What Will I Look Like?

In the days leading up to my mastectomy I was extremely curious about what my chest would look like after my surgeries, and I Googled it. A lot. What things will look like after a double mastectomy will vary from person to person. My best advice to you, is to trust your surgeon. He or she specializes in the right size/type of implant to use. I trusted my plastic surgeon, and I'm extremely happy with the choices we made. When you look at images online, you usually don't know all of the variables for the individual you are looking at, and just as each cancer diagnosis is individual with many different moving pieces, so too will be your surgery plan and outcome.

I am 5'6" and I wear a size 14/16 on average. I've been larger, and I've been smaller. I wore a size 38 C bra before my double mastectomy, and I have had one child. I breast-fed for about 6 months after he was born. My "before" breasts were saggy and droopy. My areolas were large. And while it was my normal, it's certainly different for each and every woman.

This is me with my expanders (top) with 900cc of saline in each side. Compared to my 640cc silicone implants (bottom) after my exchange surgery.

After my surgery, I tried on the same bras I used to wear, and they didn't fit me the same way. I have 640cc, Natrelle 410, Style MF, highly cohesive anatomically shaped, silicone implants placed, and I'm smaller than a C today. Even though for many women, that size implant would appear larger on their body type. When I tried on my old C cups, I couldn't fill the cups up completely. My breasts are shaped differently than before, but I'm OK with this. I did not "order" an implant size though. I told my surgeon to place the ones that he felt were the best for my body. He told me he recommended the shaped silicone implants because my tissue expanders were high on my chest, and were sitting higher than I wanted. I told him to go with the size that he thought was best - I didn't care if he needed to go up or down. And I'm very comfortable with the way things have turned out. (I can't say this enough - it's extremely important to have a medical team that you fully trust and believe in. If you don't trust your medical team, I think you should find doctors who you do trust.)

I like the way my chest looks today, especially in clothes. Things are higher, tighter and perkier. I still have a lot of weight to lose, and I'm working on that, but overall I am growing to like the way things look. I don't feel like wearing a bra is even necessary.

It's not the same as it was before, so it's not fair to try to compare before and afters and hope for a similar outcome. But, here is a before and after comparison - before my mastectomy and after my implants were placed. For once in my life it's good to have moles - I use them as landmarks. 

And here is one more - a side view after my implants were placed. I did not like them right away. It has taken me months to like how they feel and how they sit. Hang in there if you just got yours.