hi Anais, my experience may not be that useful either: when i was diagnosed back in late 2005 I had a lumpectomy followed by a full masctomy in early 2006. As i dont like hospitals or Drs (no disrespect, just a personal preference to see as little of these good people as possible) i opted for a reconstruction at the same time as the masectomy.
I had an implant put in: it was a Johnson one i think and could be inflated (or deflated) with saline solution. When they first put it in it was mainly as a place holder to stop the skin shrinking (well that was my understanding). Typically, folk have the initial one taken out and another put in - in my case we chose one that could be adjusted via a port and saline solution. So once i'd healed from my main surgery i'd see the plastic surgeon for 'adjustments'. As i'm quite thin, the port stuck out a bit and i got fed up with it. My new boob looks normal in a bra but without it i'm lob sided. This isn't a problem for me as I was not well endowed to start with.
That was in 2006 and here we are in 2014 and i've not had any issues with it since: i think mine has either a 20 year or 30 year life and then may need to come out
Can i suggest writing down any concerns/ questions you have - before my surgery there was quite a lot of written material available which helped ease my concerns
With love and light,
Hazel
