing I had control over in the process. I was amazed, excited and relieved.

So am I back to the reality of waking up from another reconstruction with the surprise ending.

I have to go through with it because I'm so unhappy with the silicone.

Two steps forward...sorry to moan.

Anyone out there been through mulitple reconstructions?

I had a lumpectomy, but, I
I had a lumpectomy, but, I wanted to wish you good luck!

m-star

SamuraiMom said:

What I hate most about this experience is that it has taken my optimism and replaced it with realism. A control freak like myself has finally given in to stop expecting a certain result and now to expect that anything can happen and be ready to roll in either direction-happy, sad, up, down, sideways and inside out.

Found out the saline implants I was so excited about to replace the silicone are no longer in production.

I know that I should take it as a sign that better to find out now that they weren't that great than later, but man oh man I wanted to have the control of filling them each week until I got the result. They were a control freak's dream come true.

I finally felt like this was the one thing I had control over in the process. I was amazed, excited and relieved.

So am I back to the reality of waking up from another reconstruction with the surprise ending.

I have to go through with it because I'm so unhappy with the silicone.

Two steps forward...sorry to moan.

Anyone out there been through mulitple reconstructions?

wow do you think 750cc/ml
wow do you think 750cc/ml implant is SMALL???????
I am 5' 19" tall and weigh around 144lb. I was always very flat chested naturally and always hated it. My surgeons only put 300ml expanders in me i found out yesterday!!!!!

I was mortified! He said that the tissue they removed was only around 200ml in total anyway (yes,thats how flat i was) but told me not to worry as they can exceed 300ml with my expanders providing my skin and muscle continues to stretch ok.

With all this in mind,i'm not sure how much they can over-stretch,but it looks like i'm only going to end up with about 300ml implants.Maybe a little more if i'm real lucky.

I would LOVE 750ml implants! lol

I'm going for the teardrop shaped silicone cohesive gel implants as it's what was recommended, given my body shape/size.Also,you can get rippling with saline implants.They are not as durable either and possibly need replacing sooner than silicone. I dont think you can get the teardrop shaped ones in saline either.


I hope you manage to get what you want

cfinch59

Saline Implants
I had a double mastectomy August 2009, reconstruction April 28th 2010. I am very unhappy with how mine look and feel. Not sure if I was expecting too much and feel guilty being so disappointed. Does anyone know someone who has had implants and also used some of their own tissue?

Thanks,

Cindy

SamuraiMom

cfinch59 said:

Saline Implants
I had a double mastectomy August 2009, reconstruction April 28th 2010. I am very unhappy with how mine look and feel. Not sure if I was expecting too much and feel guilty being so disappointed. Does anyone know someone who has had implants and also used some of their own tissue?

Thanks,

Cindy

Breast Petals
Hi Cindy,
Do what feels right. I decided to keep my silicone after almost swapping them for saline. The softness factor played a big factor for me.I will tell you though I hated my silicone at the same point you are now. My surgery was 3-9-10 and now I'm feeling really positive about keeping them. They've settled in and look totally different. Week to week they continue to look better. Be patient before you jump back in to another surgery. If you don't have nipples, try breast petals (lingerie section at Macy's). It helped me visualize better vs. focusing on the huge scar down the front.
I know how you're feeling. Just keep talking to people...you'll figure it out. After all, YOU are the one who has to live with them.
XXOO

savvysma

SamuraiMom said:

Breast Petals
Hi Cindy,
Do what feels right. I decided to keep my silicone after almost swapping them for saline. The softness factor played a big factor for me.I will tell you though I hated my silicone at the same point you are now. My surgery was 3-9-10 and now I'm feeling really positive about keeping them. They've settled in and look totally different. Week to week they continue to look better. Be patient before you jump back in to another surgery. If you don't have nipples, try breast petals (lingerie section at Macy's). It helped me visualize better vs. focusing on the huge scar down the front.
I know how you're feeling. Just keep talking to people...you'll figure it out. After all, YOU are the one who has to live with them.
XXOO

This is good to hear as I
This is good to hear as I just had surgery 11/9 and am unhappy with the hamburger bun look myself. I saw you talk about pics before. Have you seen anything on the changes silicone implants go thru or pics to show those changes.
Im glad you are feeling positive now. You sounded as upset as I am now.

carkris

savvysma said:

This is good to hear as I
This is good to hear as I just had surgery 11/9 and am unhappy with the hamburger bun look myself. I saw you talk about pics before. Have you seen anything on the changes silicone implants go thru or pics to show those changes.
Im glad you are feeling positive now. You sounded as upset as I am now.

then a link to read
then a link to read more:


Women prefer silicone to saline after mastectomy

Mon, Nov 8 2010

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who have breast reconstruction after cancer surgery tend to be happier with the cosmetic results of silicone implants than with saline-filled ones, a study published Monday suggests.
Silicone breast implants have had a troubled history. In 1992, the U.S. put limits on their use, over concerns that the devices could leak and potentially contribute to cancer or autoimmune disorders such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. But studies since then, including a report from the Institute of Medicine, an advisory panel to the U.S. government, have concluded that there is no clear link between silicone implants and those diseases.
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved widespread use of two brands of silicone gel-filled implants for breast reconstruction and cosmetic breast augmentation.
Surgeons have long held that silicone implants produce better cosmetic results than saline-filled varieties. But it has not been clear what patients think, said Dr. Colleen M. McCarthy, a surgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center iand the lead researcher on the new study.

link.reuters.com/zeg44q

VickiSam

carkris said:

then a link to read
then a link to read more:


Women prefer silicone to saline after mastectomy

Mon, Nov 8 2010

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who have breast reconstruction after cancer surgery tend to be happier with the cosmetic results of silicone implants than with saline-filled ones, a study published Monday suggests.
Silicone breast implants have had a troubled history. In 1992, the U.S. put limits on their use, over concerns that the devices could leak and potentially contribute to cancer or autoimmune disorders such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. But studies since then, including a report from the Institute of Medicine, an advisory panel to the U.S. government, have concluded that there is no clear link between silicone implants and those diseases.
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved widespread use of two brands of silicone gel-filled implants for breast reconstruction and cosmetic breast augmentation.
Surgeons have long held that silicone implants produce better cosmetic results than saline-filled varieties. But it has not been clear what patients think, said Dr. Colleen M. McCarthy, a surgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center iand the lead researcher on the new study.

link.reuters.com/zeg44q

LOVE .. LOVE my Saline ta ta's .. soft, natural
just 1 women's opinion - hap hap happy with my choice. 850 cc's - I am a solid 'C' cup! and if I choose - I can go larger, by visiting my Plastic Surgeon's office - no surgery, no down time .. larger or smaller - or just a leak, all it takes is an office visit. My breasts feel like my sister, or any of my friends - I am just perky-er!


•☆.•*´¨`*••♥ Vicki Sam ♥••*´¨`*•.☆•

Megan M

carkris said:

then a link to read
then a link to read more:


Women prefer silicone to saline after mastectomy

Mon, Nov 8 2010

By Amy Norton

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Women who have breast reconstruction after cancer surgery tend to be happier with the cosmetic results of silicone implants than with saline-filled ones, a study published Monday suggests.
Silicone breast implants have had a troubled history. In 1992, the U.S. put limits on their use, over concerns that the devices could leak and potentially contribute to cancer or autoimmune disorders such as lupus and rheumatoid arthritis. But studies since then, including a report from the Institute of Medicine, an advisory panel to the U.S. government, have concluded that there is no clear link between silicone implants and those diseases.
In 2006, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved widespread use of two brands of silicone gel-filled implants for breast reconstruction and cosmetic breast augmentation.
Surgeons have long held that silicone implants produce better cosmetic results than saline-filled varieties. But it has not been clear what patients think, said Dr. Colleen M. McCarthy, a surgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center iand the lead researcher on the new study.

link.reuters.com/zeg44q

Great article carkris.
Great article carkris. Thanks. Do implants leak very often, or, does anyone know?