Saline or Silicone?

ajdebbs
ajdebbs Member Posts: 18
in Breast Cancer #1
Hey everyone! I need your assistance! i am finally ready to have my reconstructive surgery and i'm trying to decide between saline and silicone. I am scheduled for silicone but would like more input regarding saline. silicone is only available up to 800cc's. i'm not a vain person....especially with what i've just gone thru.....but i'm a big boned girl and i would like to be proportionate with my size. my dr indicates that with 800cc's i COULD most likely be a C......which isn't bad.....but i'm 5'10 and i'm very shapely in that i have quite the booty. currently i look like a large, tall pear (lol......not that there's anything wrong with that!) so i can get a little bigger with saline.....but the drawbacks are they don't feel/look as real and they ripple. my thought is that my breasts are not going to be perfect anymore.....so if my husband can deal with scars, he can deal with ripples too right? i don't want to be huge....not even as big as i was prior (DD) but i do want to have the appearance of being proportionate. i think i deserve at least that, right? :o) Love you all and God bless! Thank you in advance for your honest input.....i sincerely appreciate it!

Ally

Comments

  • tufi000
    tufi000 Member Posts: 745 Member
    #2
    just sayin'
    I got to a D with saline and kept using my old bras just fine. I am also tall and big boned. No ripples, look fine. Hubby's biggest problem was with my numbness in the area not how they look.
    I had heard and seen too many horror stories about silicone and just didn't want another issue to worry about. I have enough problems.

    all the best kiddo
  • ajdebbs
    ajdebbs Member Posts: 18
    #3
    tufi000 said:

    just sayin'
    I got to a D with saline and kept using my old bras just fine. I am also tall and big boned. No ripples, look fine. Hubby's biggest problem was with my numbness in the area not how they look.
    I had heard and seen too many horror stories about silicone and just didn't want another issue to worry about. I have enough problems.

    all the best kiddo

    thank you thank you!
    that's exactly what i wanted to know. i think i will get a second opinion regarding saline....my current doctor is pro-silicone....which is great for small girls.....but i think for me.....i need to feel proportionally correct. i have been breast free for 6 1/2 months and my surgery is not planned til january. I'm 48 years old so it's not a vain issue....but i have a 7 yr old and I'm excited to finally potentially feel normal again....for me and for my family. thank you for your input......i sincerely appreciate it.

    God bless hun!

    Ally
  • debsweb18
    debsweb18 Member Posts: 191 Member
    #4
    ajdebbs said:

    thank you thank you!
    that's exactly what i wanted to know. i think i will get a second opinion regarding saline....my current doctor is pro-silicone....which is great for small girls.....but i think for me.....i need to feel proportionally correct. i have been breast free for 6 1/2 months and my surgery is not planned til january. I'm 48 years old so it's not a vain issue....but i have a 7 yr old and I'm excited to finally potentially feel normal again....for me and for my family. thank you for your input......i sincerely appreciate it.

    God bless hun!

    Ally

    I had silicone
    I'm small boned, so I don't know if that makes a difference with cup size, but I had 500cc implant and wear a 34 D bra and fill it quite nicely.

    Deb
  • DianeBC
    DianeBC Member Posts: 3,881 Member
    #5
    ajdebbs said:

    thank you thank you!
    that's exactly what i wanted to know. i think i will get a second opinion regarding saline....my current doctor is pro-silicone....which is great for small girls.....but i think for me.....i need to feel proportionally correct. i have been breast free for 6 1/2 months and my surgery is not planned til january. I'm 48 years old so it's not a vain issue....but i have a 7 yr old and I'm excited to finally potentially feel normal again....for me and for my family. thank you for your input......i sincerely appreciate it.

    God bless hun!

    Ally

    Ally, I had a lumpectomy, so
    Ally, I had a lumpectomy, so I wasn't obviously faced with this decision. I know the pink sisters that have will post more information for you. Breastcancer.org is also a great site to propose your question and they do have a place on there where survivors do post their pictures of their implants. You might check it out.

    Did your breast surgeon or plastic surgeon have any pictures to show you of both saline and silicone implants on bc survivors? Or maybe even someone that has been thru this would have given him permission to have someone like you to contact them?

    It's good that you've got time yet to make your decision. You're a smart lady and will make the right choice for you. I just know it!


    Hugs, Diane
  • DebbyM
    DebbyM Member Posts: 3,289 Member
    #6
    debsweb18 said:

    I had silicone
    I'm small boned, so I don't know if that makes a difference with cup size, but I had 500cc implant and wear a 34 D bra and fill it quite nicely.

    Deb

    Hi Ally! Wishing you the
    Hi Ally! Wishing you the best whether you have saline or silicone!


    Good luck!
  • tufi000
    tufi000 Member Posts: 745 Member
    #7
    ajdebbs said:

    thank you thank you!
    that's exactly what i wanted to know. i think i will get a second opinion regarding saline....my current doctor is pro-silicone....which is great for small girls.....but i think for me.....i need to feel proportionally correct. i have been breast free for 6 1/2 months and my surgery is not planned til january. I'm 48 years old so it's not a vain issue....but i have a 7 yr old and I'm excited to finally potentially feel normal again....for me and for my family. thank you for your input......i sincerely appreciate it.

    God bless hun!

    Ally

    Ahhhhh
    The day you can get ready to walk out of the without feeling like an alien in disguise!!!! Imagine, just throwing on your clothes and makeup and that's it! Like a person!!! All the best!
  • ajdebbs
    ajdebbs Member Posts: 18
    #8
    tufi000 said:

    Ahhhhh
    The day you can get ready to walk out of the without feeling like an alien in disguise!!!! Imagine, just throwing on your clothes and makeup and that's it! Like a person!!! All the best!

    Thank you all!
    your input and encouragement has been uplifting! thank you so much! i knew i could count on all of you! i'm excited to move forward....no matter what i end up choosing. i appreciate every one of you. God bless!
  • Parklady
    Parklady Member Posts: 5
    #9
    Have you considered a Tram
    Have you considered a Tram Flap. If you google it you can get a ton of info. Uses your own body more natural
  • Angie2U
    Angie2U Member Posts: 2,991
    #10
    ajdebbs said:

    Thank you all!
    your input and encouragement has been uplifting! thank you so much! i knew i could count on all of you! i'm excited to move forward....no matter what i end up choosing. i appreciate every one of you. God bless!

    That's why we're here, to
    That's why we're here, to encourage, support and give what advice we can! You've got this great group of pink sisters now, that will always be here for you, for whatever you need.


    Best of luck,


    Angie
  • tufi000
    tufi000 Member Posts: 745 Member
    #11
    Parklady said:

    Have you considered a Tram
    Have you considered a Tram Flap. If you google it you can get a ton of info. Uses your own body more natural

    have both
    one side utilized tram tissue and the other an implant. No problems with either one and they look almost identical.
  • jnl
    jnl Member Posts: 3,869 Member
    #12
    ajdebbs said:

    thank you thank you!
    that's exactly what i wanted to know. i think i will get a second opinion regarding saline....my current doctor is pro-silicone....which is great for small girls.....but i think for me.....i need to feel proportionally correct. i have been breast free for 6 1/2 months and my surgery is not planned til january. I'm 48 years old so it's not a vain issue....but i have a 7 yr old and I'm excited to finally potentially feel normal again....for me and for my family. thank you for your input......i sincerely appreciate it.

    God bless hun!

    Ally

    If you get a 2nd opinion
    If you get a 2nd opinion Ally, let us know what he says and what you think.

    Hugs, Leeza
  • butterflylvr
    butterflylvr Member Posts: 944
    #13
    tufi000 said:

    have both
    one side utilized tram tissue and the other an implant. No problems with either one and they look almost identical.

    Ally,
    I had my implant exchange surgery this past November. So next month it will be one year with my saline implants. I am a plus size woman (18) and I too had DD breasts before my bilateral mastectomy. I am currently a "C" cup and I love my smaller boobs. Okay... so now my only problem is my belly is big, if I could slim that down my proportions would be perfect.

    This past Monday was bittersweet for me ~ I had my last appointment with my PS. My new nips are done and in December I will be going to a tattoo artist to have my areolas and nips tattooed. So anyways back to my appointment on Monday. I asked my doc how big my girls were. He told me that I have 700 cc implants in place and he filled them to 750 cc's. He stated with saline it's best to overfill then underfill. Underfilling cause ripples and wrinkles and he also said it's been proven that overfilling also seems to make the implants last longer, due to there not being any such wrinkles to create future tears.

    Another reason I chose saline is peace of mind.. If I rupture I'm gonna know it and I don't need to have an MRI telling me so. It's bad enough I have to worry about my cancer coming back, I didn't want to have the added worry of a implant rupture hurting my body.

    My doctor always fits silicone too... but they will do saline if requested.

    Good luck sweetie...
    Lorrie
  • laurael
    laurael Member Posts: 4
    #14
    Saline or Silicone?
    Hello! I am 5'11", with a shapely butt but not big boned, and I got 700cc saline implants. I did not want to put silicone in my body given all that I had read regarding silicone....it was pretty scary! I did not continue and get nipple reconstruction because of the loss of sensation, and to me, nipples are all about sensation. I am looking for a good tattoo artist so that I may tattoo my mastectomy scars with rosebuds and vines. There is some rippling in my breasts but it only occurs when I lean over and it happens along the outside by my armpit. My husband calls them my "ripping new boobs" so we are alright there. I hope that this is helpful to you and good luck on your journey....yes there is so much life after cancer! Take Care!

    Laura

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