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As of this review, I am just over 6 weeks post-op....
As of this review, I am just over 6 weeks post-op. My general stats are that I’m 34, Caucasian, 5’4”, 125 lbs, generally pear-shaped, somewhat active (with a sedentary profession), and no children (nor any plans for children). I went with the Natrelle 410 (that’s the model, not the size) silicone, shaped, textured implants under the muscle at the DuPage Medical Group Surgical Center with a pain pump & was back to work within a week (including a weekend), but I wish I’d have taken a week off. Dr. Sigalove and his nurse, Lori have been fantastic & if I were to have anything else done, this is where I’ll go. I've listed all of my recommendations at the bottom of this novella, if you’d like to just jump right to the point.
Motivation:
When I was about 8, my breasts started to come in - well, 1 of them anyway. About a year later, the other made an appearance & ever since they've both been on their independent journeys towards dissimilarity. My left was OK; fairly perky, somewhat full - a standard and acceptable B. The right one was the rebel; it refused to be perky under any circumstances and refused to be anything other than an A, and a flaccid A at that. This made bra buying loads of fun: if the left breast was appropriately situated, the right one just kind of flopped around inside its cup. If the right one was good, the left one was spilling out. I would buy bras and bathing suits with the removable pads & take the one from the left & put it in the right at a half-assed attempt towards balance. I'd always considered an augmentation, but not seriously enough to save the money. Then over the last few years, I noticed that they seemed to be losing what “fullness” they had. WHAT?! I haven't had children! How is this happening?!? So needless to say, the disappointment with my breasts was at its zenith. Without going into too much detail involving my husband tolerating years of complaining, we set a financial goal & a consultation with Dr. Steven Sigalove at DuPage Medical Group in Warrenville, IL.
Consult:
Dr. Sigalove was recommended to me by a co-worker. I did some research & went to the consult with my husband and a list of things to ask. During the consult, Dr. Sigalove answered almost every question that I had before I even asked it. I was pretty nervous & felt a little awkward when he examined what I liked to call "the nonsense under my shirt," but once the examination was underway, I completely forgot I was sitting there with my mismatched boobs laying listlessly on my chest. He asked me what I hoped to achieve, explained the options (saline v. silicone, round v. shaped), took measurements, and explained how he thought he could correct the asymmetry. He said it could be corrected by using 2 different sizes of implants but that the tissue that was already there would keep them from looking identical without additional procedures (i.e. mastopexy). He was confident it could be corrected with just the augmentation and if I was still dissatisfied, I could do the mastopexy later in the office. I agreed to this plan. After considering all of this in addition to the types of implants and locations, we decided to go with the Natrelle 410 (that’s the model, not the size) silicone, shaped, textured implants under the muscle at the DuPage Medical Group Surgical Center with a pain pump. Yes, the implants are pricey. Yes, I HIGHLY recommend them. Yes the pain pump is extra. Yes, I HIGHLY recommend it. “But, don’t they give you pain meds?” you ask – we’ll get to that post-op.
Pre-op:
At the pre-op, the week before the surgery, with Dr. Sigalove’s nurse, Lori (who is WONDERFUL, by the way), I “tried on” a couple of implants to decide the size that I wanted. At first I was satisfied with the first set, but Lori insisted I try another, which at the time I thought “there’s no way I need them any bigger than this.” But, I’m so glad I did. In fact, I went through 3 different sets before I was like “No way, that’s too big.” Each time Lori suggested I try a size up, I thought “Really?” but, in hindsight I realize that almost anything would have made me happy, since what I was starting out with wasn’t much at all. When I was wearing the size I wanted to achieve, Dr. Sigalove determined what that would translate to with the implants.
Day of Surgery:
My surgery was on a Friday. The surgical center called me the night before to tell me my surgery would be at 2:30 the next day and to not eat or drink anything after midnight – needless to say, I was a bit disappointed: I get hangry. The DMG surgical center is very nice & their staff is very nice & accommodating (warm blankets, cozy gowns, TV in the pre-op room) – which is good because I hadn’t had any food or caffeine since 9 o’clock the day before. Just before the procedure Dr. Sigalove came in, we went over the procedure, he made sure I was still down for it, he did some markings and away he went. Please don’t mistake this for “The doctor rushed me through the pre-surgery conversation.” It’s more like, “Dr. Sigalove was so in the zone, we had this conversation & he covered everything with surgical precision.” Pun intended. Then the anesthesiologist came in (nope, don’t remember his name), we went over my allergies (certain antibiotics and narcotics make me barf) and he was off. Not too much longer after that, I was wheeled into the surgical suite where my identity and procedure were confirmed & I slipped unremarkably out of consciousness.
Post Op:
The next thing I knew, I was coming to (apparently with tears streaming down my face) & a nurse was injecting Dilaudid into my tush. I don’t remember the crying, but I wasn’t exactly lucid. Here’s where things got less than pleasant. Whether it’s how I would normally react to general anesthesia (see aforementioned allergies) anyway or if it was to the Dilaudid specifically, I only really remember being VERY nauseous – to the point of throwing up before even getting dressed.
…After having had surgery on my chest…
“Ouch!!!!” is right.
I proceeded to throw up nothing (remember, no food since yesterday) for the next 24 hours. Another fun feature of my physiology appears to be that anti-nausea medication (good ole Zofran) does not work for me. So, I threw that up, too. At this point, I have to tell you, THANK GOD I didn’t try to save a couple hundred dollars and forego the pain pump, because I couldn’t get any pain medication down either. I ended up going to the ER- evidently I faint when dehydrated and that worries spouses. Unfortunately, that was just a very expensive means of rehydrating. While there, they gave me Zofran in my IV, which again did nothing, so they eventually gave me Phenergan which worked along with the added benefit of knocking me out for the next 6 hours. If you run the risk of being a puker, try to get your hands on some of this.
Once all of the puking and nausea was over, it was really just a matter of trying to do things without using my chest muscles and being chill for a couple of days. My husband was an absolute champ at this with the exception of anything that had to do with my hair. I should have had someone French braid it or some variation thereof. Also, I’m quite oily, so going more than the first day without a shower was nothing short of disgusting, so I wish we’d gone over my hygiene preferences. We don’t have a recliner & what we rigged up on the couch was less than ideal, but buying a recliner just for a boob job seemed silly – until I needed that recliner. My point is: a recliner is almost your best friend in the world of BA recovery.
Speaking of post-BA best friends: the pain pump. This device is a little strange. It’s a ball in a bag that is slung over your shoulders, it hangs about at your waist & there are 2 long tubes/catheters that go from it into the side of each breast & deliver an anesthetic to the surgical site – I think I was told Novocain. If you have small children or pets, this is sure to get pulled at (and you will NOT like it) some time before it comes out, if you are not mindful of it. I had my surgery on a Friday and this came out at Monday’s post-op. It is a VERY uncomfortable sensation, having this thing removed. From my right breast, it came out with nothing more than a “ew, this feels weird” sensation, the left however… oh… it got a little hung up and that was incredibly uncomfortable. But, I put on my big girl panties & it was over pretty quickly. Just be prepared for the weirdness (for lack of a better word). I know this paragraph doesn’t exactly sell the pain pump, but I should add that I only took one of the pain pills I was prescribed in those first few days. In fact, the only time I truly felt like I needed them was for the discomfort in my lower back from trying sleep sitting up.
And that brings us to an unforeseen post-op challenge: sleeping (along with getting out of bed). Naturally you’ve realized for the first week or so, you need to stay pretty upright to avoid having your implants settle on your collarbone or in your armpit (ok, those are exaggerations but, the very thought kept me upright). However, my experience as of this review – I’m still sleeping slightly elevated, mostly on my back & in a sports bra. The discomfort of rolling from my side to my back is eye-popping. I really only get good sleep on my right side, so occasionally I’ll hug a pillow during sleep and I hold that pressed to me while I get into an upright position. I still cannot lie flat on my stomach for more than a minute. But, I can spend however much time I want on my elliptical, so it’s not like all movement causes discomfort. In regards to getting out of bed – your core muscles are another new best friend. If you have not used them lately, post-op is going to be a little more difficult for you. To keep from using my arms to get me upright, I would hook my foot/feet onto the blankets or cushions & do a kind of sit-up to get upright.
I’m guessing that the dreaded massaging the implants is a bit different for the ones that I got, in that they’re textured, so they’re designed to somewhat stick to the surrounding tissue. Most of my massaging has consisted of mashing them together from the sides (a gesture akin to “so, this is what cleavage looks like”) and a kind of aggressive rolling down motion on the top of the implant… your surgeon will have to show you. It hasn’t been the nightmare that was described to me by people who got the round saline implants… so, maybe the type of implant has made the difference.
Timelines for getting back to life:
*Back to work by the following Thursday (but I wish I’d taken an entire week off).
*Shampooing my own hair- 5 days
*Extending arms fully in line with the sides of my body – 1 week
*Raising my arms above my head – week & a half/2 weeks
*Lifting light things over my head – 3 weeks/month
*Elliptical – month
*Incline pushups – 5 weeks
The only thing about the entire experience that I’m truly displeased with is the billing aspect. I paid for the procedure upfront & still received a bill from the surgical center (which gave me a heart attack) and then one from the anesthesiologist – both bills looked like they’d received no payment at all. I use MyChart through DMG, so it was easy enough to see that the surgical center bill was actually at a $0 balance but I had to call the anesthesiologist’s and let them know it had been paid in full.
Recommendations:
*If you want a more natural look, go with the higher-end implants.
*If your surgery is later the next day, eat as close to midnight as possible and try to sleep in.
*If you are addicted to coffee/caffeine, try to wean yourself off before the surgery to avoid having a huge headache the day of surgery & the following days.
*Go over your grooming routines before your surgery with your caretaker, especially if it will be someone who is not accustomed to the requirements of hair.
*I cannot overstate the value of a recliner.
*If you are a side-sleeper, try to get accustomed to sleeping on your back.
*If you have “jumpy” pets or small children, send them elsewhere for at least the first 5 days (if possible).
*Get some prune juice to counter the pain medication constipation.
*Take off a full week if you can.
Motivation:
When I was about 8, my breasts started to come in - well, 1 of them anyway. About a year later, the other made an appearance & ever since they've both been on their independent journeys towards dissimilarity. My left was OK; fairly perky, somewhat full - a standard and acceptable B. The right one was the rebel; it refused to be perky under any circumstances and refused to be anything other than an A, and a flaccid A at that. This made bra buying loads of fun: if the left breast was appropriately situated, the right one just kind of flopped around inside its cup. If the right one was good, the left one was spilling out. I would buy bras and bathing suits with the removable pads & take the one from the left & put it in the right at a half-assed attempt towards balance. I'd always considered an augmentation, but not seriously enough to save the money. Then over the last few years, I noticed that they seemed to be losing what “fullness” they had. WHAT?! I haven't had children! How is this happening?!? So needless to say, the disappointment with my breasts was at its zenith. Without going into too much detail involving my husband tolerating years of complaining, we set a financial goal & a consultation with Dr. Steven Sigalove at DuPage Medical Group in Warrenville, IL.
Consult:
Dr. Sigalove was recommended to me by a co-worker. I did some research & went to the consult with my husband and a list of things to ask. During the consult, Dr. Sigalove answered almost every question that I had before I even asked it. I was pretty nervous & felt a little awkward when he examined what I liked to call "the nonsense under my shirt," but once the examination was underway, I completely forgot I was sitting there with my mismatched boobs laying listlessly on my chest. He asked me what I hoped to achieve, explained the options (saline v. silicone, round v. shaped), took measurements, and explained how he thought he could correct the asymmetry. He said it could be corrected by using 2 different sizes of implants but that the tissue that was already there would keep them from looking identical without additional procedures (i.e. mastopexy). He was confident it could be corrected with just the augmentation and if I was still dissatisfied, I could do the mastopexy later in the office. I agreed to this plan. After considering all of this in addition to the types of implants and locations, we decided to go with the Natrelle 410 (that’s the model, not the size) silicone, shaped, textured implants under the muscle at the DuPage Medical Group Surgical Center with a pain pump. Yes, the implants are pricey. Yes, I HIGHLY recommend them. Yes the pain pump is extra. Yes, I HIGHLY recommend it. “But, don’t they give you pain meds?” you ask – we’ll get to that post-op.
Pre-op:
At the pre-op, the week before the surgery, with Dr. Sigalove’s nurse, Lori (who is WONDERFUL, by the way), I “tried on” a couple of implants to decide the size that I wanted. At first I was satisfied with the first set, but Lori insisted I try another, which at the time I thought “there’s no way I need them any bigger than this.” But, I’m so glad I did. In fact, I went through 3 different sets before I was like “No way, that’s too big.” Each time Lori suggested I try a size up, I thought “Really?” but, in hindsight I realize that almost anything would have made me happy, since what I was starting out with wasn’t much at all. When I was wearing the size I wanted to achieve, Dr. Sigalove determined what that would translate to with the implants.
Day of Surgery:
My surgery was on a Friday. The surgical center called me the night before to tell me my surgery would be at 2:30 the next day and to not eat or drink anything after midnight – needless to say, I was a bit disappointed: I get hangry. The DMG surgical center is very nice & their staff is very nice & accommodating (warm blankets, cozy gowns, TV in the pre-op room) – which is good because I hadn’t had any food or caffeine since 9 o’clock the day before. Just before the procedure Dr. Sigalove came in, we went over the procedure, he made sure I was still down for it, he did some markings and away he went. Please don’t mistake this for “The doctor rushed me through the pre-surgery conversation.” It’s more like, “Dr. Sigalove was so in the zone, we had this conversation & he covered everything with surgical precision.” Pun intended. Then the anesthesiologist came in (nope, don’t remember his name), we went over my allergies (certain antibiotics and narcotics make me barf) and he was off. Not too much longer after that, I was wheeled into the surgical suite where my identity and procedure were confirmed & I slipped unremarkably out of consciousness.
Post Op:
The next thing I knew, I was coming to (apparently with tears streaming down my face) & a nurse was injecting Dilaudid into my tush. I don’t remember the crying, but I wasn’t exactly lucid. Here’s where things got less than pleasant. Whether it’s how I would normally react to general anesthesia (see aforementioned allergies) anyway or if it was to the Dilaudid specifically, I only really remember being VERY nauseous – to the point of throwing up before even getting dressed.
…After having had surgery on my chest…
“Ouch!!!!” is right.
I proceeded to throw up nothing (remember, no food since yesterday) for the next 24 hours. Another fun feature of my physiology appears to be that anti-nausea medication (good ole Zofran) does not work for me. So, I threw that up, too. At this point, I have to tell you, THANK GOD I didn’t try to save a couple hundred dollars and forego the pain pump, because I couldn’t get any pain medication down either. I ended up going to the ER- evidently I faint when dehydrated and that worries spouses. Unfortunately, that was just a very expensive means of rehydrating. While there, they gave me Zofran in my IV, which again did nothing, so they eventually gave me Phenergan which worked along with the added benefit of knocking me out for the next 6 hours. If you run the risk of being a puker, try to get your hands on some of this.
Once all of the puking and nausea was over, it was really just a matter of trying to do things without using my chest muscles and being chill for a couple of days. My husband was an absolute champ at this with the exception of anything that had to do with my hair. I should have had someone French braid it or some variation thereof. Also, I’m quite oily, so going more than the first day without a shower was nothing short of disgusting, so I wish we’d gone over my hygiene preferences. We don’t have a recliner & what we rigged up on the couch was less than ideal, but buying a recliner just for a boob job seemed silly – until I needed that recliner. My point is: a recliner is almost your best friend in the world of BA recovery.
Speaking of post-BA best friends: the pain pump. This device is a little strange. It’s a ball in a bag that is slung over your shoulders, it hangs about at your waist & there are 2 long tubes/catheters that go from it into the side of each breast & deliver an anesthetic to the surgical site – I think I was told Novocain. If you have small children or pets, this is sure to get pulled at (and you will NOT like it) some time before it comes out, if you are not mindful of it. I had my surgery on a Friday and this came out at Monday’s post-op. It is a VERY uncomfortable sensation, having this thing removed. From my right breast, it came out with nothing more than a “ew, this feels weird” sensation, the left however… oh… it got a little hung up and that was incredibly uncomfortable. But, I put on my big girl panties & it was over pretty quickly. Just be prepared for the weirdness (for lack of a better word). I know this paragraph doesn’t exactly sell the pain pump, but I should add that I only took one of the pain pills I was prescribed in those first few days. In fact, the only time I truly felt like I needed them was for the discomfort in my lower back from trying sleep sitting up.
And that brings us to an unforeseen post-op challenge: sleeping (along with getting out of bed). Naturally you’ve realized for the first week or so, you need to stay pretty upright to avoid having your implants settle on your collarbone or in your armpit (ok, those are exaggerations but, the very thought kept me upright). However, my experience as of this review – I’m still sleeping slightly elevated, mostly on my back & in a sports bra. The discomfort of rolling from my side to my back is eye-popping. I really only get good sleep on my right side, so occasionally I’ll hug a pillow during sleep and I hold that pressed to me while I get into an upright position. I still cannot lie flat on my stomach for more than a minute. But, I can spend however much time I want on my elliptical, so it’s not like all movement causes discomfort. In regards to getting out of bed – your core muscles are another new best friend. If you have not used them lately, post-op is going to be a little more difficult for you. To keep from using my arms to get me upright, I would hook my foot/feet onto the blankets or cushions & do a kind of sit-up to get upright.
I’m guessing that the dreaded massaging the implants is a bit different for the ones that I got, in that they’re textured, so they’re designed to somewhat stick to the surrounding tissue. Most of my massaging has consisted of mashing them together from the sides (a gesture akin to “so, this is what cleavage looks like”) and a kind of aggressive rolling down motion on the top of the implant… your surgeon will have to show you. It hasn’t been the nightmare that was described to me by people who got the round saline implants… so, maybe the type of implant has made the difference.
Timelines for getting back to life:
*Back to work by the following Thursday (but I wish I’d taken an entire week off).
*Shampooing my own hair- 5 days
*Extending arms fully in line with the sides of my body – 1 week
*Raising my arms above my head – week & a half/2 weeks
*Lifting light things over my head – 3 weeks/month
*Elliptical – month
*Incline pushups – 5 weeks
The only thing about the entire experience that I’m truly displeased with is the billing aspect. I paid for the procedure upfront & still received a bill from the surgical center (which gave me a heart attack) and then one from the anesthesiologist – both bills looked like they’d received no payment at all. I use MyChart through DMG, so it was easy enough to see that the surgical center bill was actually at a $0 balance but I had to call the anesthesiologist’s and let them know it had been paid in full.
Recommendations:
*If you want a more natural look, go with the higher-end implants.
*If your surgery is later the next day, eat as close to midnight as possible and try to sleep in.
*If you are addicted to coffee/caffeine, try to wean yourself off before the surgery to avoid having a huge headache the day of surgery & the following days.
*Go over your grooming routines before your surgery with your caretaker, especially if it will be someone who is not accustomed to the requirements of hair.
*I cannot overstate the value of a recliner.
*If you are a side-sleeper, try to get accustomed to sleeping on your back.
*If you have “jumpy” pets or small children, send them elsewhere for at least the first 5 days (if possible).
*Get some prune juice to counter the pain medication constipation.
*Take off a full week if you can.
Provider Review
Board Certified Plastic Surgeon
5410 N. Scottsdale Rd., Paradise Valley, Arizona
Dr. Sigalove is incredibly thorough and professional. You get the impression that you're interacting with someone who takes great pride in their work and is committed to providing the best outcome possible. He answered 99% of my questions before I even asked them and listened to what I hoped to get out of the procedure. He was very realistic about potential outcomes & provided exactly what we discussed. I will continue to go to him for any cosmetic needs I have in the future.