James K. Smith, MD (in memoriam)

I may as well start from the beginning even thouh am now 9 weeks post op. First of all I am 63 years old 5'6" 195 LBS. I first went to see my ps in Sept 2012. I had thught about a br for at least five ears but I never seemed to find the tme for me. I have elderly parents who depend on me and my husband is not in optimal health. I am an operating room nurse and on occassion I work with ps. I fially reached my breaking point when I was working and the underwire from my bra poked through and I had to ask a male coworker to cut me out of the wire. I met with ps and he assured me I qualified for my insurance
to pay, he took photos,wrote up my claim and told me I would hear from his office. Two days later I received a call that the insurance
co. approved and I was ready. I scheduled my surgery for Jan 7 th 2013. I then proceeded to get medical clearance and I waited. The waiting was very difficult and seemed to last forever. By the time Jan 7 th rolled around I was a ball of nerves. I cried very easily and questioned my good judgement. To make matters worse, I told noone not even my mother. Finally I haad to tell my boss and my husband. My boss was fine and very supportive, my husband thought I was getting implants!! I had to explain the proedure and afterwards he was fine and hoped I would get relief from my sore back and shoulders. Finally Jan 7 was here I was the second case for ps. I tried to remain calm but I had hives all over my face. When ps came to mark me he asked me if I was nervous I lied and told him no. He said he didn't want me to take this procdure lightly. If he only knew... My procedure took 2 1/2-3 hours. I went from a ddd to a c cup. I wanted to be on the small side and I am so pleased with my results. The recovery kicked my ass. I was not in a great deal of pain but I was uncomfortable and I found the discomfort very annoying. I did find that if I sat in my recliner with my arms at my sides I had no pain. I read 12 books on my kindle and watched every stupid thing on tv for one whole week. By the end of the first wweek I could have auditioned to ne a host on qvc. I don't have any preop photos to post but I will try to post some post op ones. I came home from the hospital with a huge dressing with an ace wrap. I was an outpatient and came home the same day. The nigt after my surgery I had some bleeding from my drains and my dressing became very stiff and hard it almost felt like a cast. Three days later I was allowed to remove the bulkydressing. I waited till my husband came home from work and after we had takeout pizza we took off the dressing for the big reveal. The dressing was alldried out and my husband couldn't unwrap it so he went out to the garage and came back with a huge cutter I use to trim my rose bushes. It did the trick he cutthe dressing down the back and broke it like a clam shell. We pulled it apart being very careful of the two penrose drains near the ends of the incisions under my arms. I was feeling shaky so I made him sit on te toilet while I showered. My ps loves tape and my new boobs were covered in tape my husband thought they were in dixie cups!! I was almost afraid to touch them I guess I thought they were going to fall off!! I had my drains removed 10 dayspost op and that was the first tme I saw ps post op. He said everything looked good and he gently removed all tape. I finally got a look and I was overjoyed with the size and positioning. I had very little swelling which think is from the drains which drained a lot of fluid. I went back one week later to have my stitches removed. I had a lot of scabs and dried blood on my incisions. Ps told me to not pick at scabs amd to not put anything on wounds and to come back in one month. I went back to work in 4 weeks. My first week back was rough and I was tired a lot but then it was fine. I am so happy I had this done. Every day I look at my new breasts and I am overjoyed. I catch myself touching them all the time and I have never siled so much. I have lost 15 pounds inaddition to what I lost in surgery. I am enjoying watching my boobs change ever so slightly every day.and I am enjoying shopping for new bras and shirts. If anyone is on the fence just do it. This is like Christmas every day.



topay

Updated on 31 Mar 2013:
Well I finally added some photos. I do not have any pre op photos. I guess I never wanted to look that closely. Tomorrow I will be 12 weeks post op. I can truly say this is the best thing I have ever done for myself. I would do it again a million times over. Was it easy? Not all the time. I had lots of times when I just felt uncomfortable and annoyed. I do think and this is just my own personal opinion, if you find the right fitting sports bra you have it made. I found that as the day wore on the bra would feel like a rope around my ribs and I would just feel uncomfortable. I would take several showers a day and change my bra and that helped me the most. I followed my doctors instructions to a t. I have found this site so helpful and I feel as if I know some of you so well. Anyone out there who is on the fence...just do it. I wish I would have done this 20 years ago. I would have saved myself so much neck and upper back pain.

Updated on 28 Apr 2013:
On Monday it will be 16 weeks since my surgery. I have said many times over that this is the best thing I have ever done for myself and that I would do it a million times over. I am an operating room nurse and I have worked with my surgeon many times,
. Since my surgery, I have gotten to know him even better. This past Monday he died. He was only 57. The cause of his death has not been revealed as yet but the concensus is natural causes. I am so sad. He was a wonderful person, a friend and a truly gifted surgeon. He will be missed. Now every time I look at my new breasts I will think of him and the wonderful gift he gave to me. I know I will think of him often with the best memories. I have come to this site very often and I feel as if I know so many of you personally. I wish everyone as good of results as I have received. Good luck to everyone who is just starting this journey and those of you whom I have already messaged.

Updated on 2 Jun 2013:


Updated on 2 Jun 2013:
mass above my right nipple

Updated on 2 Jun 2013:


Updated on 2 Jun 2013:
I am now almost 5 months post-op and I have known about the hard mass above my right nipple from the third week post-op. At first my original ps thought it was just swelling or a slow to dissolve piece of scar tissue but as I continued to see him in the office he grew more concerned. I was supposed to have this removed on 4/29/13 but my ps died on 4/22/13. So I found myself still with the mass and no ps. I found another ps about 20 minutes from my home and I immediately liked him. He sounded exactly like Dr. Smith and I felt very comfortable with him. He also said that because of my age (63) and a strong history of breast cancer I should have it removed, my maternal grandmother and my mothers twin sister both died of breast cancer. I had all my pre-op testing done again (different hospital) and I am scheduled for 6/6/13. I feel just as nervous this time as I did the first time back in January. In addition to the mass I am having my drain scars revised and the ends of my anchor incisions also revised. I or my body never dissolved the pds sutures and I have a ropey scar on both breasts. If it were up to me I could have lived with the scars but even Dr.Smith wanted to revise them. I never even mentioned the scars to Dr.Maalouf but he said I need to fix them because later down the road they might cause discomfort. I can feel the ropeyness but I am so grateful to having small boobs I would never complain. So here I am off for more surgery, I will keep you all updated.

Updated on 9 Jun 2013:


Updated on 9 Jun 2013:


Updated on 9 Jun 2013:


Updated on 9 Jun 2013:


Updated on 9 Jun 2013:
On Thursday 6/6/2013 I had a mass removed from behind the nipple of my right breast. This lump has been there from the beginning and my former ps was planning to remove it on 4/29/13 but he passed away. As it was the lump was fat necrosis and my new ps said it shelled out easily. I also had both of my anchor scars revised. My body did not dissolve the pds suture material and my scars were ropey and hard. Dr. Smith said this never happens but go figure I think I developed this because I am a nurse and an O.R. nurse to boot. My new ps Dr. Maalouf is a godsend. I was very apprehensive about finding another ps after all the horror stories you hear but I went with my gut on this one and I hit a winner. One of the other ps I went to see sent me a brochure which said I was to wear black bra and panties when I came to his office. He also said I would probably need lipo suction to the tune of $3000.00. I would love to report this character and I probably will after I heal up. I had my surgery at a smaller community hospital as an outpatient. All of the staff were wonderful to me. I did have a hard time waking up this time. I slept around the clock for 30 hours. I am not in a great deal of pain just uncomfortable and it feels exactly like the first time. I even have constipation and bloating. I am back in the surgibra during the day and in a sports bra at night. This time I have dermabond(wound glue) and no outside sutures. I am bruised exactly as I was the first time. I am so glad to have this procedure behind me and I am so happy to have found a new and wonderful ps. There are good docs out there and sometimes you just have to look around.

Updated on 16 Jul 2013:
I am about 6 1/2 months from my original surgery, and I am about 6 weeks from my revision surgery. I did well after my revision, my new ps was just wonderful. he revised my anchor scars and removed a mass from my right breast which turned out to be fat necrosis. I was sore and very bruised this time around and I also had swelling and constipation exactly as the first time. I am very happy I had my br. every day I send a prayer of thanks to Dr. Smith my original ps for giving me small boobs. I now have no upper back pain, shoulder pain or neck pain. I used to stuff my large boobs every day into a too small bra and go about my daily living. I knew I did not like them but until I reached my breaking point I just lived like that. Now I say wow what a difference. I am only a c cup now and I am overweight but I am pleased with how I look. Are my new boobs perfect? No Do I care? Not in the least. Am I comfortable in my body? Oh yes and I look much better in my clothing. Even when I shave my legs I don't have to move my huge boobs out of the way. If anyone is even the least bit hesitant I say go for it. This is the most wonderful thing I have ever done just for me.My boobs have not really changed much from the 3 month mark. I am trying to diet and get down to a healthy weight and I am curious to see just if my boobs will change in size. if I ever dieted before I lost no weight from my chest, they just drooped more. I will submit another post in 9 months.

Updated on 18 Jul 2013:
new scars not so bad

Updated on 18 Jan 2014:
A year ago on Jan. 7 th I had my br. I am still very happy with my results and am more comfortable in my body. I am a weight watchers failure but none the less I still have small boobs. Over the last several months I have discovered many wonderful things about having a breast reduction.

We as women are smarter about our bodies than our male counterparts. When we say we want small boobs why cant they listen?

Now I have noticed, when things fall from my mouth they land in my lap, not on my boob shelf.

When I walk into a room I no longer have a tidal wave of boob jiggle.

No more cleavage 2" under my chin...so not a good look. as a matter of fact I now have no cleavage

My seat belt fits better

More room in my winter coat

I can now carry a cross body bag and not look like I am shoplifting 2 turkeys

i can buy cheap bras on the sale rack

My arms hang straight down at my sides

Why did I buy so many black tops?

No more 0verpriced minimizer bras which hurt. and by the way just where is all that boobage supposed to go?

No more stares from creepy guys

I cant rest my arms acsoss large boob shelf

I look younger in my clothes

I am now able to wear a scarf around my neck and not look like I am wearing a huge muffler

My necklaces lie flat

And the best.. no more boob sweat

I now face the daunting task of having my first mammogram after my br.. Would I recommend this procedure, a million times yes. Even with revision surgery I am so happy I did this. Just ask my husband.

He reduced the breasts and took way too much tissue off of one breast making my breasts two different sizes. I also lost a nipple and had to get breast implants to make my breasts the same size. Then he reconstructed the nipple and it is off center. I hate what he has done to me. Now many years later I am paying another surgeon to fix his mess up.

I met another women who he did the same thing to but she was smarter than me and sued him. He offered to fix her breasts for free but she went to another surgeon and had the work done. I am soooo sorry I didn't have another surgeon fix my breasts.