I had my breast reduction surgery in Paris, France in December 2017 just before Christmas. I am so far very happy with the result, the shape and size of my breasts are within expectations and the experience has been a positive one so far. I was previously a 32-34 DD/E depending on countries, and I think I am now a C cup, post swelling perhaps big B cup. For a small frame, I can already feel a big difference on both my back and my clothing - overall definitely recommended if you are still unsure.Updated on 2 Jan 2018: Here is a brief recap for anyone interested Day of: I arrived early in the morning for a scheduled surgery at 8:30am, I was calm and knew why to expect. I was asked to take a shower the night before and the day of, I was given something to calm me and I was quite sleepy by the time I went into the operating room. The doctor did the drawings, I asked some final questions and I was out, all went smoothly. When I woke up I did feel uncomfortable mostly, some pain on the lower incisions but I was given painkillers and I went to sleep. I think the most unexpected feeling was the discomfort of the bandage wrapped around my chest, initially i thought my breasts were the same size because they were so tightly wrapped (just getting out of anesthesia) and taking a deep breath wasn’t really an option. That being said, I was able to just deal with it. I spent the night at the clinic and had a friend pick me up the next day. The next few days were uncomfortable, little pain in the first 48 hours so I went off the painkillers - big mistake. Even if it doesn’t hurt, I recommend to keep on the painkillers as once/ if the pain sets in, it becomes much more difficult to subside it and i had to upgrade to stronger painkillers for a good 48 hours - not very enjoyable. I had the bandage taken off 48 hours after, much more comfortable but naturally this shifts the position and potentially more pain. I was given instructions on how to clean my incisions after my daily showers, and the first day I was obviously quite scared and was very careful. I am now post 2 weeks and still quite careful. I took the little plasters off a week after my appointment with the doctor(myself), approx 12 days post. The discomfort lasted a good 4/5 days before I started feeling better, it took me about a week to get back into my normal sleeping schedule ( ie I’m usually out like a light and sleep for a good 8-9 hours straight). My body was just constantly awake the first few days. Whilst I stayed with a friend, i was solo the first few days which in retrospect was not the most ideal situation. I had to be super careful on lifting anything and i mostly just spent my days indoors not doing much. I would recommend having someone with you the first few days just in case, to help you walk around town to get the legs moving. I did wear compression leggings the first week as I wasn’t moving much. I felt much better a week post, although till very careful on lifting anything. I am limiting myself to 1.5kg for the first month, and stopping anytime I feel like my incisions are acting up. Really just taking it as easy as possible the first month. Overall I took two weeks off, i was able to travel (train) 1.5 week post (asking for help suitcase wise, never lifting my suitcase, worst case was pushing my suitcase down some stairs with my feet - ie better have someone with you), and I will be heading back to work 2 weeks post. Overall, keep on your pain meds, take it really really easy the first week and generally the first month and have someone with you the first few weeks. Two weeks post, the stitches are naturally still present but I can see some incisions are healing faster. Overall, healing is good so far. There is still some odd pain here and there, for now it has been short in nature. Mostly it comes up when I am moving my arms too much, so I am very quick to stop and sit, although sometimes a little too persistent on the arms (work in progress, I am not used to be idle). I am overall very happy with my decision. I was always quite calm and confident in my decision as I knew it’s what I wanted to do. To calm my occasional nerve slip up regarding anesthesia, I just visualised myself on the operating table going under and got over the fear. I was not nervous day of, quite calm and the doctors and nurses are there to answer any last queries or concern/ fear. Overall I was more excited for the end result, and I still am. Mostly it is patience and reminding myself that I need to take it easy, a waiting game until I can start working out again and getting back into my normal routine - I am very excited to see how exercise changes for me. Clothing also fits much better now, although my key reason to get a breast reduction was mostly exercise wise/ body comfort wise - I am however happy I don’t need to constantly wear a scarf :) When I shared my plan to get a breast reduction with some friends and family, I did get some “but you don’t actually need it” and “your body does not look disproportional at all”. To be quite honest, I looked forward to comments like that because it forced me to take an external perspective and really question my decision, which ultimately only made me even more certain of my decision. Ultimately I knew I was the only one placed to make that decision, and I only needed to justify it to myself and to no one else. Anyways I hope this helps, I will post more update photos soon. Updated on 4 Jan 2018: I am back at work and feeling better, although still sore when I lift something relatively heavy (ie my bag is very very light, no laptop or bottle or water). The incisions so far are healing nicely, my left breast seems to be doing better than my right. Still some odd shots of pain here and there but if I respect the limited arm movement rule then I realized I do not need to take pain meds. I will head back to the doctors a month and a half post to discuss the next step (ie scarring and related gels). Updated on 4 Jan 2018: For info 800g total was removed, 400g from each breast. Additional tip is asking for a post surgery type lotion, my skin is uber dry and has gotten very itchy lately, not around the incisions but mostly around the side of my breasts. Very excited to see the final size when swelling goes down and they finally set. Updated on 4 Jan 2018:
I had the privilege of meeting Dr Claude in Paris during my visit. What I liked most about Dr Claude was his attitude from the moment I had met him, one of the most important factors in choosing a surgeon is assessing not only the doctor's skill but also his standard of ethics. From my experience I can tell you that not only is he highly skilled (he helped make my face more symmetrical and natural with Voluma fillers ) on what he does but he's also very honest and for that I recommend him highly.
