I was unhappy with my second set of implants. Pockets had shifted towards armpits and nipples were not even. Right implant had bottomed out. Dr. Heidi williams fixed all of my concerns. I am almost 4 months out and couldnt be happier. Updated on 3 Aug 2022: Absolutely love my results and so does my husband. I get so many compliments . I am so happy with Dr Heidi Williams. She and her staff are the best and she did an awesome job. If you live in the Charleston, South Carolina area she is the best around.
Dr. Williams is an excellent surgeon fully knowledgeable of what she is doing and what needs to be done - precise to a T! My skin cancer needed immediate attention after 5 Moh’s surgeries. Extensive sun damage had compromised all skin layers on a broad area around my face. She was remarkable at making me whole again! Truly an artist. Thank you!
I had ongoing back and neck pain from my size DDD cup on my small frame. The idea of surgery is terrifying to me, but the neck pain was too sever to continue to ignore. My breasts look great now that they are C cup. I have zero neck pain and can wear clothes that fit the rest of my body! Like so many other breast reduction patients, my only regret is that I didn't do it sooner!
My main motivation was to look in the mirror and see a lower face/neck that matched the rest of my body, energy level and zest for life. I feel young, stay physically active, am athletic and love to motivate myself and those around me to experience every day to the fullest. I got a lower face (SMAS) lift and am now on day four of recovery. I was awake during the entire procedure and felt,smelled and heard everything. Fortunately I was sedated , totally relaxed and carried on a 3.5 hour conversation with my ps the entire time. I liked her from the get-go. I just wanted my lower face lifted and did not want general anesthesia. I told her I probably will go for neck lift some day but did not want to have more than one procedure at a time. She reassured me that her procedure would entail a lifting and firming of the neck area so I wouldn't need to go for a second operation. At that particular moment I was sold. I am still healing but I am already ecstatic about the change under my chin and upper neck area. I can't wait until all the swelling goes down so I ca download more pictures. It was not a cake walk. I took the pain medication they gave me and the Valium for sleeping (and boy did I sleep to which I credit the quick recovery). Now Day four I'm just taking Xtra strength Tylenol and its working fine. The best part about this procedure is that she went under the skin and pulled up the facial muscles and reattached them so I will only look like myself 10 -12 years ago. That is all I wanted in the first place. I am adding some before and after pics just of my neck and jowl area because the rest is still very swollen. I will add the rest as the inflammation subsides considerably. I would recommend my doctor to anyone. She really listens to you and doesn't try to up-sell services. Her personality is also lovely which is a huge plus:) I All this being said I don't want to downplay that this is a surgery that requires down time and a lot of rest. I slept A LOT for three days in a row, would get up to eat (preferably soup for meals and yogurt, ice cream or fruit smoothies for snacks and before taking meds). You want peace and quiet and ice religiously and wear your head wrap. Day four you begin to feel like yourself again but take it easy regardless of how good you feel. One last note, i know many want to do two procedures and get it over with, also save money etc. If you can though I truly suggest doing one at a time with local anesthesia. IMHO, the recovery is a lot faster and swift. Blessings to all who take the plunge! Updated on 26 Nov 2013: Four plus months later I am still so happy I did this for myself... I feel like the difficult past 10 years were just wiped from my face. I look like me but pre-suffering me . The wounds ended up healing well and all is well. If this is something you've been pondering about for a while don't doubt yourself!!!!
Just had my mommy makeover this past monday on april 9th. Full tummy tuck, breast lift and breast aug with silicone implants. So far so good. I've had 3 c-sections (2003, 2005, 2010) and have also lost over 85 pounds since 2008. I had a lot of extra skin loose fat. I work out about 4 times a week with cardio and use the weight room twice a week. I've lost 65 pounds from 2008-2009. Got pregnant in 2010 gained 30 and since then lost 40 plus. I will say that the breast augmentation/mastopexy has been the hardest for me thus far. The best way to descibe it is that it feels exactly like massive engorgement from milk the first week your milk comes in after having a baby. My nipples feel as if I have been breast feeding constantly for over 24 hours...so they have that very sore raw feeling. My left breast is slightly more swollen and is sitting higher than the right. My doctor assures me this is normal for the post op stage. I have no bruising or excess pain from the more swollen one. I just have the INCREDIBLE feeling that I must breastfeed a child to relieve the swelling! LOL!! The tummy tuck is from hip to hip and I have one JP drain in. I have a corset like abdominal binder. My tummy tuck has been much much easier than any of my c-sections. I am completely surprised by this because I have been reading that many women say the tummy tuck is worse than c-sections. But I don't have the constant cramping I had post c-sections or the feeling of both internal and external stitches or a new born to take care of. I do have 3 children...ages 1,6, and 9. My mom is helping me and my husband as well. I am usually a very busy person and my children are very demanding so that is providing more of a challenge to me. But all in all, on day 3 I walked up the stairs with no problem (unbelievable) and I now walking almost completely straight on post op day #5. My abdominal binder is on 23.75 hours a day! I still have my drain in and will be going for my first post op visit on Monday. I am keeping very well hydrated and am eating lots and lots of fruits and vegetables as well as protein. I also started taking stool softeners 2 days prior to surgery. All in all, I am praying for a healthy and good recovery. I like what I see so far but I am more concerned with healing properly and resting. I've walked down the driveway several times today for exercise and now am putting my legs up again to rest. Also, I rented a recliner from Rent a Center for $20/wk. I used this the first couple of days but now have made it back to my own bed and sleep elevated with lots and lots of pillows. Hope this helps someone. :) PS: My doctor is always available to me and has called me several times to see how I am doing. I had a concern about the breast swelling and just call her directly. I've even texted her pictures so that she can see what I am talking about. She has a wonderful bedside manner and is professional and very informative. Updated on 17 Apr 2012: I'm now on post op day 8. Feel good. Except the implants are bothering me. They are swollen and the left is higher and more taught than the right. They are nowhere near dropping as much as I'd like to. But the doctor said they look normal and to begin massage of the pec muscles above it to encourage the implant to drop more when the muscle relaxes. She also wants me to wear a more supportive bra (had a very comfortable sportbra from target with spaghetti straps) with wider bands. She also wants me to ace wrap the area to help with swelling. The belly looks good but she noticed the tiniest bit of lower belly swelling so she wanted to keep my drain in---though I'm draining less than 20cc a day. I'll probably get the drain out on Thursday. I have been cleared to drive and went to Target today with my mom to get a new supportive bra. I used the motorized shopping cart to get around. Highly recommend that. Still trying to take it easy but the belly does not bother me at all. When will my new boobs stop this swelling? I know it takes time, just don't want my boobs in my head--which is where they look like they are hanging! LOL! Updated on 21 Apr 2012: Post Op Day 12: My new belly is pain free! I'm able to lie back in bed and I can stand straight but still baby the belly so I don't overdo it. My breast augmentation/mastopexy still seems to bother more than anything. The left implant still has not dropped as much as the right. My doctor assures me that they are healing normally. All my tape and stitches are still in and I believe she will begin removing sutures this upcoming week. I still notice swelling in both breasts but much less in my right. Any residual belly swelling is disappearing quickly by the day. My upper/middle back (where the bra line is) is just KILLING me! I feel like my boobs are DD's when I only had 270cc placed. I really feel as if I need a massage so badly!!! My doctor is very encouraging and I hope that my recovery continues normally. I am so very grateful for this website. I feel as if I have learned so much from other people's experiences. :)
I am currently 3 weeks post-op and feel great. I just received before/after photos from doc and what a difference! I strongly believe the right doctor is imperative. Unlike necessary surgery, cosmetic surgery is all about relationship, communication, respect and confidence. For example: I had an emergency c-section performed by the on-call doctor I had never met. I got lucky that he was a great surgeon which led to a "beautiful" and tiny scar. But even if he had not been a great surgeon and my scar had been ugly I would have accepted it as a fair compromise for a healthy baby! If my PS and I had not liked each other, had regular misunderstandings about goals/procedures etc. I would not have respected her nor would I have had any confidence that I would have received my desired outcome and there is no way I would have gone ahead with the surgery! I was really lucky in that my PS was recommended by 3 doctors and about 4 laywomen so I was confident that she was a good PS going into my initial consultation. I interviewed 3 docs, all recommended, and the one I went with was right in the middle on price. I had a mini tt, breast lift and lipo on inner thighs. Although most women who've had children are full tt candidates I decided on a mini for a variety of reasons including: not wanting a scar from hip to hip, not needing muscle repair and automatically getting a little upper tummy lift with the breast lift. I'm 36, 5'2 and about 115lbs. I workout, moderately, but would never be able to achieve a flatter lower abdomen from exercise/diet. Nor would I ever have had perky rounded breasts after pregnancy, breast feeding and gravity! That being said I didn't want to try and have a perfectly flat midriff, I didn't want larger breasts. I wanted to look as fit as I really am and I wanted to feel more comfortable in and out of clothes. Goals achieved! My actual surgery took around 5 hours. My wonderful doctor canceled the surgery after mine while performing mine. When the nurse called to update my husband around 3 hours she explained that the doc was being very meticulous and was also able to get to some of the upper abdomen fat and therefore cut it out instead of doing lipo which took longer. My recovery has been quick and easy. Being that I did not have a full tt I was able to stand upright the day after surgery. I was off of pain meds within 48 hours. I still have 35 oxycodones out of 40! The actual feel of recovery has been more soreness rather than pain. In conclusion my advice would be this: 1. Know what your goals are and be realistic 2. Educate yourself 3. Find a great PS 4. Wear good quality compression garments.....all the time for as long as required! 5. Follow directions explicitly! 6. Have lots of help for the lifting, pulling, pushing limitations Cosmetic surgery is an investment. And because of that I don't want to mess it up. It's a bit of a pain to wear the compression gear for weeks 24/7, it's hard to not pick up my 2 yo but I don't want to waste $8,000 or have to go back into surgery! I'm so very pleased with my outcome and feel I will continue to be happier and happier as everything settles. I hope the same for all who choose a mommy makeover!
