I have been following this site for a while and it is such a fountain of knowledge. Reading the other reviews has informed me and reassured me in many ways.
It has been now almost 4 months since I had my breast reduction surgery and it was finally time to write about my own experience.
I have a similar story to all of you. I can hardly remember a time when I have not had big breasts. I was always ashamed of them and did not like any attention drawn to me because of it. So I tried to hide them with the way I dressed and with my posture, which certainly suffered because of it. I think there were pretty noticeable anyway, but thankfully not that many people commented on it.
I had many weight fluctuations and always enjoyed loosing weight, because my breasts would get smaller as well. I believe I have more fatty than breast tissue, because they would lose a lot of mass whenever I lost weight. The skin and tissue suffered a lot, it was almost impossible to find a good bra. My size was around 70g/h or 75f/g.
I wanted to get a reduction for 10 years and now finally had the guts to go ahead. I live in Germany and here it is very hard to get a breast reduction surgery covered through insurance. As I didn't have any history of back pain problems or any other physical complaints, I knew I would have to pay out of pocket. Reading the reviews, so many of you in the US get insurance coverage, but here there are only just a few. I was considering doing it locally, but the price is so high, I decided to have my surgery in Prague.
I have read many positive reviews about Dr. ?erná and the Laderma Clinic and chose to have my surgery there in October of last year. Everything worked out as I had hoped. My boyfriend and I flew in on a Sunday, had a day to enjoy the city. On Monday I had all my pre op appointments and the surgery on Tuesday. Everything went well even though I was nervous as hell. The doctor took out 580 gr from the right and 600 gr from the left side. Spend the night in the hospital and on Wendsday moved over to our apartment. The drains were just kept in for the first night, thankfully it was not painful when they were taken out again. We stayed in Prague till Saturday and then flew back again.
I was very concerned about having a surgery in a different country and have to admit I am very glad not to have had any big complications while healing. I send the pictures of my progress and the communication was very good with the manager. All in all, my experience was very good.
Sleeping on the back for the first 2 weeks was very uncomfortable. I was never really in pain, just very sore in the beginning. The most pain came actually from having to sleep on the back, which I am just not used to. I had a small opening at the T section of my left breast, but it healed over fine and now there is just a little bit more scar tissue. I will put a picture of how it looks now and while there were healing.
I try to massage my scars from time to time and use a silicon tape on the scars. Mostly now on the vertical scar. I think they are healing just fine, are still red, but in some parts already turned white. I have to admit, I am very negligent about it. But it is hard to think about, as I feel absolutely no pain. They feel very natural to me, still have nipple sensation on both sides and a tiny dog ear on the inside of one breast, which I hope will continue to decrease.
Feel free to ask me anything (if you want to). I will try to update from time to time, though not much is changing anymore.
Updated on 19 Mar 2018:
Hi guys, I wanted to put up an update about my progress at 5 months post surgery. To be honest, not much has changed. I have gotten very used to my new breast size and find I am forgetting almost how it felt to even be that large. They feel exactly how they are supposed to feel like. I have uploaded a couple more pictures of the scars and the general look of them. As you can see there is almost no real difference to a month before. I dont think I have any swelling left as they feel very soft. I dont have any tenderness and have not experienced any issues while healing (except for the T spot). I could sleep on my stomach at around 2,5 months post surgery. The scars lie mostly flat except for some spots. You can see a small dog ear on the inside of one breast, but I find it bothers me less nowadays and it seems to actually shrink a little bit with time.
I wanted to do more in terms of scar management, but I have gotten very lazy and havent done anything in months. I still have some tape and want to use the last of it, mostly to keep the tension of the scars, as I tend to go without a bra a lot of the time. They seem to progress ok even without my doing anything about it. Still some redness, especially in the t section of the scar and scar is thicker in the spot, where I had the wound healing issue.
It's interesting to read, that a lot of women cannot wear an underwire bra after their breast reduction, which has never been a problem for me. But my scars are not as close to the ribcage and still on the breast crease, so while wearing the bra the underwire doesnt push against the scars.
Thats it for the update. I will try to update every month, because I found the accounts very helpful, that didnt stop updating about their progress after the initial couple months. Good luck to all you girls and see you soon :)
Updated on 14 May 2018:
Hi everyone, just a little update of my recovery and scar progression. I wanted to update before, but life got in the way and then a nice vacation...
Truthfully there is not much to tell. They feel very natural, the scars are softening up and I think are finally turning a bit lighter gradually. I can sleep any way I want and wear anything I want, which was the one big thing I was really looking forward to. It has been very warm around here lately and I have gone outside several times just braless... a dream come true :) I have not changed my style yet much, so that I still wear mostly clothes from before which tended to hide my breast more... The reason is money, as I couldnt really afford a shopping spree. But will do that soon.
Having been recently on vacation, I have tried to protect my scars while sunbathing with some strips. But I dont think it made any difference or was even nessesary.
Girls I cannot tell you how freeing it was to wear a bikini and feel normal. Usually I tended to hide my body and so didnt go that often into the water and generelly stayed hidden. Not so this time :) As you can see from my sun tan.
And no more boob sweat :)
Will try to update from time to time. If you have any questions, aks away, I will be happy to answer. And for anyone still undecided, I can only tell you that was the best decision I have ever done for myself and havent regretted one bit!
Till next time!
Updated on 19 May 2018:
Just a small update with some extra pics of me in my bikini:(fun fact: its an old one, from when I was hoping to lose weight to fit in ...never actually happened until now :) and some new bras... btw the best thing ever just going in and finding a fitting bra in a second for around 10 Dollars each :)
Updated on 16 Jul 2018:
Its me checking in again 9 months post surgery. Nothing has changed since the last update, besides me losing most of my tan :(
Nowadays I have really gotten used going without a bra most of the time. My breasts dont need the support anymore, so if I do wear one it is more to give them a nicer shape. The scars have stayed mostly the same, but I expect they will fade a little bit more over the next months. 1 year and after seems to be the time, when they become almost invisible. The dog ears on the inside of the breast crease has also stayed the same, but it doesnt bother me that much anymore. Maybe I will do something about it later on.
All my best wishes to everyone who is still waiting on their surgery date or recovering. See you next time.
Updated on 9 Jun 2021:
Hello everyone,
I wanted to make a small update on my breast reduction recovery now almost 4 years later. Not many users return and show pictures of how the scars/breast look several years after the surgery and let's be honest, that's what everyone wants to know the most. At least, that's how it was for me back then.
To be honest, I don't usually think too much about my breasts nowadays. They have become a part of me and my identity. Its seems hard to remember how it was before and I am very glad for it. Because it means, they don't weigh so much on my mind anymore (and my back). I can wear normal bra sizes and cute bikinis and often go without any when at home. Something I would never have done before, since they were hanging quite low and I always felt very self-conscious about it.
As you can see from the pictures, the scars are very fine and barely visible. The nipple placement could be a bit lower, but I have gotten used to it. All in all, I am still very happy with my decision and would recommend the surgery everybody who is considering it. It changed my life for the better ;)
Updated on 9 Jun 2021:
Hello everyone,
I wanted to make a small update on my breast reduction recovery now almost 4 years later. Not many users return and show pictures of how the scars/breast look several years after the surgery and let's be honest, that's what everyone wants to know the most. At least, that's how it was for me back then.
To be honest, I don't usually think too much about my breasts nowadays. They have become a part of me and my identity. Its seems hard to remember how it was before and I am very glad for it. Because it means, they don't weigh so much on my mind anymore (and my back). I can wear normal bra sizes and cute bikinis and often go without any when at home. Something I would never have done before, since they were hanging quite low and I always felt very self-conscious about it.
As you can see from the pictures, the scars are very fine and barely visible. The nipple placement could be a bit lower, but I have gotten used to it. All in all, I am still very happy with my decision and would recommend the surgery everybody who is considering it. It changed my life for the better ;)