Hi,
just wondering how soon after having your tissue expander put in did you have to wait before it was inflated? - not counting the bit they put in at the time of the op
Hi
I am due to have my surgery in a couple of weeks, so have not actually had this yet, but have been told expansion will begin about two weeks after the tissue expander is put in, then every two weeks until fully expanded.
Hi,
Had my left sided mastectomy and expander on the 7th August. I will be inflated on the 5th November and BCN informed me they make you bigger at first!!
OC x
Hi
I had a bilateral mastectomy in Nov 07 and had my first expansion just 2 weeks after surgery. I was set to have radiotherapy after the new year so it was agreed that they were going to get as much in as possible before the radio, thus traveling and being expanded every week. I was expanded quite large and walked around feeling a little like dolly parton for a while. I am a year on from surgery now and in Sept i had my right side changed for a permanant implant and i must say it is amazing. My left side has been changed for a different expander along with some fat transfer. I am set to have my permanant implant on the 15th Dec. The results so far are incredible.
Karen
Hi Karen,
Did you opt for the bilateral of was it recommended? Only i’m due my appointment with my doctor to discuss my surgery options on Thurs and id much rather have them both removed even tho the cancer is only in the right breast (quiet a large amount too) I would be heartbroken to wake up from surgery and see only 1 34dd staring up at me!!! X
Hi Julia
I have 2 lots of chemo to go (1 this thur) then I will be facing an op. I too want to have both sides done for the same reasons as you. Let me know what your onc says, apparently not all doctors will do bi lateral if its not needed. Put your reasons foreward strongly if you are sure what you want.
good luck
Chris x
Hi Karen,
did you find your expander gave a dome shape rather than a breast shape? I have one in at the moment with some saline in it which was put in at the time of the op and am having the first expansion tomorrow afternoon and hope it will then look more like a breast. Can I ask what size you ended up? At the moment I am a B cup on the expander side and D cup on my good breast. Also, why did you have a fat transfer and where did they transfer it from? Questions, questions - sorry!
Clarabelle x
Thanks Chris… I was voicing my opinions to my BCN today and she told me that the main concern is eliminating the cancer which is understandable but you cant see the cancer but i will see my ‘hump’ everytime i look in the mirror… I wont give in without a fight!! Got my appointment on Thurs and Im gonna convince my doc its the right thing for me… After all, he owes me, the poor guy was convinced it wasnt cancer, just dense tissue… How wrong was he?! Its what i want and he should respect that… Goodluck with your chemo Chris and i hope you get what you want… All our decision making has been taken away from us, surely they can grant us this one thing to help us feel even a little bit ‘normal’! Take care x x x
Hi, I am in the same position as Clarabelle. My expander side llooks only about a B cup wheras my good boob is an e cup. I am also wondering what size it will end up when i have my implant in. I am not due to see my cons. until Feb. I thought about contacting my BCN and have a chat. What size did you ladies out there end up with.? I have had 700 mls in the expander, not sure what cup size this means i may end up with.
Healthy thoughts to you all
Sharon
Hi Orangecat,
just wondering how it went on Wednesday and how much bigger you are after one ‘inflation’? - mine got cancelled until next week for some reason - dont know why, just got answer machine message to say don’t come today! - so annoying as I was looking forward to it.
Hi Sharon,
are you just having an implant or some skin and fat transfered too? just curious as an E cup seems quite a size to accomplish from expander/implant alone? and is yours more domed than boobed shape too?
Hi Julia,
how did it go with the Doc today? did you get what you want?
Clarabelle x
Hi Clarabelle
I hope i will end up as a c cup then have good boob reduced. I have just an implant and it is rather dome shape. I have finished having it inflated, but i am not happy with the size. It looks very small more like a b cup . I am hoping to see the BCN who works with the plastic surgeon to ask some questions.
Sharon
Hi, just keeping you up to date. Went to clinic today to be inflated and they couldnt do it as the port has flipped over so it is back to front - going in for op under local tomorrow to expose the port and hopefully inflate. This is my third failed attempt at inflating my tissue expander. The first one flipped and I had op to remove it then the second one failed as it was faulty and wouldnt inflate now this third one is playing up too - poor PS just cant believe my bad luck! OH is going crazy! Any hows, lets hope tomorrow is a better day!
Clarabelle x