Breast Augmentation: Stories

I had breast augmentation done in 1998. At the time there was only one plastic surgeon in Grand Junction, CO to consider so I used him. It was a big mistake.

First of all, I was in surgery for almost 5 hours. I didn't know that that was NOT normal at all. It should be more like an hour. I'm not sure what happened, my mom was worried when I finally came out to go home.

The pain was AWFUL, I remember at the time thinking nothing was worth the pain I felt. I ended up having to sleep in an almost upright position for over 1 YEAR to keep pain minimal. I continued to have sharp shooting pains in my chest and to this day I still have lost most of the feeling in my nipples and some of the surrounding area.

My left breast had a strange lump underneath my armpit area after surgery. When I talked to my doctor about the concerns of the lump he blew it off and said it was swelling and would go away. Even 6 months after he kept insisting it was nothing.

Approx 18 months after surgery that breast implant ruptured. It turns out he put it in with a fold in the implant which caused a week spot (the bump I was referring to) and it finally ruptured.

I had the repair done by a different Dr. and he is fabulous. I can't say enough good things about him. I had them both redone at the time to ensure they matched and I was worried about the work done before. They were so much more natural looking. I was very able to move around, shower, etc with no pain; just a little sore the next day. A huge difference from my horrible experience before. He also removed some scar tissue that had somehow built up around my implants that were giving my breasts a hard feel to them. Now my new implants still look and feel great after all these years. I never had any problems with lumps or scar tissue. The second time was definitely worth it and I'm very happy. I just wish I would have gone to the right doctor first.

I can't stress enough to do your homework on doctors. My first doctor did not care about me once the procedure was done and I cringe to think what really happened during my first procedure that it lasted so long and caused pain for over a year! Don't just go by price or closest location!