Feedback on breast implants please

kathyyvonne
kathyyvonne Member Posts: 1
in Breast Cancer #1
Hello everyone, need some sage advice from this great group.

I had DCIS in 1999, had a TRAM flap. Now diagnosed in other breast DCIS and am looking at an implant, run out of skin to do more, lol.

Those of you with implants, what do you think? Did you go saline or silicone and why? What did you think of the procedure, did it seem like it would go on forever? Are you happy with the looks of your new breast? And was it hard getting it to look like the other one? Have you had any leakages?

Any and all advice on this subject is welcome.

Thanks in advance....

K

Comments

  • deerello
    deerello Member Posts: 22
    #2
    breast implants
    I can't give advice, only share my experience, which probably doesn't apply. I had both breasts removed in February (my choice as only one had cancer) followed by immediate reconstruction. My plastic surgeon felt like it was a viable option. I was impatient and didn't like the slow process of tissue expanders; he felt like permanent implants were the best choice. Unfortunately, after having numerous problems and finally infection, one had to be removed. Ironically, it was the one in the cancer free breast. I think I would have been eventually happy when everything was complete, but now we wait. I wonder if, had I not had to start on chemo so soon after reconstruction, the outcome would be different? Or if I had waited to fully heal before any reconstruction? Anyway, good luck.
  • TraciInLA
    TraciInLA Member Posts: 1,994 Member
    #3
    deerello said:

    breast implants
    I can't give advice, only share my experience, which probably doesn't apply. I had both breasts removed in February (my choice as only one had cancer) followed by immediate reconstruction. My plastic surgeon felt like it was a viable option. I was impatient and didn't like the slow process of tissue expanders; he felt like permanent implants were the best choice. Unfortunately, after having numerous problems and finally infection, one had to be removed. Ironically, it was the one in the cancer free breast. I think I would have been eventually happy when everything was complete, but now we wait. I wonder if, had I not had to start on chemo so soon after reconstruction, the outcome would be different? Or if I had waited to fully heal before any reconstruction? Anyway, good luck.

    Bumping up
    Doing my best to bump up all of yesterday's posts, past those of last night's spammers, so they don't get lost.
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    #4
    TraciInLA said:

    Bumping up
    Doing my best to bump up all of yesterday's posts, past those of last night's spammers, so they don't get lost.

    bumping up ...
    ...
  • EveningStar2
    EveningStar2 Member Posts: 491 Member
    #5
    interested
    I can't help but I'm interested in the replies. I had DCIS in Jan 2009, lumpectomy & rads and now have a reoccurance. Bilateral mastectomy next Monday. The plastic doc won't do DIEP on me--too fat, it will probably fail, and *I* don't want to do the lat flap. She said that an implant on the radiated side has a 40% failure rate--didn't like those odds so I'm going with no reconstruction for now.

    thoughts?

    Maureen
  • Clementine_P
    Clementine_P Member Posts: 518 Member
    #6
    Silicone
    I had a bilateral mastectomy and immediately got tissue expanders. I'm not sure if you will get expanders but if you do, I went for an inflation every two weeks. I understand that if you are not undergoing chemo (like I was) then you can get inflated more often and you will be able to undergo the exchange surgery much quicker. The swap procedure for my implants was very easy. I was in the hospital in the morning and out by lunch. I felt little to no pain and just felt tired for a few days. I was told that silicone is preferable for people in our circumstances (no breast tissue) because it ripples less and is softer. While the tissue expanders felt weird, they were not at all painful. The implants I have found to be very comfortable and I am very happy with how they turned out. I have had my implants now for over a year and had no leakage. I think that I will need to go to get an MRI every couple of years to check for leakage. As for getting it to look like the other, I can't speak to that because I got two implants. I hope that this is helpful to you! In the end whatever decision you make will be the right one for your body and your situation.

    I wish you the best of luck.

    Clementine
  • butterflylvr
    butterflylvr Member Posts: 944
    #7
    Clementine_P said:

    Silicone
    I had a bilateral mastectomy and immediately got tissue expanders. I'm not sure if you will get expanders but if you do, I went for an inflation every two weeks. I understand that if you are not undergoing chemo (like I was) then you can get inflated more often and you will be able to undergo the exchange surgery much quicker. The swap procedure for my implants was very easy. I was in the hospital in the morning and out by lunch. I felt little to no pain and just felt tired for a few days. I was told that silicone is preferable for people in our circumstances (no breast tissue) because it ripples less and is softer. While the tissue expanders felt weird, they were not at all painful. The implants I have found to be very comfortable and I am very happy with how they turned out. I have had my implants now for over a year and had no leakage. I think that I will need to go to get an MRI every couple of years to check for leakage. As for getting it to look like the other, I can't speak to that because I got two implants. I hope that this is helpful to you! In the end whatever decision you make will be the right one for your body and your situation.

    I wish you the best of luck.

    Clementine

    Hi ladies,
    I too had a double mastectomy with immediate reconstruction via the tissue expanders. My expanders were inflated every week afterwards I did radiation. I struggled like you girls as to which implant I wanted inside me. My final decision was saline and I chose this for the following reasons.

    1. My husband carries our insurance and will be retiring soon, so I will be looking for future insurance coverage. With that said, I went saline to avoid having to do the MRI's every few years to check for leakage. With saline you will know if you rupture as your implant will deflate and the saline will be absorbed by your body. No harmful worries...

    2. I have enough to worry about in my future with the possibility of my cancer returning, I don't need another worry about whether my implant is leaking or not. Peace of mind I guess...

    3. Another factor in my decision is I am not in the dating scene, my husband and I have been married for 25 years. Silicone implants are more natural feeling in resembling your natural breast. I don't need something natural feeling as this isn't a concern of mine or his and nobody else really matters.

    4. I just wanted safe boobs to fill out my bra and not have the bother of a prosthesis.

    Now... am I happy with my saline implants... absolutely. Although at times I can feel them "slosh" but not too often, and when I lay down you can see a little bit of dimpling. I am still in my reconstruction phase, I have a clean up procedure coming up in early June where my PS will snip my loose skin and fill in around the implants with fat grafting from my tummy.

    Are they perfect ~ no not really, but they sure are perky and look great under clothing. Not sure if my answers help you girls or not, but I'm pretty satisfied with my choice.

    Hugs,
    Lorrie

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