Last Thursday was my weekly trip to Lubbock, but this trip was not for a fill. I met with my plastic surgeon and we discussed if it was time to schedule my next surgery. After my fill on May 3rd, Cody and I both felt we had reached a size we were happy with for my new breasts. My expander's could still hold an additional 100cc each of saline, but I believed we were big enough. The next step was to schedule an appointment with my plastic surgeon and see if she felt the same way. At my appointment we were all in agreement that things looked good. I did have some questions though.
My first question was quickly answered. How did they determine what size implant to take to the operating room? While I was in the room, my doctor started rattling off a list of items to be taken to my surgery. The first of these was a saline sizer. After my expander's are removed and my tissue is shaped and stretched a little more to form an ideal pocket, a sizer is placed inside the pocket. Saline is added until a desired shape and contour is reached. My doctor will determine during surgery what she feels will be the best look for me. Next on her list was a plethora of memory gel implants of differing volumes. Implants starting at 350 cc all the way to 450cc will be taken into the OR. What is even more amazing is that they will be hauling 3 of each of these with them. That adds up to a total of 3 sizers, and 18 memory gel implants. That's alot of materials for two breast.
After scouring the web and countless websites I figured out that I won't necessarily be receiving the same size implant on both sides. It is not uncommon for women to have greatly differing volumes from one breast to the other. Why? Well, our bodies differ in outward appearance as well as inward appearance. There are a great many factors on the inside that can affect the projection and shape of our implants. To achieve symmetry between both breasts different sized implants can be used.
Question number two was more tuned to my specific situation. When my mastectomy was performed my surgeon removed all of my breast tissue and left behind the fat that bordered it. In my specific case I have a protruding pouch of fat by the crease of my left underarm. If you just looked at me wearing a tank top or bathing suite you probably would not notice it. When I raise my arm up to reach an item up high though, it looks like I have a knot in that tissue. My doctor said that could easily be remedied with a little liposuction. I know that this is more aesthetic than absolute necessity, but at the end of this process everyones goal is for me to be as satisfied and happy with my body as possible. If this little thing bothers me now, I know it will probably continue to bother me in the future. So, I don't feel like I am being unreasonable.
My visit with my doctor was over, and the next step was to set a date for surgery. A minimum of 6 weeks is recommended between the last saline injection and the exchange of expander's for implants. This is to allow time for the expander's to settle in my tissue. If this time is not allowed, after the implants are placed settling may occur and additional surgery may be required to correct the problem. Adequate time is being allowed, and I will be going in for surgery #2 on June 18th. This will be an outpatient procedure, and recovery time is typically between 2 and 3 weeks.
Wish me luck, and I have a few new topics that we will be discussing over the next month!
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