Colleen's Breast Augmentation Story

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I was always a B cup. At age 31, my breasts seemed to deflate. I have never given birth, nor lost a lot of weight. There was no explanation. My bras seemed too big. I couldn't find any new bras to fit me. I lost my confidence and I did not feel pretty. My wonderful husband told me it was okay to have the surgery, so I researched the local doctors. I went to a consultation, and chose my doctor. I had seen photos of his work, and I was confident. We had a few planning sessions. We chose Mentor, smooth, round, under the muscle, crease incision. I had tried on a D cup bra, and I had filled it with 375 ml's of oatmeal, so we decided upon 375 cc's, unless they did not fit. Doctor Blomain told me he would do his best to get me to a "D" cup.

I also planned with Dr. to have a lower eyelid blepharoplasty on the same day.

On the morning of my surgeries, I was excited. I kissed my Ricky goodbye, and went in to prep for surgery. I got my first ever IV. That hurt! I guess it is different for everyone, but mine hurt bad. Doctor Blomain came in and talked to me, then I was given two warm blankets and wheeled into the OR. My next memory is waking up to hear my Doc tell me I got my wish – I now had "D" cups. I thanked the doc, but I was extremely nauseated, and sick for the next twenty hours. I couldn't even keep water down. I had been under anesthesia for 5 1/2 hours to do both surgeries. I would rather have pain than nausea, any day.

That night the doctor wanted me to have an intramuscular shot of morphine, but I fought it because I thought it would make me sicker. I finally gave in, and took the shot. It relaxed my stomach muscles and I felt better.

The next morning, I was able to keep water down, and crackers. Then I had oatmeal. I started to feel better. At 9 a.m. they removed the catheter that had been inserted when I was under anesthesia. Removal did not hurt.

My eyes looked awful, but they never hurt.

My breasts were sore, but the staff had ice at all times. I was given Jackson-Pratt drains. Most plastic surgeons do not use them, but my plastic surgeon does. The drains stayed in for 8 and 11 days. Every 8 hours you measure out the fluid and record it. Each breast drained over 1 1/4 cups before they were removed. My plastic surgeon believes the draining helps prevent capsular contracture. I also had to wear surgical bras for six weeks, 24 hours a day. I took my pain meds and antibiotics and tried to keep my normal routine.

At first it was more comfortable to sleep with 3 pillows propping me up, and ice packs on my breasts. Eventually, as time went on, I used less pillows.

When I got out of bed and became active, I felt better. If I stayed in bed or laid around, I felt worse.

To drive a car, turning around to back up was painful.

On a bad day, the worst I felt was sore, achy, and tired.

After two weeks I felt better. At 17 days, my stitches were removed. At six weeks I went bra shopping. That was exciting. Some of the best bras I bought came from Target and cost under $12.

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before & 12 wks post-op 12 weeks post-op 7 mo post-op 7 mo post-op

I am very happy with my new breasts. My husband is thrilled. This was my money well spent. I feel pretty and have my confidence back.

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1 Year post-op Update
Well, Ladies, it just keeps getting better. At 3 months post op, everything seemed to get better. I was dropped and fluffed, and all the tingling went away. I am thrilled with this surgery. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

BreastImplants4You was established in 2002 in order to provide a comprehensive overview of all information related to breast augmentation surgery, including details about breast augmentation cost and a gallery for breast augmentation before and after photos.