Air Expanders and plane travel

Thank you very much for your reply @Alpal. Someone told me that they had heard it was very painful and that i should take some stronger painkillers that just Panadol. We are flying to Paris so a long flight to be in pain. 
i will join the Reclaim your curves facebook group to try and get some more information. :)

Hi @Suzk123 .  I used the Aeroform expander and was very happy generally with the whole process. Whilst I didn't fly with it in, I did do some bushwalks where we were at an altitude of just over 1000 metres (in the NSW Blue Mountains).  The expander became very tight and rather sore, but went back down once we returned home.  I've heard the same with flying - they tighten up at altitude, then reduce once back at sea level.  It's important to mention it to your surgeon, as they'll probably recommend not doing any inflation the week prior to flying, so that your poor old pec muscle doesn't get over stretched when at high altitude.
There are many women in the closed Facebook group Reclaim Your Curves who have flown with the Aeroform expander in place, so you may want to join and find out what their experiences were.
Hope that helps :smile:

@Suzk123, although I didn't have Air Expanders, I did interview Dr Tony Connell in WA (who was the first surgeon to trial them) for Reclaim Your Curves and this was his advice about flying with the expander:

RYC: Is it safe for women to fly with the expander in?

TC: This is one of the questions I looked at as part of the ASPIRE study into the device. Those patients that have flown with the device at altitudes above 1,000 meters did report a slight filling sensation upon ascent, which then normalised on descent. Based on those results I recommend that it is safe for patients to fly with the expanders implanted, but dosing of the AeroForm should be discontinued for 2 weeks before flying and resumed once the patient has returned home.

It's probably a good thing to check with your own surgeon as well, especially since the Airexpanders have now been on the market for a few years now and this advice may have been updated.

There are a few members in the Choosing Breast Reconstruction group who have had Air Expanders and who may have flown, so feel free to join the group and post there as well. Jane xx

@Alpal, can you help here?

@mum2jj
@Chorsell

Thinking you ladies might be able to tag Suzk123 into conversations about this ? or know who has had air expanders and travelled.