temporary or permanent prosthesis
temporary or permanent prosthesis girls, I had a mastectomy at the end of March and have been told that the reconstruction will be September (after rads have finished and all healed etc).
At the moment , I have started to wear a non wire bra with a temp, sponge prosthesis from the breast nurse. I have to make sure that my clothes are close to my chest and quite high necked as i cant bend over (prosthesis comes away). Someone recommended some tape to help to stick it to my body.
The main thing I am not sure about is whether to get a silicone prosthesis and a mastecomy bra - wasnt planning to as my op is only a few months away. Or shall I just buy a mastecomy bra and put the sponge prosthesis in that ? what is best ? (considering I dont need it forever).
thanks
karen xxx
Hi Karen,
I’m glad to hear that you’ve got your recon later on this year. I used the sponge prosthesis for about a month then did use (I assume it’s silicone, not sure!) the permanant prosthesis and have done for the last year. I was given it by the hospital and if purchased from Amoena (who made it) it would have cost me about £90! I found with the sponge one that it seemed to move more as it’s so light so if you can get a freebie from the hospital then go for it.
Some ladies seem to be okay with bras from Primark etc where the bras haven’t cost them very much but I use either sports bras from M&S or the mastectomy bras from www.amoena.co.uk. However, these are in the region of £18-20. However, I feel more comfortable wearing these as with a soft bra, I would worry that everything was heading south!
Take care and all the best with whatever you decide to do,
BethXXX
mastecomy bras - for Beth beth, thanks for reply. I am on private health insurance and this wont cover a perm prosthesis as I am having recon (think that;s right). Have you or anyone you know tried M&S range at some of their stores? How do you attach your prosthesis to a normal sports bra or normal one from Primark ? The sponge one is easy to pin but what about the permanant one? I am only 32b size but it is still difficult to get it right. sorry to be thick!!
karen x
Hi Karen,
You’re not being thick! I didn’t know what the prosthesis was made of so I’m not an expert!
Firstly, I was treated as an NHS patient so no experience of health insurance so perhaps other women can advise you on that.
If you get the Amoena catalogue, they’ve got Contact forms which you use to directly adhere to your skin. There will be other firms but I only know about them. I use a “normal” prosthesis which doesn’t stick anywhere as it has a gel at the back, it’s hard to explain but my one moulds to my shape and so I wear a very supportive bra which holds it all in! E.G. the"ShockAbsorber" one, think it’s made by Berlei or a sports bra from M&S. I’ve just bought 2 from M&S recently and they’re fine. I also wear the “Mona” bra from Amoena. (I am a 34C so slightly bigger than you.)
As you can probably tell, none of these bras are glamorous but I have found them great for both pre- and post-surgery. If I am correct, if a lady wanted to wear a lighter, more pretty bra, I think you’d need a form which adheres to the skin but I am happy to be corrected on this if other ladies have had different experiences!
All the very best,
BethXX
Hi Karen Are you sure you are wearing the correct size bra?
At the moment I am using the temporary prosthesis supplied by the hospital … mine is not foam, its like a little cushion stuffed with a cotton/polyester fibre.
I don’t find it moves around a great deal in my bra.
You need a bra that fits quite snugly around your body, with full cups (no balconettes for now), of the correct cup size. All bra’s are different in the way they fit, and a 32B in one type of bra can be a 34A in another!
My advice is to get measured properly and try on lots of wireless bras in different back and cup sizes, until you find one that fits closely around your body and allows your breast to fill the cup properly with no gaps and no puckering of the cups.
Dee
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