Tissue expander shape/size vs. implant shape/size

SMG1954

e_hope said:

NOT A DUMB QUESTION
my experience. I was a A to a very small B prior to surgery for starters..

My expanders.. I had filled to 450 cc, the where like to very round up high rocks, and my entire sternum had no cleavage..

My silicone implants.. 550 cc high profile memory gel implants placed. when my plastic surgeon placed the implants he cut into the skin on the sternum so now i have lol, nice cleavage. and my breast have a nice tear drop shape.. much more realistic appearance and feel..and for me it was instant relief from the dreaded expanders

lol, its been so long and been through so much, don't think i remember what my old breast looked like, other than my old bra size..

went from a 34 A/B... to a 34D..

So yes, they do look different after implant are placed.. I would recommend going as far as the skin will stretch...

Talk to you plastic surg about what you are hoping your final size will be, I had told him since day 1 I was hoping to come out of this with larger breast ( I agree with surimom, your body size will play a huge difference in the final outcome.. i am only 4'10 with med build).. and let us know what he says..

My PS says he wants to place a 240 cc implant but I need to. Be expanded to 360 cc. Yet i see here that many times it is the implant which is a little larger. I had a double mastectomy and before my breasts were size A. I want a lttle bigger boobs now, at least full B. i want cleavage too, who doesn't? Also my left expander is higher, feels harder and more painful. The cancer was on the left. The expander is filling more towards the top, not in the bottom part and I am worried about the final result.

Dawne.Hope

SMG1954 said:

My PS says he wants to place a 240 cc implant but I need to. Be expanded to 360 cc. Yet i see here that many times it is the implant which is a little larger. I had a double mastectomy and before my breasts were size A. I want a lttle bigger boobs now, at least full B. i want cleavage too, who doesn't? Also my left expander is higher, feels harder and more painful. The cancer was on the left. The expander is filling more towards the top, not in the bottom part and I am worried about the final result.

240cc's is pretty small
SMG1954 - You must be tiny! That is a pretty small implant. Did you have radiation? It seems odd that he wants to overfill you that much to put in that small of an implant. Depending on your weight, your height, your rib cage circumference...again a 240cc implant may end up being an A cup on your body. Generally, a person needs 50-100ccs more in an implant to get the same size in a tissue expander. So, if you like the size of your expander and you are filled to 300cc's, you will need at least a 350cc implant to get the same size. One thread I found really helpful when discussing size of implants was this one:

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topic/746448?page=183#idx_5489

One thing you need to be clear about as well...cup size is deceiving. You will NOT have the projection in an implant that you had with your natural breasts or even with your tissue expanders. I ultimately ended up being filled with 310ccs and was exchanged with 325cc silicone implants. I wear a size 30D bra, but I look like a b cup. It may be helpful to talk to your P.S. in terms of how you like your T.E. size...tell him when you like the size you are at...and depending on how he does it he may overfill you. I am concerned that with a 240 implant you will be too small....

Dawne.Hope

Dawne.Hope said:

240cc's is pretty small
SMG1954 - You must be tiny! That is a pretty small implant. Did you have radiation? It seems odd that he wants to overfill you that much to put in that small of an implant. Depending on your weight, your height, your rib cage circumference...again a 240cc implant may end up being an A cup on your body. Generally, a person needs 50-100ccs more in an implant to get the same size in a tissue expander. So, if you like the size of your expander and you are filled to 300cc's, you will need at least a 350cc implant to get the same size. One thread I found really helpful when discussing size of implants was this one:

http://community.breastcancer.org/forum/44/topic/746448?page=183#idx_5489

One thing you need to be clear about as well...cup size is deceiving. You will NOT have the projection in an implant that you had with your natural breasts or even with your tissue expanders. I ultimately ended up being filled with 310ccs and was exchanged with 325cc silicone implants. I wear a size 30D bra, but I look like a b cup. It may be helpful to talk to your P.S. in terms of how you like your T.E. size...tell him when you like the size you are at...and depending on how he does it he may overfill you. I am concerned that with a 240 implant you will be too small....

You found it!
SMG1954 - I see you found whippetmom! She is a genius!

My TE's were totally wonky looking...but all of that was fixed at the exchange. The job of the T.E.'s are to stretch the skin and muscle ... Most of us looked strange with them!

You're in good hands with whippetmom.

Be very clear with your P.S. This is your body, he is working for you .... It is totally OK to insist and be clear on what you want. This is an instance where we need to stand up and not be passive. Be clear, be assertive. He is working for you!

SMG1954

Dawne.Hope said:

You found it!
SMG1954 - I see you found whippetmom! She is a genius!

My TE's were totally wonky looking...but all of that was fixed at the exchange. The job of the T.E.'s are to stretch the skin and muscle ... Most of us looked strange with them!

You're in good hands with whippetmom.

Be very clear with your P.S. This is your body, he is working for you .... It is totally OK to insist and be clear on what you want. This is an instance where we need to stand up and not be passive. Be clear, be assertive. He is working for you!

Worried about final result
Thank you so much for responding. Yes, I am pretty small, 5'3" and 110 lbs. 31" under my ribcage. I saw the doc today because I was, still am worried about the left TE which is not filling like the R one. It is filling more up high and not at the bottom. Doc says he can "usually" fix it during the exchange. He told me that round implants are better because even if they shift, they still look OK. He also says he always overfills by 50%. That means that the boobs will appear much smaller with the implants vs. with TE. He showed me some implants and they look very soft and squishy. I said I wanted high projection and he said "no problem". I am wondering what I will ultimately look like. Doc knows that I want to be bigger than I was. Also, at 180 cc my boobs are already painful when the filling is going on, especially the left one. I am wondering how other women get to hundreds and hundreds of cc. One last thing, anybody in MA who wants to meet up? I am in desperate need of cheering up. I am in S-E Mass. Also, I would be curious to see someone who has already had the implants in to see how they look in a real person. Thank you.

persianqueen

SMG1954 said:

Worried about final result
Thank you so much for responding. Yes, I am pretty small, 5'3" and 110 lbs. 31" under my ribcage. I saw the doc today because I was, still am worried about the left TE which is not filling like the R one. It is filling more up high and not at the bottom. Doc says he can "usually" fix it during the exchange. He told me that round implants are better because even if they shift, they still look OK. He also says he always overfills by 50%. That means that the boobs will appear much smaller with the implants vs. with TE. He showed me some implants and they look very soft and squishy. I said I wanted high projection and he said "no problem". I am wondering what I will ultimately look like. Doc knows that I want to be bigger than I was. Also, at 180 cc my boobs are already painful when the filling is going on, especially the left one. I am wondering how other women get to hundreds and hundreds of cc. One last thing, anybody in MA who wants to meet up? I am in desperate need of cheering up. I am in S-E Mass. Also, I would be curious to see someone who has already had the implants in to see how they look in a real person. Thank you.

Me too!
SMG, your situation sounds just like mine. I had a bilateral mastectomy (cancer on the right side). I had bleeding on the right side and kept running fevers. Three weeks later they took the right expander out and also took some more tissue and skin to get good margins. Three months later it was put back in. My PS says I am even volume wise, but my right side looks so much smaller. It sits up higher and not as full on the outside. He says I don't need to be expanded anymore and he can make adjustments at the time of the implant surgery. I wasn't happy with that so I made him expand the right side with another 50 ccs, but I am still very uneven. I don't know whether to make him expand me more or just hope for the best. I just don't see how he can tighten up the left pocket enough that it won't eventually sag. I have another appointment on the 19th to talk to him.

Gracie007

persianqueen said:

Me too!
SMG, your situation sounds just like mine. I had a bilateral mastectomy (cancer on the right side). I had bleeding on the right side and kept running fevers. Three weeks later they took the right expander out and also took some more tissue and skin to get good margins. Three months later it was put back in. My PS says I am even volume wise, but my right side looks so much smaller. It sits up higher and not as full on the outside. He says I don't need to be expanded anymore and he can make adjustments at the time of the implant surgery. I wasn't happy with that so I made him expand the right side with another 50 ccs, but I am still very uneven. I don't know whether to make him expand me more or just hope for the best. I just don't see how he can tighten up the left pocket enough that it won't eventually sag. I have another appointment on the 19th to talk to him.

It's an anxious time

I, too, am uneven at 6 weeks post op with expanders being filled each week. It looks like one side has a leak since it is at least 1/3 smaller than the other one. I plan to ask my PS about it...again and see if he needs to put more saline in on the right. Mine rub under my arm too, but I still have swelling under there. Hopefully everything will turn out alright.

Mariangel43

RT scares me

I have a TE with 150 cc now.  I want a size B implant because the implant weighs a lot and I don't want to be uncomfortable.  

I am a little scared because it seems to have a metal area and it is not recommended when I am supposed to get radiation.  

The cost of RT is high and I have to check on two other sites who work quite well but are less expensive.  I wish I could find a RO to explain me if the truebeam doesn't radiate me in non affected areas.  Besides, I am having swelling in my right arm and I won't be letting anyone radiating my lymph nodes on the right arm.