Lee Pu, MD, PhD

I was always between a B & C cup most of my life and about 110 pounds. I had two children 18 months apart and my breast grew significantly with each child. I was a DD cup after my last child but was diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis shortly after my first child was born. I was put on a heavy dose of prednisone for 2 years and my weight ballooned up to 200 pounds with full DDD breast. Since then I’ve had horrible neck, shoulder and back pain, rashes, numbness in hands from bra straps digging in me, migraines , and much more. I have lost 70 pounds after being taken off the prednisone; however, my breast deflated to a DD with one slightly larger than the other. They sagged terribly and I could not find a bra that would fit them. I requested my GP to refer me to a plastic surgeon in the UC Davis hospital system I was already in. I got in to see Dr. Pu within 2 weeks. He wrote up the report, sent it to Anthem blue Cross blue shield and within 5 days I received my approval for a reduction and lift. I am only 2 days post op but I’m already so incredibly happy with it so far. These first two days have been incredibly painful for me but I suspect some of the pain is more related to my Ankylosing Spondylitis than my actual incisions. I did get to go home without an overnight stay and I did not have any drains. My breast are very sore unless I am just sitting still. I have been taking oxycodone for these last 2 days but I think by tomorrow or the next I should be only on Tylenol and ibuprofen according to the surgeon so I’m excited to get to that stage in recovery. They removed 200cc from the smaller breast and 300cc from the larger. They are much bigger than I expected as I asked to be close to a B cup but since I’m only 2 days Post-op I am guessing it’s just swollen and they will reduce as the weeks go on. My surgeon is a man of few words but he was great at listening to me and his work looks great. I only have a pre-op picture wearing a dress so you can get the idea off how large and saggy the breast where for my body and then my 2 day post op pics. I definitely recommend this surgery and also Dr. Lee Pu at UC Davis in Sacramento. He did an amazing job. I can’t wait till they settle and I get to go bra shopping for bras that aren’t the size of my head.
Updated on 23 Dec 2018:
So far so good. He got my insurance to approve my breast reduction in less than a week. He is a kind man and does not do a lot of talking but he definitely takes the time to listen to you talk. I’m 3 day post op and I am already so impressed with how he evened my breast up and was able to take my breast with heavy ptosis and make them beautiful and perky. Even before my children my breast didn’t look this perky. I woke up in the recovery room and could immediately feel the health benefits from the BR. Neck pain is just gone! I’ve been in considerable pain, which I wasn’t expecting to go more than 2 days, but his office made sure I had the medication needed before the long holiday week. Hopefully I won’t need any heavy stuff in the next day or two. Even with the breast pain, I wouldn’t change a thing and Dr. Lee Pu has completely changed my life. Thank you so much Dr. Pu.



Updated on 24 Dec 2018:
Today I’m in much less pain except for my compression bra pushing against my bruises. There is a lot of bruises around the nipples and on the rib cage under the breast. I woke up coughing up thick yellow phlegm and freaked out thinking the anesthesia gave me pneumonia but the on call doctor said not to worry unless I was out of breath, having chest pains or had a fever over 101. I had a low-grade fever last night but it was back to normal after taking Tylenol last night. Can we just talk about how bloated my stomach is?! I did take Miralax for the first 3 days to combat constipation from the painkillers. I haven’t had any constipation but I have had diarrhea since yesterday and my abdomen looks like I’m 5 months pregnant. I do have IBS so I don’t know if surgery threw me into a flare or if it’s fluid retention related to chest surgery. Either way, it’s probably the most uncomfortable part of today’s issues. I see my doctor for F/U the day after tomorrow so hopefully he can shed some light on it. I attached some pics so you can see what I mean by the bruising and the swelling of my belly.

Updated on 27 Dec 2018:
I had my follow up visit yesterday and it went well. Everything looks good, however, my pain is back. I’m like 97% sure it’s because I felt a little good and then just started doing way too much. So, if your wish is too be in lots of pain a week out, make sure you move around too much and use your arms too much and lift too much . They also removed the tapes on my stitches and for some reason it felt like they poured kerosene on my breast and set them on fire. The doctor said that this was not typical and most women were basically numb by week 1. But the burning feeling has not gone away and even though he prescribed me more pain meds and I’m taking ibuprofen and Tylenol, I’m still uncomfortable and the burning feeling is coming and going. My surgeon tried to make me feel better and say that sometimes it just takes people longer to heal and deal with pain, but it was kind of an ego blow. I thought I was super woman and clearly I need to chill and let myself heal. I also changed from the surgical bra to a sports bra and it’s much more tolerable to be in. I bought an expensive Nike one that didn’t stretch and was super uncomfortable and I bought a Jockey one on sale at Macy’s for $16 and it’s terrific. It’s stretchy material which is way more comfortable. So I’d advise you buy a medium support that has stretch to it because you never really know what size you’ll be. As for how my breast look without the tape, it’s hard for me to look at. Don’t get me wrong, I’m happy I had the surgery. I feel much less neck pain already but I wish I hadn’t overdid it so I was feeling better. I also didn’t realize that I would have such a mental reaction to my nipples being stitched on. But I know that I’ll get used to it and they will heal and look much better with time. So know that it’s possible you may not be incredibly happy with looking at your new boobs everyday in the beginning.