It looks like it will be a tissue expander after all. Waaah! Not what I wanted to hear. Somebody call the whaaambulance, STAT!

Dr. M and I discussed this yesterday during my pre-op appointment and unfortunately, he will likely be inserting an expander rather than an implant. There is a chance that one will not be needed, but as I mentioned, that is unknown until he goes in there, so planning on an expander. What a disappointment! I am hoping this won’t happen, but definitely not counting on it. Major bummer.

Deflated = this is how I felt when I left Dr. M’s office. It means surgery #5 is in my future and probably not until some time in August. Another summer with a tissue expander, more appointments, many more uncomfortable moments :(. BUT I got over it after reading the text my husband sent me in reply to my rant. I took a deep breath and exhaled all those thoughts out of my system. Expander fills suck and can be very uncomfortable, BUT chemotherapy side effects are much more uncomfortable. Doing this, all of this, is worth it.

So NO MORE WHINING! It is what it is and I trust Dr. M will make the best decision after assessing the state of my tissue and skin. And yes, it will be over before I know it. What I know I don’t want is more complications as a result of trying to rush things.

In addition to talking about this, we discussed the low pocket and implant size. During the procedure the pocket will be closed up a bit and I will get a larger implant on my right side – we are shooting for 450ccs. There’s a chance of fat grafting around the implant. Not sure where the donor site will be, but I know this means lots of bruising and more pain.

Less than two weeks to go! I leave you with a short video of me playing with a busted cohesive silicone gel implant while waiting for my appointment. Even if ruptured, the gel stays within the silicone capsule, unless pressure is applied. It returns to the capsule when released: