Post-mastectomy and reconstruction prosthesis
It is estimated that 14,850 of the 55,000 women diagnosed with breast cancer each year in the UK undergo a mastectomy, with around 3,119 (21%) of these patients opting to have immediate breast reconstruction and 1,485 (10%) having delayed reconstruction. There have been huge changes in the last decade on what’s available to women who’ve had mastectomies or partial mastectomies and here we try and clarify some of the options.
Initially, post-surgery, women who’ve undergone a mastectomy and don’t opt for immediate reconstructive surgery, are offered a temporary 
‘Comfy’ or ‘Softy’ until healing has taken place. This is lightweight and is worn for 6/8 weeks or however long it takes for full healing. After 6 to 8 weeks have passed a first prosthesis fitting at the hospital can take place. Some ladies prefer to wait until all the swelling has gone down before their first fitting.
A variety of prosthesis options are available
These days, the options are endless from prosthesis suppliers, but then they must be as women come in a multitude of different shapes and sizes. The options range from the traditional tri shaped prosthesis to the latest models. Women can now choose a bespoke breast form even but these are at their own expense. Some women are left with uneven breasts after reconstruction, this can be due to radiotherapy, oedema or swelling or even the amount of tissue removed during surgery and this too can be dealt with at the prosthesis fitting stage.
Bra fitting before your prosthesis fitting
It’s advisable to get a bra properly fitted before you go to your prosthesis fitting so that you avoid them fitting it to a wrong fitting bra. Many women wear a poorly fitting bra and the last thing you need is a prosthesis fitted to this. You should also ideally wear a prosthesis with a non-wired bra and you don’t always need a pocket if the bra is full cupped with good coverage.
You are entitled to a new prosthesis every three years from the NHS as they can degrade.
There are many manufacturers of prosthesis and most are available in the UK
Here are some of the main manufacturers and they can offer a huge of variety of choice.
- Amoena
- Anita
- Trulife
- Silima
Knitted Knocker charity are also a fantastic organisation offering hand-made breast forms which are lightweight and these are available online for a donation.
Amoena’s latest prosthesis ’The Adapt Air’ has an air pocket in the back of the prosthesis which can be inflated/ deflated to match the non-Air
surgery side. Other prosthesis types available are Tear Drop, Natura and Curve, which is suitable to wear with an underwired bra. For ladies that have a reconstruction, self-adhesive nipples are also available.
Another option is a contact prosthesis. These are self-adhesive breast forms that stick to the skin, allowing much greater freedom to the wearer. There are also Velcro stickers available that can adapt your existing prosthesis into a contact prosthesis.
Common questions asked about post breast surgery prosthesis
- can I exercise in my current prosthesis?
- Most ladies find them too heavy, and the heat of the body will degrade the prosthesis. There are energy/ lightweight breast forms available though, but is recommended that a regular breast prosthesis is not worn whilst swimming as the chlorine degrades the silicone. A Swim form must be worn therefore for swimming.
Intimate Apparel offer a range of bra fitting course for professionals in the lingerie industry and those looking to start a career in lingerie including an online foundation bra fitting course open to UK and international students and our post surgery bra fitting course. For a full list of dates for our bra fitting courses, just click on the links.