WARNING: NSFW / graphic content below.
Another expansion done! We added 75ccs to each expander, for a total of 225ccs/side (pic below). I am now just a tad over my size before the prophylactic bilateral mastectomy in January.
I decided to speed things up a little bit – rather than doing 50ccs per expansion, we bumped it up to 75ccs. So far, so good, but it has only been a few hours. The worse of the pain the first time hit me when I woke up on the day after the fill. I felt like I was back in the recliner the first week post-op. I popped an ibuprofen, did some stretching, and moved on with my day. The pressure eased as days passed and I was back to “normal” within a week. Well, here we go again. I imagine it will get worse with each fill, but we shall see.
For a recap of why/how the expansion process works, see They’re growing or check out the video below, which was shared by fellow PBM-er Trisha on her blog I’m getting my boobs chopped off. By the way, if you haven’t noticed, I list a number of blogs on the right side of the page under Relevant Sites & Blogs. Check them out! Most of those ladies has also undergone a mastectomy; some proactively and some after a breast cancer diagnosis.
100 + 50 + 75 = 225ccs
Source of Figure 7.1: Steligo, Kathy. Breast Reconstruction Guidebook: Issues and Answers from Research to Recovery. Maryland: The Johns Hopkins University Press, 2012. Print, third edition.
Saying NOPE to Breast Cancer 
I find this surgery so amazing and now to watch as your new breasts “grow”… Your explanations and photos will be of great help to others going through this procedure .. You will never regret the decision you have made… Thank you for being so open in your sharing.. Helen
Thank you, Helen. You are right that I will never regret the decision I’ve made. I know it was the right one for me no matter what these boobs end up looking like. I do hope at least one person can benefit from the info I’m sharing. Thanks for reading :).
You look amazing! Thanks for the posts. You will get a wonderful final result =)
Thanks for sharing this on your blog. My breast never looked this good while I had a tissue expander! Mine was placed in front of the pectoral muscle instead of behind it because the expander was just used to expand my skin in preparation for TRAM reconstruction. So my expander rested right under my skin. It was shaped like a calzone; there was a “shelf” on top of my breast on which I could have rested three shot glasses, if I was a party girl.
Ha! You are funny. I hope your recovery has been going well. How is the calzone doing nowadays?
The calzone is gone! I had TRAM reconstruction on March 11th so I have all of my own tissue now. My recovery is going well.
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