The Pots of Gold (Platinum) at the End of the Rainbow, 755cc (now 920cc) B-lites

I’ve been on this website for perhaps 4 years, watching, listening, and learning. I’ve asked the occasional question and added a number of likes. I’ve gained heaps. Now it’s my turn to put something back.
This is a long-ish story, but I’ll try to keep it brief.
In 2000 I had my first set of implants. They were 250cc moderate profile silicone, inserted with a trans-axillary incision, sub-muscular. They were perfect, giving me a modest “D” cup.
Eight years, two children, and considerable weight gain (and loss) later, I had distinctly saggy breasts, so I went back to the surgeon who did the original work for a revision. He intended to replace them with 280cc moderate profile silicone implants, placed partially sub-muscular, via a circum-peri areola incision. In the event, when I came out of the anaesthetic I had 375cc implants.
When the bandages were removed, I was horrified. One breast was way-higher than the other. So bad was the result, that a second revision was performed the following day.
Whilst the second revision was an improvement, the breasts were still wrong, being too small, too far apart, asymmetric, and too low a profile. It was immediately clear that I was going to need another revision.
In retrospect, I made four mistakes:
First, my original surgeon did not usually carry out revisions. Back then, I did not understand that a revision is not the same as the first time.
Second, 350cc was normally my original surgeon’s absolute limit. He stretched it to 375cc in my case (having realised part way through the operation that 280cc's was not going to work), but clearly it was not enough for the volume of my breast sack. They have always been underfilled.
Third, I only saw him a few minutes before I was anesthetised (on both occasions). He carried out none of the markings which I now see done on other patients before they are operated on, and which guide the surgeon during the operation. I appear to have been operated on "freehand", (which would explain the asymmetry of my breasts and the two different crease heights).
Finally, I did not tell my surgeon what I wanted. I somehow trusted that he would do the same wonderful job for me that he did first time around. What he thought I wanted, and what I thought he understood were completely different.
My husband and I resolved to learn as much about the science and art of breast implants as we could before undertaking a third revision, to ensure that I could make it clear to the next surgeon what I wanted, and equally, so that I could understand what he believed was possible. We wanted no more nasty surprises.
As a consequence of understanding implants properly, my engineer-husband began thinking about the problem of building a better implant. After some months, he came up with the notion of a silicone rubber lumen, filled with silicone, but containing thousands of tiny hollow spheres to reduce the weight of the filling. Having done his own thinking, he then logged onto the net and started to search out what others had done, to discover that just such a device (called the B-lite) had been implanted in a lady in Israel a few weeks before.
We began a wait of about 4 years for the clinical trials to conclude and were at the point of giving up when the news came through that the B-lite had received full approval in Europe.
We tracked down the Australasian agent for the B-lite, and met up with Larry from Surgicore in Auckland, New Zealand in October 2016. After he showed me samples, any reservations I had about using a new technology evaporated. You could feel the lightness, and the texture was much closer to a real breast than anything I had felt before.
At that point, the B-lite was awaiting approval in both Australia and NZ. Larry kindly told us which surgeons in both countries he had been talking to, and who it might be worth getting in touch with.
I created a clear document with photos and measurements, together with a list of questions, which spelled out what I wanted. I did not want a mastopexy with the almost inevitable scarring that results, but I did want something larger and more prominent than I had. Working through various manufacturers catalogues, I concluded that I probably needed ultra-high profile implants, perhaps as much as 800ccs.
Finding a surgeon was not easy. Most wrote back and said “No”, with little explanation. Some talked of “unrealistic expectations”. I visited one who proposed that my current implants be removed, and the sacks left for 6 months, then (probably) a mastopexy to reduce the sack, and if everything had healed properly, in another 6 months, new implants of a size yet to be determined. No-one was willing to use B-lites.
The last surgeon I wrote to was Stephen Mills in Auckland. A few days later I received a long and very considerate reply which answered all my questions. He was quite happy to use B-lites, although he wasn’t sure about size, but said that we could work it out if I would be kind enough to visit.
Two years, to the day and almost to the minute after meeting Larry from Surgicore, I walked into Dr Mills’ office to meet a very calm, pleasant, and relaxed person. He examined me, I tried on different sizers, and he answered all my questions (daft and not so daft) with care and courtesy. At the end, he said that 755cc’s extra-high profile looked to be a good choice for where I was now, and what I wanted, although he couldn’t be 100% certain until I was on the operating table and he could confirm the cavity volume with a sizer.
We discussed details for three or four weeks by e-mail, finally settled on what was to happen and how, and I booked my surgery at the Brightside Hospital in Auckland with Dr Mills.
The operation was not going to be easy, as to complicate matters, I had bad capsular contracture, very differently in each breast which made it difficult to understand what might need to be done.
In the event, Dr Mills had to make quite large incisions in the breast fold to give him room to work. Afterwards, he said that it was considerably worse than he imagined, with the right breast having a double-capsule and granulation, so bad that instead of dissecting the capsule and leaving it in place to help support the new implant, he had to remove it completely. The right side was not quite so bad, and the dissected capsule was left in place.
I was concerned beforehand that 755cc’s might be disproportionate to my frame. (I am 1.68 high, 55kg, 77 – 60 – 77, (or 5’-5”, 121lbs, 32 – 24 – 32)). However, the result has been spot-on. (Dr Mills said much the same after the operation.) It took me some time to come to terms with the notion that the implant that I might need could be as large as 800cc’s, but in the end I followed the advice of a few of the other ladies on this website. Forget about the implant “number”. Find photographs of ladies you like, find the right surgeon, and have a good discussion. The size will be the size. There is no point in “freaking” about a “number”. It is the result that is important.
The other thing that helped was to realise that the result is the sum of the implant, PLUS your natural breast. My implants went from 375cc to 755, almost exactly a 100% increase. Wrong. Because the total volume of my breast plus the old implant was around 750cc’s meaning that my new total volume should be 1130cc’s. On that basis, my breast size has increased by only 50%. (I will repeat the breast volume measurements when everything has settled down again, to confirm this.)
The results? In my wildest dreams I could not have imagined better. Five weeks later, my breasts are near symmetrical again, with the nipples almost level. The swelling has gone, the scars are exactly in the fold, and healing perfectly. They feel beautiful. They match my figure. I’m not really noticing the additional weight (a 755cc B-lite only weighs as much as a 530cc conventional implant). The sacks feel nice and tight again. I can dress as I want. If I don’t want to attract attention, with a loose top no-one notices me, but if I do want to attract attention……………… I haven’t stopped smiling since I came out of the anaesthetic.
Finally, Dr Mills, Dr Chang Kim (anaesthetist) and the team at Brightside were all as professional, concerned, and as caring a group of people as one could wish to deal with. I owe them all, and Larry at Surgicore a great deal.

Went to the local bra expert today. She sized me at either a 30GG or a 32FF, depending upon the maker. (Big improvement on the only-just 30D!!).
Remaining bit of breast pain easing and I'm working out gently at the gym. Out to dinner last night for the first time. Great to feel like a real woman again!!!!!!!

Walking quite a bit now. Can't run yet. Did a full hour in the gym yesterday and am a bit sore, though mostly is is muscles that haven't been able to do too much in the last few weeks. Still sleeping with a bra on. The scars continue to heal well with the silicone sheeting on them.
I only notice the weight of the new implants because they are sitting right on top of the incisions. I think it's more the discomfort from the incisions I feel. The sacks feel nice and tight and the implants are sitting well.
I have much more nipple sensation now, and the shape of the aerola has evened up between the two sides. I now realise that the capsules must have been constricting the nipples from behind.
It's good to feel a proper woman again !