Tissue Expander

Thank you for the information. I can be patient and will have to be. I am just a person who likes to be active and will find it very frustrating.

Maree

Hi Maree,

I had bilateral mastectomies and immediate reconstruction with expander/implants. I am 5 weeks post op. My plastic surgeon did not want me to move my arms above my shoulders for the first few weeks. I am allowed to walk, run and do any lower body exercise but wait 2 or 3 months before starting upper body exercise.

I agree with Emma May....don't rush the whole process. I'm happy to expand at a slower rate so my skin can recover well between each time. i dont want to put any more strain on my suture line than necessary.

You will know what is comfortable for you.Ask your Doctor again after your surgery when you can gauge how well you are healing. Good luck with it all.

Sue

I think it is up to the surgeon and the patient. I could have had it twice a week if I wanted. But I found that once a week was enough. If the expanding happends too quickly it can hurt more. I had 50ml in each side every week. Some weeks hurt more than others (a bit like the pain that you have when your milk comes in when you have huge boobs during breast feeding) they are hard, heavy and I had little shooting pains (which I'm guessing was just the muscle being streatched). I was also told that I could have had 100ml in at a time, but I wasn't fussed with how long the process was going to take. Longer was ok with me, if the pain was less. Best wishes 

Hi Emma May

Do you need to ask if the expander can be done weekly. I have been told by my surgeon that he will do it every 2 weeks but would love it to be done more quickly.

Thanks Maree

Hello Maree,

I  had my surgery on the 31 August this year.  I have just finished the tissue expanding process. I couldn't do much for the first 4-6 weeks as movement was limited and i found that if I did, my pain increased. I also rested as much as I could, as I wanted to give my body the best chance I could at recovery. I found that after each tissue expansion I was quite sore for 2-3 days and any extra arm movement caused my arms to ache. I was having the expanding done weekly, so by the time I felt ok, it was time to have the next expanding done. I have my exchange surgery in 3-4 months time. In the mean time I have been told not to do too much and not to try gaining my strenth back in my arms (which are very weak ATM). I have lots of internal stitches holding the expanders in place and if i do too much there is a risk that the stitching will bust and cause problems. I have heard of different things happening and causing problems if you push things to far / hard. I haven't had any problems along the way with the expanders and hope that it stays that way (apart from the discomfort) so I'm doing all I can to 'be good'. If you have any other questions, please ask away. XX

Hello Maree,

I  had my surgery on the 31 August this year.  I have just finished the tissue expanding process. I couldn't do much for the first 4-6 weeks as movement was limited and i found that if I did, my pain increased. I also rested as much as I could, as I wanted to give my body the best chance I could at recovery. I found that after each tissue expansion I was quite sore for 2-3 days and any extra arm movement caused my arms to ache. I was having the expanding done weekly, so by the time I felt ok, it was time to have the next expanding done. I have my exchange surgery in 3-4 months time. In the mean time I have been told not to do too much and not to try gaining my strenth back in my arms (which are very weak ATM). I have lots of internal stitches holding the expanders in place and if i do too much there is a risk that the stitching will bust and cause problems. I have heard of different things happening and causing problems if you push things to far / hard. I haven't had any problems along the way with the expanders and hope that it stays that way (apart from the discomfort) so I'm doing all I can to 'be good'. If you have any other questions, please ask away. XX