Expanders

Oh, expanders! Oh, how I hate them! But, I am grateful to forego the breast cancer part. 

Let's learn about expanders. 

Mastectomy removes all the breast tissue. This leaves the woman with a skin pocket and her remaining chest muscles.  If an implant is simply places in the skin pocket, on top of the muscle, it presses against the skin and strangulates the capillaries. This can cause the skin to die. Also, the skin is so thin, it doesn't support the implant very well. So, the implant generally goes UNDER the chest muscle. 

Because the pec muscle only comes part way down the breast wall, AlloDerm (cadaver tissue) is stitched to the muscle. This helps create a stronger, larger pocket for the implant. 

You might ask, why (during the mastectomy surgery) can't they just put the implant under the muscle/AlloDerm pocket? This can happen if the woman wants a very small implant. But, if she wants a normal size implant, it would be too much shock/pain on the muscle. The muscle is used to being flat against body. Lifting it and putting an implant under causes a lot of pain through the chest (and connected arm muscles). This is why expanders are used. 

The expander is placed under the muscle /AlloDerm pocket. The woman is stitched up and has time to heal for a few weeks. Then, she goes to her surgeons office for "fills". 

There is a magnetic port on each expander. The dr finds the port, sticks a needle into it, and injects a small amount of saline. The port is "self healing", so once the needle comes out, it closes up with little leakage.  Fills can happen every week, little by little, until they are full to the woman's desired size. After each fill, the chest muscles are sore and there can be a lot of pain. 

Once a woman is finished with fills, she has to leave the expanders in for a few months. This helps the body and muscles really adjust to the change and pressure. 

Once the time has passed, the woman goes in for "exchange" surgery. This is when the expanders are removed and exchanged for implants. This will be a happy day! Implants (which I haven't learned much about yet) are supposedly much more comfortable and natural. 

So, for now, it's expanders. They are uncomfortable, pokey, heavy, and awkward. It's hard to explain. They are so wide, too. From my sternum clear out into my armpits. They actually cut circulation off in my arms at times. I will be glad to be done with them :)