Petite 38 Yr Old, Breast Augmentation/Revision. Dallas, TX

I'm 10 days post op now. I went in for my first follow up the day after I made my first post on this site. I was very honest with my surgeon about my concerns and he did such a great job calming me down. He spoke to me in facts, very logically which helped balance out my emotional state. He said I was just still way too swollen to make any kind of decision at this point. I agreed (begrudgingly) to wait a full month for my next consultation and stop obsessing about things right now. I still have concerns but mainly about the far future state of my breasts. Like will I have any breast tissue left if the implants need to be removed one day. I can already feel some rippling on one side but I think that's because it is where I had no breast tissue coverage. Yikes...I feel like I just keep making things worse. I will try to be patient, I will try, I will try!

I have been visiting this site for a long time now, just never posted. I thought maybe my experience would help someone else down the line. I have a very small frame, 100lbs at 5'4". I never had boobs growing up - always an A or very small B (padded bras of course). When I was 27, I had my first breast augmentation. Round saline implants at about 325-350cc. Drastic change - I ended up wearing a 30D bra. Not easy to find and never very sexy for sure. I could never find cute bras that fit the super roundness of the implant.

Fast forward 10 years and the size and weight basically had me in a "bottoming-out" situation...tons of stretched skin from the nipple to the base of my breast. Went to several surgeons for opinions - my thoughts were to either go with smaller implant or explant altogether. Surprisingly many said to just leave them alone until one develops a leak. Not a good answer for someone who is tired of the weight and size. I found a female surgeon who said she could drain them at her office since they were just saline. Then I could decide if I wanted new implants or just wanted the capsules taken out. For anyone that has had their saline implants drained, it is super shocking. I freaked out totally. I had these huge round rings that took up my entire chest and then some floppy booby skin. Of course I said - new implants and how soon can you do it! So I picked out the smallest size she offered 234 silicone. The surgery went well, but the boobs were still huge. I felt like nothing had changed. I called her back within the week and said please take them out. She was very, very nice and did the explant within the month.

I had tiny A cup boobs again, which was fine until the healing process was complete and lefty had a very strange shape. Nothing noticeable in clothes but noticeable in the mirror. And when I laid down flat, I could feel empty space around my breast bone where the breast tissue or muscle had been depleted from years of mega boobs. So another round of research and doctor consultations. I stumbled upon the best doctor here on RealSelf. I submitted a question and he answered. I read his reviews, researched him more on the web and set my consultation. I told him my full (and very embarrassing) story. We discussed how best to fix my concerns. The easiest thing to do was go in with a shaped "gummy bear" implant, but I wanted very small. The surgeon chose a Sientra shaped 170 low projection implant. I really struggled with the decision to try this again. I told myself I would try one more time and if it didn't work, never again. So, last Friday I went in for the procedure. The staff, surgical center and surgeon were fantastic. Truly cannot say enough good things about them. BUT....I'm not happy. It's not that they look bad - they just still look huge to me. And they feel so strange. I had gotten use to just being my little 'ole self again. Working out, wearing little bras and shirts. I'm afraid I want them out....again. It's like I have little aliens in my body. They are pretty but don't belong to me. I'm afraid my surgeon will kill me or at least be disappointed in me. I will always want larger breasts - maybe because from a young age it's made to seem like large breasts are more attractive or more feminine. I just don't feel like I want to go another 10 years with implants - or 1 month at this point.

Would love to hear from others that have had a similar experience and would be happy to answer any questions. One thing I can tell you for sure is that you are the only one that can decide if it feels right for your body. Get advice, do research, but search your heart and soul.