Understanding Custom Breast Prostheses: Top 12 Essential Insights

Breast prostheses play an important role in the lives of most women who have undergone a mastectomy or other breast surgery that results in the loss of one or both breasts. This is because the right prosthesis can easily help to restore a woman’s shape, balance, and confidence.

A custom breast prosthesis provides the most natural look and feel to match a woman’s remaining breast tissue. This blog post explores the top 12 essential things you should know about custom breast prostheses.

1. Custom Prostheses Are Made Just for You

Custom breast prostheses are individually made to match your exact chest wall and body shape.

An impression is usually taken of your unique contours on the surgery side. This allows prosthetics manufacturers to craft a precise breast form that hugs your individual curves for optimal weight, hang and balance.

Mass-produced “off-the-shelf” breast forms simply can’t achieve that made-for-you level of match and realistic appearance under clothing. This is because custom prostheses follow your own slope to seamlessly integrate with your natural breast. As a result, with a custom-fit prosthesis, you’ll have total confidence to wear all garment styles without worrying about unsightly gaps or your prosthesis shifting out of place.

2. They’re Crafted From High-Tech Silicone

Today’s custom breast prostheses use innovative silicone technology to achieve the look, feel and soft pendulous movement of natural breast tissue. They take advantage of advanced silicones that perfectly mimic the texture and tactile sensation of a real breast – the materials even tend to weigh the same as breast tissue and gently conform to a woman’s body.

Custom prostheses manufacturers usually offer a variety of silicone gels, ranging from lightweight foam to dense viscous fill. And so your certified fitter should be able to help you determine which material composition best replaces your lost breast mass.

3. You’ll Need a Custom Prosthetic Bra Too

Along with your made-to-order breast form, you’ll be custom-fitted for a specialty mastectomy bra designed to hold your prosthesis firmly in place – during your prosthesis fitting, the fitting expert will assess your posture and remaining anatomy so as to design the ideal bra solution.

Custom bras feature inner pockets on the surgery side(s) with a reinforced outer fabric that won’t sag or stretch over time. This bra pocket essentially becomes the new “anchor point” for your breast form when your natural anatomy is missing.

They may also incorporate Lycra pockets, contouring panels, shoulder straps, adjusters and stabilizers to complement your new breast form.

Well-fitting prosthetic bras are essential for positioning your custom device and maintaining good alignment.

4. They’re Fitted by Trained Specialists

Visiting a trained prosthetic fitter who specializes in breast forms and mastectomy bras is strongly advised. These experts have advanced certification in post-mastectomy issues and how to achieve proper shape, balance and symmetry. They understand medical treatments for breast cancer which helps them identify and address related scar tissue, nerve damage, range of motion limitations or swelling you may have.

During your personal fitting consultation, your prosthetist will guide you to the right custom or off-the-shelf breast form solution based on your lifestyle needs, body type, remaining breast size and treatment side effects. With the help of a dedicated fitter, you should be able to easily and comfortably regain your confidence and have a better quality of life after breast surgery.

5. Insurance Often Covers Breast Prostheses

The good news is that both public and private health insurance plans typically cover external breast prostheses following mastectomy or lumpectomy. This includes Medicare and most major insurance carriers.

What this means is that both custom and standard breast forms are usually reimbursed, along with specialty mastectomy bras, up to policy limits. And so before going to a fitting, make sure that you consult your insurance provider to understand what’s included in your medical benefits.

However, you should note that most plans require a doctor’s prescription to verify your breast surgery as medically necessary to process claims. And that while out-of-pocket costs vary widely based on the type of device selected and your particular health plan provisions, many prosthetics patients see little or no upfront costs for their custom devices.

6. You Can Get Fitted Before Surgery

Seeing a prosthetist prior to your mastectomy or reconstruction is highly recommended – certified fitters carry a wide range of prosthesis shapes, sizes and materials you can try on to identify what offers that perfect look and feel for your frame and needs.

Getting fitted before surgery allows for ample time to fine-tune the design aspects of your impending custom prosthesis. You can also be measured for post-op recovery bras so that the garments are immediately available to support the remaining tissue or implants soon after your procedure. There’s also the fact that you’ll know exactly what to expect for managing post-surgical asymmetry or harsh side effects.

7. Careful Measurements Are Taken of Your Torso

To craft your custom breast prosthesis, precise torso measurements must be relayed to the manufacturing lab that builds each device by hand.

Your prosthetist will carefully gauge key reference points on your ribs, breastbone, shoulder slopes and existing breast mound if present. They may also take photos to supplement written data or a plaster cast – depending on the supplier’s unique construction process.

Advanced prosthetics labs use the latest 3D modeling, CNC milling and other cutting-edge technologies to mirror your actual tissue contours down to each subtle asymmetry or variance. And as a result, in such cases, every measurement and image captured goes directly into sculpting an incredible facsimile of your missing breast shape.

8. There Are Choices for Breast Symmetry

Women have options when it comes to managing asymmetry after breast removal, whether they are undergoing reconstruction or not. And while many patients wish to match the size and shape of their remaining natural breasts, for some, replicating smaller breasts leaves them feeling less feminine.

Therefore, during your prosthesis consultation, thoughtfully communicate your desired chest profile goals for symmetry, cleavage or proportionate downsizing. Your specialist will take this input and they will then show you realistic options for achieving either parity or adjusted proportions using both custom and standard breast forms.

Keep an open mind as you explore your options. This is important because trial fittings play a key role in determining the optimal size and hang that fits your frame.

9. Silicone Alternatives Exist Too

While high-grade silicone effectively replaces lost tissue bulk, some patients prefer lighter-weight non-silicone breast form materials. Some of the alternatives you can explore include:

• Fibers: Breast prostheses made of nylon fibers are ultra-breathable, flexible and quick-drying – ideal for active lifestyles. While their shapes tend to be more generic, the featherweight feel they provide often appeals to women who find heaviness bothersome.
• Foam: Lightweight foam options mimic average breast contours at a fraction of the weight. These are less expensive than silicone. Foam’s chief advantage is comfort, especially when worn during warmer weather. Their shapes tend to be less realistic than silicone, however.
• Cotton/Poly Fill: Absorbent, comfortable cotton and poly-fill fiberfill breast forms offer an affordable, temporary option when recovering from the initial surgery. They also easily fit into any pocket bra. However, they have generic shapes and their materials can bunch or flatten.

Mixing and matching different devices on surgery vs intact sides is also possible for the right individualized look.

With so many options available, you should lean on your prosthetist to educate you on the pros and cons of each breast form material available so you understand your choices better.

10. Most Women Require Two Sets of Devices

It’s typical for breast prosthesis patients to get fitted for two sets of devices: One everyday prosthesis plus a special-occasion prosthesis for those dress-to-impress moments. Having a second backup prosthesis also prevents interruptions in your lifestyle if repairs become necessary.

• Everyday Prosthesis: This is your workhorse breast form for daily wear. Often a lightweight silicone or alternative material that is tailored for comfort.
• Special Occasion Prosthesis: Reserved for evenings out, low-cut tops or fitted clothing where you want some extra cleavage or fullness. Typically made of thicker, more resilient silicone that holds a sturdy shape.

Getting two devices tailored for different functions simplifies getting ready each day. Just switch out as needed!

11. Proper Care Is Essential

Caring properly for your custom breast prostheses ensures years of reliable wear and minimizes potential damage. And so to get the most out of your prosthesis, always follow any special use and cleaning instructions from the manufacturer.

Here are some general care tips:

• Rinse lightweight breast forms with gentle soap and water after regular wear
• Allow silicone or fiberfill devices to fully air dry upside down overnight
• Deep-clean silicone prostheses periodically with rubbing alcohol
• Always store upright in included protective cases to prevent flattening
• Transport carefully when traveling to control folding or damaging
• Avoid leaving prostheses sitting in excessive summer heat inside hot vehicles

Well-maintained devices will provide you with at least 12 to 24 months of everyday use before you even have to consider replacing them. This period will be even longer if you opt to use alternating sets.

12. What If One Breast Is Reconstructed?

When single-sided breast reconstruction is performed using implants, or your own tissues called “flaps”, the reconstructed breast mound typically feels firmer and less mobile than your natural breast. This stiffness is simply due to a lack of underlying muscle plus internal scar tissue from surgical grafting.

Uneven softness between mixed reconstruction and natural tissue can feel frustrating when trying to balance a matching prosthetic form. And unfortunately, no external breast form will likely ever mimic the tightness of an implant. This sensory mismatch often requires adjusting expectations for symmetry goals.

In such a case, it is advisable to focus your prosthesis fitting efforts instead on visually aligning the size, shape and proportion between sides as best possible. Allow minor variance in pendant movement or compression since the mechanics differ from breast to breast.

Your prosthetist should be able to listen to what most bothers you post-reconstruction and then identify adjustable solutions that will help to minimize any noticeable imbalances.