Dr. Kolb Saved My Life - No Joke - Atlanta, GA

My breast implant removal was in 2004, but I'm writing a review because I was on Dr. Kolb's website hoping she also does cystocele surgery - didn't find anything, so will call the office later. I read some reviews and felt I must write about my experience because I owe her so much. I had silicone implants for 15 years before the rupture in the right breast was diagnosed. I had a doctor here in Jacksonville, FL immediately remove the implants and silicone - or so I thought. When I woke up from my surgery, the first thing I asked the doctor was if he had gotten all the silicone out. He said he got it all with a big grin on his face. It turned out the lying jerk only took the implants out ... not one drop of silicone was removed. I knew in my mind he had lied because I still had symptoms, but I couldn't even get a mammogram done for three months because my incision wouldn't heal due to an infection from the surgery. I had an oozing hole in my breast the size of a quarter. I can only believe it's because the surgeon in Jacksonville left all the silicone in my breast and my poor body couldn't heal properly. When I finally saw the post-surgery mammogram after the implants were removed, I cried. Other than the implants themselves being removed, it looked exactly as the first mammogram that diagnosed the rupture and free silicone. All the free silicone was left untouched - very obvious large granulomas as well as smaller clusters (it looks like a bunch of cottage cheese on the x-ray). I was furious and scared. I knew silicone was toxic and didn't want it staying in my body another minute. I consulted three different male surgeons in Jacksonville, FL, who gave me three different opinions: one doctor refused to believe that I even had silicone in my breasts and ranted about Connie Chung ruining the implant industry on 60 Minutes (what a quack); another doctor said he could get the silicone out but I might end up with no nipples; another doctor felt a double mastectomy would be appropriate and could not guarantee getting all the silicone (the rupture was only in the right breast). All I know is I still had pain in my right shoulder area and shooting down my right leg. None of the three doctors believed it was related to the silicone, but I knew my body better than any of them. The tingling had started weeks before having the implants removed - apparently when the silicone granulomas were becoming larger and more invasive (it took months after the implant ruptured for the silicone to travel throughout my chest wall and build up these granulomas - they're the result of the body's defense mechanism). There was no other reason for my body to be tingling like it was. When reviewing my mammogram from a year prior, I could see the exact moment of the implant rupturing - a faint outline of material coming from the implant while my breast was being squeezed in the mammogram x-ray machine (this was overlooked by the technician and doctor at the time it happened). I found Dr. Susan Kolb on the internet and contacted her. She responded the same day. She was the first doctor to believe me about my symptoms and gave me hope that she could cure me. After reading about women dying from silicone butt injections, I drove to Atlanta to meet Dr. Kolb. It was the smartest thing I've ever done. She is intelligent, caring and an expert surgeon. The silicone had traveled to my rib cage and gotten into my lymph nodes in the armpit. It was a 9-hour surgery. Are people kept waiting in the waiting room to see her? Probably, but it's just like seeing an ob/gyn. When women's babies are being born, the doctor has to go and the patient is the priority. Dr. Kolb and her team stayed with me the whole 9 hours until the job was done. Thank God for her dedication to the patient and prioritizing accordingly. One of her assistants even had to drive through the snow on her motorcycle to get into work that morning. After Dr. Kolb's surgery, I am cleared of all silicone. Upon seeing the jars of silicone after removal, it made me sick to my stomach. The stuff is like sticky flypaper - old, yellow glue. No wonder my arm and leg were tingling ... this stuff was sitting on my nerves and sticking to my body on the inside. So, yes, Dr. Kolb saved my life. Over twelve years later, I am perfectly normal, mammograms clean. My surgery by Dr. Kolb included a partial mastectomy of the right breast, removal of lymph nodes from the right armpit and a double breast lift. Nipples are present and looking good. The scars are thin and the healing time was normal. Zero complications for such a tricky surgery. Dr. Kolb is a genius and I would trust my life and my children's life with her. Enough said.