Over the years I've had a few different treatments and this is the first time I've felt someone really explained my treatment as well as other options for bigger surgery. Would definitely recommend seeing a plastic surgeon, particularly Dr Chin, over visiting other 'cosmetic' surgery places. If you want to change something about yourself, it is well worth investing in someone who has spent years studying and knows what they're talking about. He does great work and also easy to talk to.
So i am now 5 days post op after my BL and feeling more human and i just wanted to share my experience with everyone because forums like this have been invaluable for me throughout my whole experience. Since being a teenager i have been unhappy with my breasts - i always had larger areolas and they were never perky or how i perceived beautiful breasts to be. I then gained quite a lot of weight between the age of 18-20. Then lost all the weight and more resulting in even saggier, unsightly breasts which i absolutely hated! I didn't speak to anyone about it - not even my partner - i was too embarrassed. I just used to hide them away, get upset if he wanted to see them etc. It all became too much last year (after 8 years together) and i decided to sit down and tell him exactly how i felt. He was very shocked but it all made sense to him after how i had been acting for so long. He was very supportive and told me he would support whatever decision i made. That is when the search for a plastic surgeon began. I had heard amazing things about Dr Phil Richardson & also about Dr David Chin. I made appointments to see them both & had 2 consultations with both of them - they were both fantastic. In the end, i decided to go with Dr Chin because he was very honest & i just felt very comfortable with him. We discussed the possibility of implants too but i decided at this stage that i would just go with the lift and areola reduction as my boobs were a fairly good size - 12D. So the 22nd May 2015, i had my surgery with Dr Chin. I arrived at the hospital at 6.30am - i was first on the list.. the nurses were fantastic. Checked all my details, got me into my gown, put on my stockings ready for theatre. Then i was transferred to a trolley where i lay and read a magazine for 10 minutes whilst theatres were prepping for my surgery. The anaesthetist chatted to me, put a cannula into my arm ready for the anaesthetic to be injected. I then spoke to a theatre nurse who checked me over and spoke to me about what would happen before and after surgery. Dr Chin then came in & spent 15 minutes with me showing me previous pictures taken of my breasts at consultations - taking pre op pictures - showing me exactly what his aim was in order to lift my breasts with minimal scarring. He then drew markings on my breasts using a pen and tape measure & checked exactly what size i wanted my areolas to be. I did not feel at all rushed and i asked all the questions i wanted answered. The nurses then wheeled me into the theatre room where i was transferred to a different trolley. A lovely male nurse held my hand whilst everyone was busy getting things ready around me. They gave me some gas and air to breathe in and out whilst they injected the anaesthetic into my cannula and before i knew it i was out. The next i knew i was waking up in recovery with 2 lovely nurses either side of me. It was 10.20am & the surgery had taken about 1hr 45mins. I felt amazing, knowing the op was done. My dressings were perfect, very minimal oozing. I had something to drink, then once i felt okay i moved to a reclining chair from the bed and had a sandwich. The nurses were fantastic, so caring. I felt totally comfortable and they had contacted my partner to let him know when i would be ready to be picked up. Dr Chin came out to speak to me - told me the surgery went really well, he had lifted my breasts higher to allow for them dropping once the swelling had gone down. I had no drains in which initially he thought i might have needed. I was given a prescription for Panadeine, Diazepam, a 5 day course of antibiotics and Bactroban ointment to apply to the incision sites 4x per day. I had dissolvable sutures in, steri strips over my nipples and incision sites to hold them together, gauze and padded dressings on top and then a large doubled over tubi grip on top which covered my breasts and stomach. I was told that i needed 5 days of bed rest, sleeping elevated with 4-5 pillows behind me because of the swelling & keeping dressings dry & intact until my follow up appointment in 5-7 days. My partner then came to collect me & drove me home. The past few days have been much easier than i expected. The pain has been very well controlled with my medication. I have felt tired & lethargic but that has been fine because i can just nap at home and relax. The worst thing for me has probably been the itchy feeling over the last couple of days on the incisions under my breasts. I've been taking Cetirizine to try and stop the itching but i guess it is a good sign because its showing they are healing. I have been changing between soft, non wired bras and the double tubi grip which i was originally put in post surgery because this feels much more comfortable. I already love my uplifted boobs and that is with the old bloody dressings still on them. I absolutely can not wait to see what they look like with no dressings on them but i know i will be so much more confident than what i was before. I am already happy to stand in front of my partner with no bra on - which i have never done before. This will totally change my life and i would recommend it to anybody who felt how i did. I have my follow up appointment today with Dr Chin and i can't wait to hear what he says. I will continue posting pictures of my breasts as they are healing so everyone can see the scars and how they look. Hopefully this post will be of use to someone who is thinking of or is having the same procedure :) Updated on 31 May 2015: Starting to feel much more comfortable now. All original steri strips have fallen off & I've had my one week post op review with my PS who was very pleased with the progress. I was told to have a warm salty bath and then once my breasts were dry, put micro pore tape over the incision sites/stitches. Updated on 1 Jun 2015: I don't like looking at my Pre op pics but it gives people an idea of the difference after the surgery! Updated on 2 Jun 2015:
I came all the way from Melbourne to consult with Dr Chin as I had read good things about him and seen positive reviews from past patients of his. From the start of my consultation he was rude and dismissive, seemed exasperated when I asked any questions and didn't even examinine me. Despite not even looking at my breasts, he told me he'd be happy to do the procedure. His nurse, who I had a good chat with, went through the ins and outs of the surgery. When I told her what the consultation was like and she apologised on his behalf, and said that he's just very 'modest', but she was shocked that he didn't even examine me. I was told that I'd have a quote emailed to me. When this didn't happen, I called his rooms and his receptionist told me that the quote had already been emailed to me and to check my spam. When I called to say it wasn't there she told me 2 more times that she'd email it through. Then when I called the final time I was told by a different receptionist that he didn't want to perform the surgery on me and that the quote had never been emailed to me. The whole thing was a debacle, a waste of my time and was a demonstration of true unprofessionalism in action. In contrast, the surgeon I saw in Brisbane the day before was kind, respectful, EXAMINED me, answered ALL of my questions and provided me with a quote on the spot. I couldn't be more disappointed with Dr Chin and the experience I had.
Seriously bad scaring, aesthetically distorted. Finished surgery is now requiring further surgery to correct his work. No aftercare certainly not what promised or paid for. So incredibly saddened, crushed and ashamed of my end result.
I'd never been overly unhappy with my breasts, but over the past 5 years they've gone through a few changes with pregnancy, and then breast feeding for almost 14months. They've become quite deflated, and existing asymmetry from my 'slight-scoliosis' got a little worse. .my chest wall is a bit messed up, and my left breast is around a cup size smaller than my right. Anyway, I'd been thinking about a BA for a few years, but decided to wait in case we had another child - but we are so blessed with our little family the way it is now anyway :-) I decided it was time to start looking a bit more seriously, and short-listed some Plastic surgeons in the Brisbane area - all who have received good reviews. I made an appointment for a consultation with Dr. David Chin, and attended it on the 23rd July - he asked me some questions, examined my breasts and chest wall, took some pics, and let me ask him the huge list of questions I brought with me :-) He then walked with me to his nurse, Keren's, room and we tried on some sizers - and decided on 300cc (left) and 340cc(right) . . Dr Chin advised around 300cc (silicone, high profile) would be the best size for my frame. I'm 165cm, 60kgs. Dr Chin came back and had a quick look, and said he would try some sizers during surgery to make sure the asymmetry is corrected the best he can - the issue being the weird shape of my chest wall would require them to be sized during surgery to best determine the size for my wonky lefty. I'm currently a VERY deflated 12D, they don't fill out the cups - the cups are just wide enough to accommodate for the width of my breasts - but projection and fullness is more like an A and B. . The sizes we tried should bring the fullness out to a real D! We talked about the incision, which will be transaxillary (under the arm), and they will be placed under the muscle. After meeting Dr Chin and Keren I felt like they were 'the ones', Dr Chin is professional and honest, and I couldn't help but give Keren a big hug before I left - she is so nice, and made me feel so safe and comfortable. After receiving my estimate for cost, talking it over again with dh, and having a chat with my mum about it I decided to book in for surgery. Mid October is the earliest time that's convenient for us - and they had a surgery day available on the 14th - perfect! I'm excited, and a little nervous at times. I'm looking forward to the end result - but not so much the recovery period. . .I think it will be worth it though! Updated on 31 Jul 2014: After looking at lots of different pics, with cc's and girls with similar stats, I began wondering if 340cc is maybe a little less than I was hoping for. . So I contacted Keren yesterday, and even though she had been doing a procedure in the late afternoon, and I said it wasn't urgent, she called me back . . (I have to say at this point how impressed I keep feeling with Keren- even though it was outside business hours she listened attentively to my concerns, and took the time to chat with me without rushing me through). . I asked some questions about after care - and then asked about sizes, and she was more than happy to accommodate for the 'look' I wanted to go for. .which I don't feel is too far out from what they suggested anyway. I sent a pic via text, and Keren suggested moving up to maybe 360, but said they will bring sizers into the surgery to help achieve the volume I hope for. . I felt bad it was outside office hours, but true to her caring personality, she let me know she was 'available any time'. . This is reassuring to me - I feel that after surgery they will provide good support :-) The pic I'm posting is my dream boobies. . I don't feel over-ambitious with the size etc. . But unfortunately there were no details about this ladies stats. Before or after.. .so kind of winging it :-) Updated on 4 Aug 2014: So I've brought my surgery date back to the 30th of September, I think that 2 weeks will save me a lot of crazy! I'm already going boob-loopy!! Second guessing sizes etc. But have decided to go with the original size - the PS really feels that any bigger is not suited to my frame. . But IF I really wanted to go bigger he was happy to talk about it. I decided to just stick with the original size, 340cc and 300 - I thought they were perfect when i tried out the sizers, already get slight back pain sometimes, and I don't want the complications and skin stretch that can sometimes happen with the bigger ones. . I need to stop second guessing my choice, and go back to being excited :-) Updated on 9 Aug 2014: Poor little asymmetrical pre-op boobies. Updated on 16 Aug 2014: With just over 6 weeks to go I decided to start organizing some help for recovery, someone to help with my pre-school aged child, cooking and cleaning etc. My husband will be home for the first two days to help - but his job is extremely demanding, and his holidays and weekends are not really ever breaks from work (long story short - will need extra help). I initially contacted my MIL, because my dh prefers her washing and ironing his clothes - and said he feels bad putting that on my mum, so after calling and telling her about the procedure (much to my embarrassment) she actually won't be able to come help as she had already committed to minding my sister in-law's kids for a night during the recovery (she lives 3.5 hours away). So I called my ever reliable mum - who lives 8 hours away - and of course she agreed to come stay with us, no problem, until I can at least drive again. . (Yay! I love my mum, I love her cooking, I love her understanding, and I know she will help me wash my hair if I don't feel like going to the hairdresser's to have it done). . So problem solved in that regard, but now I keep thinking I should have just asked my mum first, I told her about the surgery the day I went for my initial consultation - and she is so understanding and supportive. . On the other hand, even though DH's mum sounded understanding and supportive to an extent, I cannot help but think about her talking to other's in DH's family about it. . .urgh - especially his cousins - those women are the gossipy type, and are very clicky. . It probably shouldn't bother me as much as it does, like most women, I've dealt with my fair share of the b*tchy kind, but for some reason I really regret asking the MIL at all - I feel like she probably would never have known if I didn't- because the size I'm getting is conservative enough to be questionable, at the most. . .I told DH how I felt about it last night, and he said "You already know she'll talk to them about it,". . Double urgh!!! Oh well - I guess it's done now, and I'll just have to deal with it. . Sorry if this isn't very reviewy, but I guess there will be people feeling the same way at some stage throughout their own BA journey. Updated on 16 Aug 2014: I should probably mention that the MIL asked me 'So what does [DH] think about it?' I mean really. . .what does she think he would think about it!?!?! . . I just said 'well, he's supportive. . And I don't think he'll be complaining much when they're there!', I'm certain that last little bit was enough to get her off the subject. . But still. . .maybe I am just reading way too much into it. Maybe I'm being b*tchy myself. . Idk. . I don't really even know why it bothers me so much at all. . .but I'm sure I'll get over it. Updated on 17 Aug 2014: Oh dear - the size monster is about again. . Questioning if I should just go for the extra 20cc & 30cc, it's not much. . But if it's true that we do actually 'lose size' going under the muscle it will make up for that 10% loss. .if not it's still not significant enough to turn me into a pair of walking boobs. I spoke to Keren (again - She is the most patient woman I know!) And I've made an apt. To go try on sizers again on August 28th. I think this will help me feel 100% confident in my decision, and then I can spend the next month concentrating on preparing for recovery :-) Updated on 1 Oct 2014: So I had my surgery yesterday, and it went well. The anaesthesia did muck me around a little - I found it hard to come off of it for a few hours, and the nurses said I kept trying to roll around in recovery :-/ I got to come home after, and just slept most of the day. I have drains in, and I'll be getting them out tomorrow. I ended up having the 345 and 395cc extra high profile silicone smooth rounds. I can't see much yet - but they look pretty good from the top :-)
