Warwick Harper, MBBS, FRACS

I think Dr Harper is amazing. He is great at what he does. He doesn't mollycoddle his patients but gives you all the information you need and is realistic about what your outcome will be. He is a kind man and would recommend him to anybody.

This website has been so incredibly helpful for me to decide AND TO STAY DECIDED that it was time to remove my implants that I owe this special community my own story. It is definitely not an easy decision to make and an emotional roller coast ride which I am still on. I think we all wish that getting a boob-job meant getting bigger real breast tissue and that was the end of it and not having to make on-going decisions to keep/remove/replace these things!
I got my implants at age 18. I was very very small chested (32AA) and was self conscious about having no boobs - I just wanted a small natural-looking breast that I felt would make me look and feel more in proportion. I left it up to the surgeon to decide what size was best for me and was given silicone 260cc textured implants over the muscle. Even though they weren't perfect (I had capsular contraction on the left side with one failed attempt at fixing it) for a long time I was just happy to just have something in the breast region and I just tried to forget about them and went on enjoying my life!
However you can't always forget and you have to face them sometimes! I very much relate to the stories I have read on here about not being able to hug people close for fear of them feeling them, being embarrassed/ashamed by them unnaturally and obviously jutting out when laying down in a fitness class or at the physio or beach. Shoulder pain, rounded posture, dressing to hide them and never being being able to lay comfortably on my stomach - i cant wait for that day! I am tired of all these things and I'm ready to try to be just me again - I want my body to heal and for me to be as healthy as possible before having children and (hopefully) breast feeding them without any further surgerys hanging over my head or scary thoughts of breast implant rupturing! If I am completely honest if i didn't have any problems/ issues with CC, I may have taken the easier option and replaced them this time (since its been 13 years) for the smallest possible implant available (200cc perhaps?) as it is scary and upsetting thinking about what i'll be left with but in may case they were problematic and after two attempts I'm pretty sure I would just get CC again and I would be back in the same situation wanting them out.
I had the explant this morning and i'm feeling very well just a little bit tender but I haven't had to take any pain medication yet! It took about 2 hours and I was happy to hear that they were both intact although the surgeon has told me that he found I had a slimy infection around the right implant which he has had to wash out and that it was the type of infection antibiotics would not have been able to reach and that my left breast capsule was extremely thick he had to remove it. I can't believe I have had this inside me for however long!
I have to admit I have cried a couple of time since seeing my profile in the mirror - I am tightly bandaged and so I look very different even in clothes I'm so flat! But I just have to remember its for the right reasons and even my surgeon said me 'you did the right thing, those things were better out than in'. I am also lucky to have a very supportive husband who is as excited as I am to start a family and we both felt this was the right time to say goodbye to the fake boobies! I don't regret getting them as I don't want to punish myself more and they did what I wanted them to do - they lifted my 18 year old self self esteem but now my health is my priority!
I will update with some photos as I progress - thank you so much to everyone for sharing your stories I really could not have done it wiithout you!

Updated on 16 Oct 2014:


Updated on 18 Oct 2014:


Updated on 18 Oct 2014:


Updated on 19 Oct 2014:
Hi everyone - I just wanted to say thank you for all the kind words of encouragement it really does help me on this road to recovery! I am hoping that from here I will see some gradual improvements but even now, I'm so happy to see them gone I know is was the right decision for me. I have to say I an feeling very bloated and achey (its day 4) which isn't pleasant but I think its to be expected after any surgery you are going to be uncomfortable for the first week or so at least! I I will keep you posted :)

Updated on 21 Oct 2014:
Its day 5 today (Tuesday) and my first day back at work since surgery last Thursday morning - i have a desk job so I don't have to do anything strenuous but it was a slight struggle in the morning - I felt light headed but it passed and I was fine the rest of the day.

I wore a soft bra on top of my compression bra - with a thin foam pad in between and it worked a treat. Very comfortable and although it didn't give me a huge boost it is enough to give me some shape! I notice when I looked in the mirror at work I definitely look smaller but my husband thinks no one else will notice - and even if they do, I don't anyone would mention it!

Best of luck for a safe recovery for all the girls on here - myself included!:)

Updated on 22 Oct 2014:


Updated on 29 Oct 2014:
Hi all, I just wanted to post a quick photo update at almost 2 weeks. I had a meeting with my surgeon today who let me know the pathogy of my capsules came back fine (I didn't even know they were being tested so I'm happy to have that additional reassurance). He removed the remaining surgical tape and I was shocked at how nicely th scars are healing - much better than before ! I have no pain and feel 100% well again - the first week or so isn't pleasant guys but hang in there and you will be feeling your old self before you know it! :) x

Updated on 9 Nov 2014:
Hi all, I'm now just over three weeks post op and feeling very thankful to be healing well and with so pain or issues so far - fingers crossed it continues this way! I went for my first little jog at exactly three weeks after my surgeon said I was okay to start exercising again and I lay on my stomach in bed today which felt so good I actually had a happy tear! You won't believe how wonderful it feels after so long of not being able to just lay down flat comfortably for do long - it really is the little things that you will love ! I am feeling so healthy that I genuinely regret not getting those things out of me sooner than I did. If there are ladies out there who have decided but keep putting it off I can assure you - you won't regret it ! :)

Updated on 2 Dec 2014:
Its been just over 6 weeks now - I don't think there has been too much change. Swelling has now gone so it think they may be slightly smaller and less tender now i feel 100% fit and well! I stopped wearing my compression bra at around 4 weeks which I hope is okay. Sometimes I put it back on at home as I worry it might have been too soon? My left breast is looking more deflated than my right but considering the solid capsular contraction it had in there its not pulled up too bad really! :) overall my energy levels are through the roof & I couldn't be happier to be implant free. I wish everyone a safe and smooth recovery x

Updated on 2 Apr 2015:
Hi all I just wanted to post a updated photo of my progress - I am amazed at how well the skin has contracted and that there has been some fluffing in the last couple of months - they are small but they feel a million times better than the implants :)

I had gyno surgery under Dr Warrick Harper. Within two weeks of the operation my right nipple began to fold over. Within 6 weeks the fat around both my nipples and especially my right nipple began to return. I saw the Dr about this and he stated that he left it like this and it was fine. I have since seen other surgeons who have informed me that the some gyno had been left behind. Throughout the whole process I felt like a number and not a patient. I have since gone to another doctor to help.

I had a MACS Face lift 10 years ago performed by Dr. Harper. I liked him, but have been left with the most obvious horrible scars in front of my ears towards my temple. I went back a few times for him to fix the scars, but on the last occasion, he said that's all I can do. So 10 years down the track - I am still trying to cover my face scars up.

I had submuscular implants in 2000 and the doctor stuffed them up. Didn't release the muscle properly and bad scar. 5 years later I got up the nerve to go under again and have them fixed. By then, all the surgeons who I went to were very reluctant to try and sort out someone else's mess.

Finally I went to an ancient doctor in Manly who not only sounded confident he could fix them, but he pretty well did it for free (claiming on medicare on my behalf so I only paid the difference). He did a fantastic job. Took implants out of submuscular, reattached muscle to bone, new implants subglandular, scar revision.

I'm actually pretty happy with them still and they are still getting better (years later) however I know they will droop at some point and also: there is a little visibility of one implant (I'm quite thin, which is why submuscular was the choice of my first surgeon). But nipple sensitivity is good, they feel good (although I can feel the implant) and they look great. Certainly look a dam sight better than the Frankenstein's bride look my first (and more expensive) surgeon left me with.

1) Does subglandular placement cause more tissue thinning then other placements and is this an issue for future redos? 2) Is it possible that some women have muscles 'too strong' to get a good result from submuscular? 3) Can I get a submuscular redo next, even though I'm subglandular now and was submuscular first? Or would that be more damaging to the tissue?