Breast Lift: Stories

I'm 47 years young and lead an active lifestyle. My bra size is 32E. I've considered getting a lift for a few years and now I'm 6 sleeps away. My reasons? I'm investing in me. I'll feel better and look better. No justification required other than that me thinks.

I've talked with women who have experienced similar, met 2 plastic surgeons, asked as many questions as I can think of, I know the risks and now because of the beauty of the internet and the women who have shared their experiences so freely on this site, I'm prepared for the weeks to come.

So... I've done my homework and soul searching... It's been an interesting journey so far.

Only 3 sleeps to my surgery.

To be more clear about my surgery, I'm only having a lift (anchor incision) without augment. One of my boobs is bigger than the other as you can see from the photos and this will be rectified during surgery.

I picked up my post surgery bra today. Just wondering what others on here have used as a bra? Did you get a compression bra or just a sports bra. My surgeon said a sports bra is sufficient.

It's Boobey eve!

I had pre-op and surgery is scheduled for 2 pm tomorrow.

No food after midnight. I can have up to 2 cups of clear liquid after midnight but before 9:30 a.m. No food, no gum, no sucking on candy. I have to be at the Surgical Day Care Unit tomorrow by 11 am. No lotions, no makeup, no perfume, no contact lenses and no polish on my nails.

I have hypothyroidism (Hashimoto). I can take my synthoid, but no B12 or any kind or aspirin, advil as these thin the blood. You'da thunk B vitamins thin the blood.

They suggested I bring a paperback book to read, some loose fitting clothes, a top that either buttons or zips up the front. More than likely I'll be there for a total about 6 hours. Surgery will take about 1 hour, the remainder is prep work, meeting the doc in order for him to do some paint by numbers art on me, processing, surgery, recovery, assessing type of drugs required and release. They suggested not to be going up and down stairs too much for the first 24 hours.

I'm feeling pretty excited, I've read some stories here and can't wait to get er done. I'll post an update in the next few days.

When I got to the hospital at 11 am the sun was shinning, it was a beautiful day. When I arrived, paperwork was processed, I got all gussied up in a huge hospital gown and robe and given a bed in Surgical Day Care Unit (shipping section is what I called it, by noon. The garments were so big i looked like a roll of fabric :-) Everyone was friendly and helpful. I felt in good hands.

I was supposed to go up for surgery at 1:55 pm. I laid in bed reading and around 2:30 a nurse came around and said she'd find out what was up. At 3 they told me that things were 2 hours behind schedule and that it wasn't looking good. By then I had a huge caffeine withdrawal headache and had read about 120 pages of 50 shades of gray. I told the nurse not to worry, that I'd be going home with my new boobs.

At 3:30 she came back and said you're lucky, they're coming to get ya! The porteur wheeled me up and parked me in the hall outside of OR 13. My doc came out and said, boy are we lucky! He'd had 2 cancellations due to scheduling on Monday and he was patient about it, but he went to bat for me cause I'd taken a last minute spot he had and wasn't gonna let me down. Also, apparently I was a good camper in the daycare unit and they knew I wasn't gonna be a burden to the already full room of people that the staff had to take care of.

So me and my doc went into a room and we did some paint by numbers art, had a few laughs. As he was drawing he said you're gonna look great, you've got good looking breasts to start with, there is still good volume in them. I told him about the conversation I had with my husband, I'd said I was gonna tell the doc to work on me as if I was his best friend. My husband said naw... tell him to imagine he's working on his fantasy lover.

We talked about making em closer and size of the areolas. As a result, the girls will be closer and he was making the areolas proportinate to my boobs. And said based on the volume I have I would be a D cup. One thing I know about men is they understand cup size but not bra size which takes into consideration cage size. I have a size 32 in the cage so that means I'll still be wearing my current bras no problem. Yay!

After the artwork, he wheeled me out into the hall. I waited there a bit and had the feeling of wtf am I doing? RUN! That was my panic moment. Then his assistant doctor and technical/surgical assistant came to see me individually to introduce themselves and ask questions, then his assistant Colin came to give me some post-op instructions. He's really a sweetheart, he absolutely wanted to get my name right (I have a french name) so we through a french lesson too.

Around 4:30pm, i went into the operating room and then there was a flurry of activity, they put sensors on me for my heart, a gizmo on my finger for monitoring oxygen, a blood pressure wrap. The moose-juice guy (anesthetic) came in and introduced himself, asked questions and then got to work rigging me up for my trip to lala land. He asked me questions about sore muscles and what my activity level is. As I was telling them, I told them I ride a board and a bike. He rides a motorcycle too :-) When they told me that I was gonna start feeling whoozy I thanked them for being so kind and caring and wished them Merry Christmas! That's was the point of blink out.

At blink in, I was in recovery room with a nurse calling my name and asking me how i felt. I had an oxygen mask on and it took me a few seconds to realize where i was. I looked at her and said... WOW! It's over! We did it. The moose-juice guy was there too and when he knew i was ok, he touched my head and headed out. The nurse instructed me to breathe deeply into the oxygen mask. I dozed in and out some, asked questions about what time it was (it was 7:30 and i'd been there for an hour). Once I was out of the water, they taxied me down to Surgical Day Care Unit - receiving :-)

When I got there, my blood pressure was a bit low and they were monitoring that and I got COFFEE! And they made me toast and I also got glass of water. That was around 8:15. Then they got me up on my feet to see how I'd do, I passed the test. Around 9ish, they said I could start getting dressed to leave. That's when my friend Lynn came in. She said I looked pale and figured it was my blood pressure. I got dressed, that made me feel whoozy, they put me in a wheelchair and Lynn carted me down to her car. When I hit the outdoor air that's when all my whooziness went away. Exactly what I thought... I needed fresh air.

We drove home, went to the local drugstore for my pain meds and got home around 10:30pm. I was pretty groggy. I got my hubby to get me some liquids (water, cranberry juice, V8) and a bit of roasted chicken. The liquids is what my body needed for sure. They told me to eat light for the next 24 hours, but drink lots of liquids.

I slept well, woke up at 2:30 am to take a painkiller and advil. I'm to take advil every 4 hours for the next 4 days to reduce swelling, painkillers for the every 4 hours for the first 12 hours for sure and then as needed and get this, they want me to rest but move around as that will encourage healing. I can lift my arms no problem. I have a bandage completely covering the girls and I was warned... no peeking :-)

Today I feel great! I pretty much feel normal other than my chest feeling BIG! I think the swelling has already gone down. And I already can see more of my ribcage than I have in years.

Tuesday morning I see the doc and have the bandages removed, then i get to wear a sports bra and shower.

That's the story so far.

It's day 2 after surgery. I haven't had to take any painkillers since 2:30 am after my surgery - yesterday morning. All I've taken for the past 24 hours is Advil. I had a couple of sensations yesterday, which I'm pretty sure is my skin getting reacquainted. I had a couple of short naps and walked around the house to fetch stuff I needed. My big mistake was laying in bed too much instead of sitting in a chair cause my lower back is sore. I generally shift between my back and side to sleep. Today I'll stand and sit more. My friend Lynn is coming over and she's taking me out for coffee this afternoon.

Last night, I took advil at 10:30 pm and then went to sleep. I slept through the night like a baby and woke up at 6 am and took my dose of advil. I'm not in any pain, bandages are still there, it feels like I've got a diaper on my chest :-)

It's day 3 after surgery. Yesterday I went out for tea and to the grocery store with my husband. It sure was great to get out and breathe fresh air. I let my husband open doors for me and hooked my arm on his when walking outside cause we had a bit of snow and then freezing rain here in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. I'm not lifting anything heavy nor am I pulling on anything. Still haven't taken any more painkillers just Advil every 4 hours. I think I napped too much yesterday cause I was awake from 2:30 to 4ish this morning. I didn't spend as much time in bed which was much better for my back. I have an appointment tomorrow morning at 8:30 a.m. to remove the chest diaper... woohoo! Can't wait cause the tape is pulling on my skin. Today my mission is to take a sponge bath, organize some stuff for christmas and give myself a manicure for the holidays. I'll post some pictures once the bandages are off.

Day 4: Yesterday the bandages came off. At first I called them my diaper and then I switched to FrankenBustier (which is alot sexier). I now have Zena Warrior Princess boobs! Holy cow, those thing are swollen hard like armour! I tried swaying my shoulders from side to side. NOPE, nothing, nada. No movement! I stood there and looked at them, at first it was alot to assimilate. First off, they were kinda flat at the bottom and everything was really up there. They weren't quite pointing in the same direction either, sheesh I had this problem before the lift. They kinda looked square, yes square. I remembered all the pictures I'd seen on the internet, the stories I'd read and one woman on this site called her boobs "Frankentits" and I remembered that this is the worst part, things will get better everyday. And I started to giggle cause my profile tag song came to mind... UP, UP, UP, can only go up from here! So... I got busy caring and cleaning them up. On the bright side, they cleaned up really nicely and I love them.

Removing the sticky tape residue was challenging. I started with baby oil but that was making my skin react (I have sensitive skin) so probably the combination of the glue and the baby oil. I'd talked with my friend Lynn a few days before and she'd used Goo Gone. So... in desperation, I tried it and it worked like a charm. Apparently, WD 40 is another product that works. I made sure not to get any near the sutures and washed the area with a cloth. Then I had a shower, washed my hair, the bandages had been on for over 3 days so I let the new girls get some air while I dried and styled my hair and got dressed. My friend J, had told me she used to air the girls out for an hour a day to help dry the sutures.

I've got thin yellow liquid that seeps out but the doctor says it's normal body fluid cause he didn't use drains and it's gotta come out. I checked with a friend and she had the same. So after an hour, I put on a sports bra and some surgical pads to soak up my weeping boobs. Pain is minimal and managed with Advil. The doc says, I can start slacking off on the Advil and take it on as needed basis.

Nipples look good and they've got sensation.

Other than that I can lift, push/pull no more than 5 lbs. Use only dove soap. Wear my sports bra 24/7. Get lots of rest but make sure to move around too. My stitches come out on December 24th.

Today (day 5)... OMG, I've got 50 shades of bruising going on and I'm not ready to post pictures yet! Probably in a couple of days :-) Not sure why, it just is. Already there's alot less yellow liquid and the swelling is coming down and they're taking a rounder shape. I actually noticed a bit of jiggle to em. I went to the drugstore and got some scent free nursing pads (48 for $9) and pantyliners (48 for $5.). I stick a pantyliner on the bottom near the band and a nursing pad where it belongs to protect my bra, this is a much cheaper and easier solution that the surgical gauze pads (just yesterday I used $20 worth of gauze pads). Also, I find I can better gauge the amount of seepage. I still had some sticky tape residue from the bandage and cleaned that up with Tea Tree Oil, it worked even better than Goo Gone and smells delightful in comparison.

I put on a long sleeve t-shirt, it brought a smile to my face cause I have NO unmanageable bulges, just nicely shaped boobs. My bra fits snugger than when I tried it on pre-op and that's good cause it means once the swelling goes down I should be almost the same size I was before the lift. I don't have any "pull" in my straps either which is gonna be alot better for my shoulders. It's easy to sit up straight cause I'm not trying to offset the weight from my shoulders. Oh and I had to do this... I quickly tried on a spaghetti strap teddy I hadn't worn in years. Sweeeeeet!

Tomorrow I'm going to buy a couple more wireless bras.

Day 6: In a word... ITCHY. I'm not shouting, I just can't believe how itchy they are. I think I'm allergic to them :-) How long will this last?

Hi there,

It's been a busy few days getting ready for the holidays, spending time with friends and enjoying the treasures of the season.

As part of my anchor breast lift, my doctor did something called an "internal" bra procedure. He stitched the breast gland up higher to give better support and not just rely on my skin. The bruising for this was pretty spectacular to say the least. My boobs looked pretty square. My whole chest area was numb from under my armpits to a bit below the crease of my breasts.

My stitches and staples were removed yesterday morning and I'm VERY pleased with the results. I must admit I wasn't sure about having staples and there's lots of controversy about them but honestly it made recovery a breeze and my incisions have healed nicely. A friend had the same procedure and she assured me that the incisions fade to a nice fine line and the staple marks completely fade. Another friend of mine had a cancer removed from her forehead, staples were used, that was this summer and there are no visible scars. It's all in the timing of the removal, mine were removed 9 days later. I was reluctant to post pictures of the new girls at first... I didn't want anybody freakin out, I'd never seen human skin stapled and it was a bit of a shock for me and figured it would be the same for others.

When I saw my doctor on Monday (6 days after removing the bandages and 9 days post op), he was very pleased with the progression of my healing. He removed all staples and stitches. For the next couple of weeks, I'm to keep up the good work in taking care of myself. Eat healthy, drink water, rest and limit arm movement above my head. I also have to start giving the girls massages to get them to loosen up and take shape. He recommended I rub Bio Oil on the incisions. Right now the staples at the bottom have been replaced with tape which will come off naturally in time. I'm to continue wearing my sports bra, but he suggested in a few days I start weaning myself off it at night.

Did the staples hurt? No.
Was it weird to touch them? Yes. Pretty much the same as touching stitches.
Did it hurt when he removed them? No and no drugs or freezing required. I felt a bit of tugging, which is a good thing cause it means i've got sensation there.

In addition to having a nice new rack, my posture is so-o-o much better. Like others on this site, I also wonder why I didn't do this sooner. I thought I would seriously be out of commision and in extreme pain for several weeks. The worst was the first 12 hours and even that was pretty easy cause I slept and took the drugs. But to be honest, it's given me an opportunity to get some good rest and relaxation. My advice is enjoy the journey, think positive, find a Doctor you trust, choose a time of year you know will be best for being away from work and that you have the support you need. And most important, do it for yourself.

Merry Christmas everyone! For those who are recovering, happy healing too. For those who are waiting for their day, all my best.

For those of you who have already had surgery, you'll understand when I say... Last night, I had the luxury of sleeping on my side :-) For the past several days I've slept solely on my back. Additionally, the heavy tight feeling is being replaced by a feeling of normalcy and comfort. The massaging helps alot. I massage the muscles from my armpits area right down to a bit under my crease. At the moment, I have to be careful of the bottom incision as it still has those strips of tape on them, but I can feel more and more sensation everyday.

Two weeks today I underwent a transformation that was a thought short of a year ago. I can't completely put into written word how happy I am that I did this. One of the issues that came up was outsiders giving me input into my decision. There are people who think that this type of thing is frivolous, unnecessary and even dangerous. Frivolous... what price can a woman put on her self-confidence and physical health? Unnecessary... we buy items everyday that fall into this category. Ask them how many pairs of shoes they have in their closet? And when was the last time they wore em all ;-) Not that I have issues with owning too many shoes. Dangerous... there are dangers in everything we do. I'm sure the people who went to work on 9/11 didn't know how dangerous going to work would be. What I'm saying is, I listened to my intuition about what was right for me and I have noooooooo regrets. For instance, today a friend and I went out, we stopped for a starbucks, the only seats available were a couple of stools. Normally, I would avoid that type of situation as it wouldn't be comfortable. As we sat there discussing the world problems for over an hour, I realized I no problem keeping good posture and felt amazingly comfortable. Little things like this make me realize how happy I am with my decision.

3 weeks post op today for me. Had a bit of a snag on the 29th and had to visit the PS. I noticed a slight odour and that my incisions were getting red. I mean there was some redness before, but the redness was getting wider. No pain, no fever. Seems I caught it very early. Liquids were building up in the tapes that were on the incision underneath my breast. I live in the country on well water and it may be due to the minerals in the water or even some bacteria. So... that set me back in my recovery :-( I'm seeing the PS again on the 8th for a follow up. Steps I took was to avoid getting em wet, I gently sponge wash them with sterile water and soap, take tubs to wash the rest of me and get someone to help me wash my hair. Before putting my bra on I towel and blow dry em on cool setting with the blow dryer :-) And at night I go braless with just a white cotton t-shirt, no gauze. I talked with a naturopath and she recommended Vitamin C, Ginger tea and Bio-K to help boost my immune system. All this and alot of patience, good friends to help me through it and I'm happy to say I'm back on track.

As for sensation, they're still swollen but I have good sensations on the sides, top and both nipples. Getting a chill is hilarious! Underneath is still numb.

I'm starting to take walks cause that will increase the oxygen in my body, I'm eating healthy, getting my 8 hours of zzz's and keeping alcohol to a minimum. My issue is keeping my mind busy cause I don't watch TV. There hasn't been much visual change to the girls in the past week so I'll post pictures in a couple of days. I'll also post a picture of what they looked like with the plumbing backed up.

Am I still happy I did this? Oh ya baby! No doubt about it.

It was 4 weeks on Friday, Jan 11th for me. I saw my PS on Tuesday, Jan 8th. I'm allowed to do some cardio like walking, eliptical but nothing that will make the girls bounce. I can also lift some light weights but no lifting over my shoulders. I put on a good sports bra and I don't have any pain whatsoever. The set back I had with my well water has been a pain but I'm to use Chlorhexidine solution 1-2% to clean it and put some Polysporing ointment and then I put on a bandage. I can sleep on my side as long as I don't feel pain and I'm not. I'm a back to side sleeper anyway and tend to alternate. I'm pleased to say the girls are changing everyday. Definitely a work in progress :-) They're looking great all dressed up and my posture is so much better.

5 weeks yesterday. The set back on my left girl is coming along good. I've learned that you put Polysporin cream on a wet wound to help dry it and ointment on a dry wound. Sheesh! The cream has really been helping. I've been sleeping on my side off and on and it's comfortable. The funny thing is at night when shifting to my side, I want to scoop up what would have been my old boob with my arm so I don't squish it under me, I wake cause I can't find it. It makes me smile... how it's funny the habits we form and we don't even realize. I've been doing some cardio that doesn't involve impact... fast walking, elliptical and I've started lifting weight below my shoulders. When I work out I put on saddle up the girls with my heavy duty sports bra. I see my PS for a regular checkup on Tuesday.

All around I feel awesome. Have a great week everyone.

5 weeks post-op on Friday. I saw my Plastic Surgeon on Tuesday and I no longer have any restrictions. Oh, just one actually, I still have a couple of scabs and he suggests no bathing until they are sealed. I've resumed my weight lifting and cardio. I'm looking forward to getting back to snowboarding and being on the slopes and am planning on taking a day off right after the next dumping of snow we get :-) Additionally, when I saw the PS he took out a few stitches around my areola that my body was trying to reject and since then things are looking sooooooo much better. I love my new girls!

One thing I read alot on this site was some were experiencing discomfort when trying to sleep on their side. My cure for that was I found a pillow that I could comfortably hug while I was sleeping on my side (a stuffed bear would work too). The pillow kept my boobs from pulling on the incisions and I slept like a baby. I didn't start doing this until I was at 3 weeks post op. Now, I can sleep on my side and hardly need the pillow. I think it depends on my activities during the day.

For me so far, life has returned pretty much to normal. Now that I don't have to worry about the infection and all the maintenance that went with that, I sometimes forget I had a lift. In reality, it's gonna take 6 months or so for the girls to be at their best so I'm enjoying em as they progress. Honestly, it's a breeze cause my posture has improved with or without a bra. I'd do this again in a heart beat cause of the benefits this has brought to my life.

I'll post new pictures next week. By then my final scabs should be cleared up and they should be looking sweeeeeet!

Hi there,

Just a quick post. I've been busy with work and family but I'm just loving my boobs! It seems like the 6 week mark is a milestone for sure. The fun part is the past week or so, they actually feel like they're part of my body. I'm able to sleep, lift weights and do my cardio. My only restriction is still no bathing. Sheesh... even crossing my arms feels right. Look wise they still have some cookin to do cause they're still square, but I enjoy seeing them change everyday. And they are lookin great all dressed up!

Oh ya... I forgot to mention the very important part. Most of my sensation is back, this week alot of sensation came back underneath where the incisions are. And they jiggle! I've been usign Bio-Oil twice a day.

The part that is still numb is the area in the center of my boobs (under the areola area). But all around is full of sensation.

Just celebrated my 10th week. I'd say I gained alot of sensation back in the past couple of weeks. I saw my PS on Tuesday, the only restriction I have is no sun on them as the sun will turn the scars brown. And... I was given the ok to wear my underwire bras. The first day I did, I took a wireless bra with me, just in case it felt weird or I experienced pain. I had no issues. I'm to continue with the Bio Oil and I'll see the PS in two months. My life has pretty much returned to normal. I don't think of them much as I go about my day cause they feel like they're part of me now.

OMG yesterday, I spent some time trying on my old bras to see if they fit. They all do. But what was remarkable was the fact that I had to loosen all the shoulder straps! I tried on a couple of my bkini tops too. What a difference to go about life and not have straps digging into my shoulders, neck and ribs. It's such a liberating feeling and it brought tears to my eyes I tell ya.

Advice I would give to anyone considering this... the first six weeks are crucial, take it easy, don't push it. Just enjoy the journey.

Additionally, when I saw my PS there were so many emergencies that I ended waiting 3 hours. In the waiting room, several women started talking about their experiences, asking each other questions, it sure made the time past fast. But what was a tribute to the doc was... everyone was happy with their results and the wait didn't bother them.