To have implants or not?!

[Bangersndmash]

I’m bored, I’m having chemo as we speak; not feeling too great. I’m due to have surgery soon, I can’t decide on implants or using fat from tummy in breasts. I’m having a double mastectomy.

I’ve had a look on a few websites and the before and afters are somewhat scary and not helping me decide, they all seem to look botched. I’m not sure what I’m expecting… I don’t expect to look like Pam an but something half decent.

anyone who has been through it or knows a friend who has and thinks they look nice, implant or not?

(Lastly; to add, sorry this post is all over the place but alas, so is my brain right now).

Do you actually want to do a reconstruction? I know it’s always pushed, but you don’t have to. I had a double mastectomy and stayed flat.

Hi
a friend of mine has just had the fat transfer option. The surgery itself is much more complex the implants but shes very happy with her decision. The main reason I think she chose this option is she is 54 and husband is 10 years older so she is thinking ahead in 10-15 years time when they will need to be replaced and avoiding another surgery and perhaps not having such good care at home if her husband is old etc

I had a single mastectomy and so wish I’d opted for double without reconstruction.

I had a mastectomy years ago. I’m 45 now. I had 2 implants and a double mastectomy.

now I really wished I had the flap diep
procedure (fat transfer). If I could do it again I wouldn’t have implants. I don’t want anything fake in my body. I’m looking at having them removed.

however, they do look fabulous and there is a part of me that loves them. I look great in swimsuits for example, because they are perky. Got to find the silver linings somewhere!

@LastHotel yes absolutely want one. Nothing has been pushed on me at all, I went intou
Ppt with surgeon ezpecting him to say x y z and he sat down and first thing he said was, why do YOU want. And has supported my decisions.

@BetweenAppointments i know what you mean, not wanting anything fake in your body. My surgeon said they are safe. Thwrw are skill risks, but that’s with anything and they are very rare. Would you get them removed and stay flat? I’m assuming you can’t do the fat transfer this late down the line since you’ve had implants for so long?

isnrhere any other reason why you want them removed or have they been OK?

Ok, I know a lot of people who have had reconstructions. Most people who had DIEP flaps are very happy, but not all. Some are unhappy about the uneven sizes of their breasts, about the “Ken doll”. Most needed extra revision surgery to improve things, especially around the dog ears on the hips. It’s a big surgery, as you know. With implants, most are OK with the implants, but quite a few have had problems- ie, the implant flipping, capsular contraction, generally feeling a bit ill. Some chose to have the implant removed.

I wish I’d chosen the freedom of being completely flat. I’m neither fish nor fowl 😹

I have a friend who had a double mastectomy and reconstruction. She has absolutely banging tits! She also loves them. I haven’t seen them naked but she’s not commented on scarring at all.

I’ve also seen a woman at the gym who’s had a double mastectomy and no reconstructive surgery and that looked very elegant too.

In general, scarring isn’t a problem and it isn’t what people mean by having problems with the surgery of either type.

I had a single mastectomy and DIEP flap reconstruction and am very happy with the results. The new breast feels and looks very natural. The reconstructed nipple does look different to be fair but it doesn’t bother me and you can’t tell at all when I’m dressed.
also ended up with a very flat tummy which was a weird bonus.
although I’m now 6 months pregnant so who knows how it’ll look in the future!
I had the surgery at 37 so it was a no brainer as I didn’t want to have multiple future surgeries to replace implants. But I would highly recommend meeting a couple of plastic surgeons if that’s an option for you, as I’m pretty sure some are better than others…like any profession!