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POSTED UNDER Breast Lift REVIEWS

Breast Lift to Correct Not-so Sagging Breasts - Stafford, TX

Name: Breast Lift to Correct Not-so Sagging Breasts - Stafford, TX
Item: Gary M. Horndeski, MD
Rating: 5
Author: 6729

ORIGINAL POST

As you will see from my photos, I had slight...

6729January 27, 2013

WORTH IT$9,000

As you will see from my photos, I had slight sagging of my breasts, and I felt they were a tad too big. So I've been researching breast reduction/lift but was terrified of the vertical scar. I learned of Dr. Horndeski's technique that achieves a lift without scars and thought it was perfect for me. Hopefully my "boob greed" will not result in the mangling of my boobs! LOL . So I traveled to TX to do the pre-op and the doctor discouraged me from getting a reduction. So we agree that he will lipo the breast that is slightly bigger- the right one and some liposuction on my arms also.

Day of Surgery:
Surgery went without complications and since I am traveling by myself, I had to get someone to take care of my afterwards. One of the ladies from the office took me from the surgery facility to the hotel, where the caregiver (Shelly? sp) was already waiting for me. I must say that both were outstanding in the immediate after care I received, I don't think that I could have done it without them.

Day 1 post op:
I'm staying at the Staybridge, which offers special rates for Dr. Horndeski patients. It is a beautiful hotel, beat all my expectations. The linens are 100% cotton, room super clean, etc. They also offer a shuttle to the doctor's office. So the big reveal occurs and my boobs look HUGE. But it's probably because they swollen, I'm told. I forgot to bring my bras, so the PA was kind enough to bring me to the hotel and fit me in the bra she recommended (from the ones I had).

Later I look at my breasts again, and I see things that I don't like at all. The breast that was liposuctioned has a dent making the side of the breast look like the outline of an 8. The area of the areola where the stitches are is totally indented.

Day 2 post op.
I decide to email photos to the PA about the issues I am seeing and she replied that "you will see subtle changes over time, just continue wearing the bra". I was hoping they would say "yes, this will go away, it takes approximately XYZ time" or some other explanation of why my results are different from everyone else I've seen.

Day 3 post op.
I called the PA to see if I can schedule seeing the doctor before I leave town today (Sunday), since he had mentioned that we could possibly arrange this. She calls me back and I explain again that the area around the areola is totally indented, and that the right side of my breast is flat with an odd shape. She replies the same thing, that I will "see small changes over time". Which is NOT reassuring at all. What I wanted to hear is "yes, this will go away in approximately so-and-so months". Or "we can correct it if it stays like that" Right at this moment I feel this was possibly the biggest mistake.

She will send me the post-op pictures, if they look good in those then these issues may be due to the swelling. Right now my boobs look deformed :(

6729's provider

Gary M. Horndeski, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

4.6 | 319 Reviews

PROFILE

6729 rating for Dr. Horndeski:

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Answered my questions

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Replies (0)

UPDATED FROM 6729

7 days post

Day 3 post op (continued): The doctor called me...

6729January 28, 2013

Day 3 post op (continued):
The doctor called me just before I left for the airport and we discussed my concerns. He said that with the swelling the shape is distorted but that the indentation around the areola should event out with time. So I need to be patient!

Day 4 Post op:
I am not using more pain relievers because in all honesty the Vicodin and Flexeril were not making a dent on the pain but made me feel groggy. Pain is not too bad at this point.

Replies (11)

Angie_M

January 29, 2013

Thanks for sharing your experience so far on RealSelf. I wish you'd been able to see your surgeon before leaving town, but I'm glad you were able to talk to him at least. Did he alleviate your anxiety about your breast at all?

I hope you'll keep us posted. You have really nice breasts and I'm jealous. A natural beauty!

Brown Eyed Gurl

January 29, 2013

6729...considering your photo is 3 days post surgery I think your breasts look AWESOME! you have great roundness! I noticed in your blog tho it seems you are concerned with not getting an exact time frame on healing. I am sure with everyone being different it is difficult to pin point an exact time frame. I would think it would be impossible to say "at day 3 you will have this, at day 6 you will see this...". If they did give that kind of time frame and it did not happen then THAT would upset the patient as well. I know I healed differently than most and faster on my tummy tuck than most so I think everyone heals differently. But at this day 3 photo....YOU LOOK AWESOME! i wish you lots of luck and a speedy recovery. I be you will feel it was the right thing in the long run! Keep us posted! B.E.G.

6729

February 1, 2013

I was not looking for a precise prediction but a ball park time frame, because I need to know at some point when I need to start considering a revision. Of the other 2 lipos I've had before, both have left me with a pretty nice souveneir in the form of a dent, and both times I saw this dent immediately after the procedure. But with it being in the same breast that was liposuctioned I am hoping that it is just bumpy swelling!

LifterMom

January 29, 2013

I am following you with a great deal of interest, I'm in the exact same boat and considering going to Dr. Horndeski, please please update us on your progress. Thank you so much. I will check back soon.

6729

February 1, 2013

I will!

RSMember1715

February 5, 2013

Hi LifterMom, Have you been to any consultations with surrounding doctors or were there any other Dr.'s you were/are looking into besides Horndeski?

LifterMom

November 24, 2013

Hi Persephone3b...my close friend is a highly-rated oncologist in the SF Bay Area...she looks at boobs all day every day. I asked for her recommendation, and she said Dr. Karen Horton in SF consistently does great aesthetic work. So I'm scheduled with her in February. The reason I was looking at Horndeski was because of his "engineering" of the breast through the nipple...I didn't want scarring. I even spoke with him on the phone...the thing is, there's probably a reason beyond "laziness" or "repetitiveness" that causes most other doctors to not do the surgery his way. In general, I always become very suspect when I hear that someone claims to have some proprietary technique that is better than anyone else in the world...it seems like a silly claim to make, surgeons are not a dumb bunch, and they are the most competitive people ever, always looking for the next greatest thing. Horndeski seemed too good to be true, and I'm glad I stayed on this forum, because the degree of dissatisfaction I hear seems to be high. In speaking with Dr. Horton, I understand that breast augmentation (lift) is a very complicated procedure, and it takes longer and is harder to do and harder to recover from than just an implant. It is easier to slip an implant into someone than to engineer and lift the entire thing. Her procedure does have a scar from the nipple down, but she doesn't do a full anchor along the bottom, she wants it not to show in a small bikini top. She's also very conservative...because I'm not dying to get bigger, she told me to just go with a lift, and come back later if I really want a bigger cup size...it wouldn't be hard to go in through the same (lower) scar and slip in 50 cc's for that upper pole roundness that gives that fake boob look. My lifted breasts will still have the flat-ish tops of a natural breast, and I will still age naturally, just from a higher point. I like how conservative she is...and the cost, all in, here in SF, without having to travel all the way to Texas, is $8k including the anesthesia at the great hospital where I had my babies. Also, they use a laser afterwards (I'm sure there will be a cost for that) to minimize the look of the scar. My conclusion after a tummy tuck and some botoxing is that there is always a price to pay for these things. You always get a little messed up or a little weird when you mess with nature, you just have to try to minimize it and to understand that nothing is perfect, there's always a tradeoff. For me, this tradeoff is going to be a scar. I'm going to try to avoid the implant though, it is a foreign object in the body that requires another surgery at some point, and because I understand this concept that nothing is free, I'm going to try not to have too much boob greed and have to pay for it some other way. Please let me know if my comments helped.

PB in Toronto

January 30, 2013

Ditto for me. Very interested in seeing how you progress and how satisfied you feel with your new breasts after you heal. I see that you paid $9,000, could you please tell me what that included?. If the hotel was extra, how long did you have to stay and how much more it added to the final amount?. Thank you and I hope you have a speedy recovery.

6729

February 1, 2013

Hi PB- it included the mini UBL procedure and some liposuction in my upper arms and one breast. The bloodwork and anesthesia was also included in the price. I stayed 5 nights and it was $99 per night plus taxes.

PB in Toronto

February 1, 2013

Thank you for getting back to me so quickly. Did the doctor say how long before the swelling subsides to the point where you start seeing the final result?. How long before you can start exercising?. How much did he raise the nipples?. Did he also "strengthen" the breast on the inside somehow?. Sorry for all the questions, but when I saw your photos, I saw myself, same shape of breasts, same colour of skin, same wish list. Although I am not opposed to the full UBL, I'd prefer to get the mini. It seems to be so much less scarring. On the other hand, I have dense breast tissue (they feel heavy) and if the mini is not like a reinforced version of the full UBL, I don't want to take the chance of having my boobs go South in a matter of a few years. Please keep us posted. Feel better soon. Thank you again!

6729

February 2, 2013

They said that I can start exercising after a month, although Spinning would be OK as soon as I am up to it (not there yet, LOL). The mini UBL DOES have the same support system and the regular UBL but can be done only in smalled breasts. I discussed that at lenght with the doctor because I had the same concern as you. They say that healing takes up to a year, and the doctor said that if I still have pleating at the 3 month mark I can get a revision, so I assume that at that point you are at like 90% final shape, but they never explained that too clearly.

UPDATED FROM 6729

11 days post

Day 8 post op: There is not much to update, I...

6729February 1, 2013

Day 8 post op:

There is not much to update, I will post more photos at the 2 week mark when I think the bruises from the lipo will be a lot better and the swelling on my right breast has subsided more ( and it is making a nice progress). Gosh the lipo on the breast is kinda painful. Not sure if I notice it more because the side that was not lipoed is virtually pain free. Before the surgery I had a mammogram to get a baseline and yesterday they called be to try to schedule another appointment because my my tissue is extremely dense and they need to take more shots. I told them that I wouldn't be able to until a few months because I just had a lift. I wonder if the doctor was able to lipo any fat at all now that I realize my tissue is dense.

So today I wore a tight turtleneck sweater that I sometimes felt uncomfortable wearing to work because my boobs looked big and it looks so much better now. Although my breasts are the same size (probably slightly bigger because the swelling) I think it is the SIDES that make a difference. They don't project to the sides as before and it makes my rack look so much better hehe. Hopefully I will look good undressed at some point as well!

Replies (8)

ReNew28

February 4, 2013

Hey 6729, I just saw your pictures. They look good... just be patient mine have changed so much in the last 6 months and after the revision they are looking better.The shape is good and I am happy. Once the swelling goes down they wont be as big. Ill post up new pictures soon.

6729

February 5, 2013

Thanks for the info ReNew. When do you think most of the swelling went down in your case? and how long before you could see close to the final shape?

ReNew28

February 5, 2013

No problem, Hmm I wanna say the swelling took about 2 months. The shape took about 3months, but since I got the revision and he lifted them a little higher the shape looks even better.

GoBigRedhead

February 5, 2013

Ok so how long did you have the drains in? I wonder if we where both at staybridge the same time?

6729

February 11, 2013

I never had drains because I had the mini UBL. I was there from 1/24 to 1/29, where you there?

bootiebeauty78

February 8, 2013

You look great. I agree the pre & post op instructions leave much to be desired but the procedure itself is great. Happy healing to you :-)

6729

February 11, 2013

Thanks bootie! :)

GoBigRedhead

February 10, 2013

I know exactly what you mean about the lumpy bumpies after lipo. I had lipo on my tummy and that happened in one space, but Dr. Nathan Long fixed that issue promptly ( he was the original PS who did the procedure). Time frame is very important to all of us because we want to know what is normal or significantly different. Pleating is not something that any of us want because it is not cosmetically appealing and plan and simple we don't want it. I just noticed today after my shower that I also have some pleating so I will take a few snap shots of and post them now and if they correct within the suggest 3 month period then the photos will show the evidence. Positive expectations is what I have at this time. However my mind takes the visual images and tries to process how will my skin alter these pleats. Time will tell.

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