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Late 20s, No Kids, Long-wished-for Breast Reduction DD/E to B-ish - Boston, MA

UPDATED FROM amyelliottdunne
5 months post

Long time no see!

amyelliottdunne
WORTH IT
I scribbled out my face in these because it's a terrible angle lol. I'm also not posting regular updates anymore since really the only thing left is scare fading but I will still keep y'all updating on that, just less frequently :)

So yeah. Things are going great. On the picture of my left breast you can see a red spot along the incision line. About a month and a half or so ago I had a stitch pop out. It was weird since I was so far along in healing! It actually really hurt at first, and I called my surgeon's office -- they just had me send a picture (so nice not having to trek all the way in since their office is quite a distance) and then confirmed yep, that's a stitch that didn't dissolve, put some cream and a bandaid on it and you'll be good in a few days. And I was! Now that spot just has to fade.

I can start wearing underwires again but honestly, why would I?? I would like to get more slightly-supportive soft cup/bralettes.

Oh, and after surgery I had lost feeling in my right nipple only. That has returned! I wouldn't say it's at 100% back to normal, but probably like 90%.

That's it I think... hope all of you who have had surgery in June/July are doing great!!

amyelliottdunne's provider

Yoon Sun Chun, MD

Yoon Sun Chun, MD

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

amyelliottdunne rating for Dr. Chun:

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Answered my questions
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Replies (5)

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July 31, 2015
you look great!
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July 31, 2015
Wow you look great! From the pictures you can barely see the scars! And I'm with you, why go back to underwire? The only reason I wear underwire is to support my breasts. If you don't need that, then why bother? Id be braless all the time lol
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July 31, 2015
They look wonderful! I'm seeing Dr. Chun in Septmeber.
July 31, 2015
She is really fantastic!
August 19, 2015
Looking good!! I am 3 months post op today, so crazy! What have you been using on your scars? They look amazing:-)
August 19, 2015
congrats on being 3 months!! I am using a scar/stretch mark cream from a brand called Body Merry. I got mine on Amazon but you can get it on their website too. I wanted to use something natural/organic. It seems to be working nicely! Not magic, but I don't think that anything would be. Some people remark on the smell of this cream in the reviews, but to me it just smells faintly of Snickers candy bars :)
August 20, 2015
awesome-thank you! I am so so happy I went through with it, I am thankful everyday. You helped me tremendously through this site and I am grateful for it! :-)
September 25, 2015
I used Vitamin E oil after my Mastectomy/Breast Reconstruction (36C) You did the right thing. I'm very active, love working out and lifting weights. My implants have made everything more difficult and painful, even sleeping hurts! Vitamin E oil has seemed to help fade mine, plus it keeps your skin healthy :) Congrats!
September 16, 2015
I was so glad to come across your story. I am from Boston area, definitely needing a BR, 5"7" 160 lbs size 34 H- cervical disc problems/back/neck/shoulder problems getting worse.
Dr. Chun seems wonderful and I love the way your breasts turned out-some of them on this site are scary along with the problems they have had. I think I will male a consult appointment with Dr.Chun hope I have as good a result as you. Best wishes for continued health.
September 21, 2015
Yes, everyone heals differently so some problems can't really be prevented (like my problem spots in the t-junction!) but having a surgeon who knows what she's doing does make a huge difference, and Dr. Chun definitely knows what she's doing! She is amazing, and if you do make a consult and go forward, best of luck!
September 23, 2015
Thank you and continued good health to you.
UPDATED FROM amyelliottdunne
3 months post

Purchased a real bra today...

amyelliottdunne
I'm not supposed to actually wear underwire bras for another 2 months or so but I got super excited looking at them at Target and tried some on.

My current size is... drumroll please!

36B!

I think I could get down to a 34B, I'm just a little out of shape and that band size was a bit too snug around (cup seemed fine, though). :x

In any case, I'm very excited by this!! I also bought this swimsuit in a medium:
http://www.target.com/p/women-s-halter-swim-dress-merona/-/A-15907389
No underwire, only molded cups, and it fits like a dream!

Replies (5)

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May 31, 2015
Love your new size! What you are now is what I hope to be. It must be so nice to be that small! Lol I'm a bit jealous (: How have your scars been healing?
May 31, 2015
scars are healing normally, i think! the vertical scars have gotten a lot lighter, but the nipple and horizontal ones are still fairly pink. but i'm super pale so that's not too surprising, haha. they are very flat (even where i had the healing problem in the t junction) and ARE getting lighter, though. :)
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May 31, 2015
That's great to hear! (:
May 31, 2015
yayyy! so exciting you look great! How long were you swollen for? I'm two weeks post-op tomorrow, and I feel like they are still swollen...still love the results though! Thanks for continuing to post :)
May 31, 2015
oh man i don't remember for sure! i think they were hard and swollen for about 1.5-2 weeks, and then they started softening up and dropping gradually--so i think you're good. there are a lot of gradual changes to the firmness and shape that happened over the last almost-4 months! :)
June 1, 2015
Well , I just read all of your story. They came out so good ! I'm having my surgery is July and I'm scared to death. I had cancer on the upper part of my breast in 2007 and the last 3 years the skin was so thin ( because they took out 4and a half inches of skin ) that my one breast is so big ! I have not been able to move all this time so I know about the weight. Your story was the first and only looked at a couple of pictures. Now more scared than ever ! Lol my doctor has not told me what to get yet for after the surgery. I don't know what I need.
June 1, 2015
Zip up tops Post op bras Wedge pillow helped with sleeping in my back.
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June 27, 2015
Any updates on your bust related pain?
June 29, 2015
hi! sorry for the delayed response :) update is i would say all of my bust-related pain is gone, my shoulders and upper back are great. i still have lower back pain but i know this is related to sitting all day at my desk job and i need to get on doing certain exercises. :)
June 30, 2015
Wow you look great!!! My surgery is next week Friday so ready for this change!!
UPDATED FROM amyelliottdunne
3 months post

it's been nearly a month since my last update!

amyelliottdunne
Hard to believe it's been that long, but then again, not much exciting has been happening!

I can tell that they are still going to settle a little more because my t junction is still a little hard, but overall they have really settled into a nice shape. I started using a real scar cream today. Before I had been using a solid lotion with neroli, which helps a little with scar healing but isn't actually specifically for scars. I'm trying a brand called Body Merry. I will update with how that goes :)

I have also attached pictures of me in JUST a cami! Unbelievable, I never would have been able to do that before lol. This is just a cami from Old Navy with a built-in shelf bra which would have been useless before. I love it. I haven't been brave enough to venture out without a bra yet because I get cold easily!! and it would be a little obvious. But I'm sure that day will come.

Replies (5)

May 8, 2015
Must be a great feeling:) I can't wait to have my BR:) enjoy your new you!!!!
May 8, 2015
Gosh you look so good! Your new boobs look like the perfect size on you, exactly where the should be naturally :) The bra tops are basically useless and I've always wanted to use just those for around the house. Little jealous! Okay a lot haha... Glad to hear you're doing so well and looking fantastic! Hope you get the courage to venture out braless soon, I'd try bandaids over my nipples (no idea if that would work, my areolas are pretty big currently). Thanks for updating!!
May 9, 2015
thank you! I agree, I'm so happy with the size and shape. I actually went today with just the cami instead of a bra, because the top I was layering over it was thick enough to make me feel secure. It was weird, because I'm so used to having support there!! but it's good to know it's totally an option. they make "petals" you can put over your nipples instead of a bra or bandaids but I haven't tried them yet!
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May 8, 2015
They look great. Keep us posted going forward. I just made an appointment with her today for the fall.
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May 11, 2015
You look great! I'm in the "doing research" stage for BR right now, I CANNOT wait until I'm small and can have the option to go out in public braless! Please continue to update, I'm very curious to see how the scarring heals, though like I said, you look fantastic. Also have a question for you- how long after the surgery did it take til you were able to sleep on your side? I cannot stand sleeping on my back, I think that will be my biggest struggle post op
May 11, 2015
thank you! I think it was about a month before I started sleeping on my side. I waited until it was completely comfortable. I'm a side sleeper most of the time so it was definitely and adjustment to sleep on my back the entire time! Things like putting a pillow under my knees made it easier though.
May 11, 2015
You look great! The scars healed really nicely. Our 'before boobs' looked almost identical! http://www.realself.com/forum/pain-reduction-upper-back-neck-shoulders-surgery-life-changing-ddish-weeks - what size are you now? I am 3 weeks post and still very swollen.
May 11, 2015
Yeah we do look similar! You look awesome :) I haven't tried on a real bra within the last month or so. At 2 months, I was a perfect 34c. My breasts have definitely softened up a little more since then so I'm not sure if I'm the same size now or a little smaller, but either way I'm happy!