BA Journey from a Flat-chested, Less Than AA Cup Girl

I have been stalking these RealSelf forums and breast augmentation pages for awhile now :)
Finally decided to document my experience here, so that I could track my progress as well as share experiences which could hopefully be helpful to others going through the same thing!

I have always been very flat-chested since my teenage years, as can be seen from the photos. I put off getting a breast augmentation for many years because 1) held out the hope that I could eventually gain weight and that my breasts would finally "grow" or "fill out", 2) afraid of pain from surgery, 3) afraid of other people's opinions/ judging me for getting a BA

I hated my look. Day in and day out clothes and bras never fit properly. As you can see I cannot even fill an AA-cup. Finally, after many years of being depressed; one day I woke up and thought, this is enough. I am sick and tired and cannot live the rest of my life anymore like this.

After doing a ton of research, I found that --

1. Breasts cannot grow anymore after puberty (puberty is a tightly controlled process and your body cannot be "tricked" into puberty twice/ enter puberty again after adulthood);
2. Pills, foods, creams and massages do not have strong scientific evidence/ proven to work;
3. Hormone therapy was slightly promising in transgender studies, but in the best case results the transgender women could only increase by half a cup to 1 cup size. Also there are side effects from the hormones -- mood swings, tender breasts, acne (i am guessing for me), vaginal discharge... and requires therapy for at least 6 months. For me who could not even fill AA cup... half a cup to 1 cup size increase does not sound promising...
4. Thus the only reliable option left - breast augmentation surgery

So I went about looking for BA reviews, and found this RealSelf website. Wow here there are TONS of amazing stories, and helpful doctor answers to every question I could possibly want to know. Before RealSelf I always had this stupid idea that only celebrities / rich people / models get plastic surgery to look even more stunning. And that plastic surgeons are cold, calculating "in it for the money". How wrong was I... I saw pictures of ordinary women with sagging, deflated, deformed, asymmetrical, underdeveloped breasts (just like me). I was far from alone. I read detailed, sincere answers from doctors who took great pride in their work and who clearly sought what was best for their patients. I was blown away... and yes, RealSelf was the turning point. It was then that I decided to get a breast augmentation surgery :)

In May 2018 this year, I had my BA surgery booked at Bumrungrad Hospital (Bangkok, Thailand). The hospital was recommended to me by a friend who previously had his rhinoplasty done there. He liked it so much that he recommended his sister to have rhinoplasty done there with the same doctor.

Upon checking their website I found that the plastic surgeon who did his surgery was no longer with the hospital. So I emailed Bumrungrad with photographs of my sad looking (non-existent) breasts, comments on my medical history, and asked them to recommend me a plastic surgeon specifically for breast augmentation. I found the Bumrungrad staff to be very prompt, on the ball and detailed in their replies, so when they came back to me with comments from a surgeon who reviewed my case, I felt good to proceed with both the hospital and the surgeon. After fixing a consultation date, I went ahead with flight and hotel arrangements.

NOTE: on hindsight, as I read reviews I realized that there are plenty HORROR stories involving surgeries gone wrong in Thailand, including at Bumrungrad Hospital. Although I had a very good experience with the hospital and surgeon, I actually now hesitate to recommend Bumrungrad to anyone...

At that time, I was comfortable to proceed with Bumrungrad Hospital and the surgeon because,

1) They sounded competent and detailed and going by their website have full suites of services catered specifically to medical tourism (including visa and hotel arrangement, translation services, detailed prep guides and brochures etc.)

2) I am based in Singapore and travel to Bangkok often (at least twice a year for work). So my thinking at the time was that any follow-ups in person or by phone or email would not be too difficult (minimal timezone difference, short flight duration)

3) The price was alot cheaper compared to Singapore. On hindsight now I realized I was tremendously lucky in my Bangkok plastic surgery experience, but not everyone may be as lucky.

So if you are able to afford it and are considering a BA, I would definitely say it is better to pay more and have it done at a well known / reputable institution in your home country by an experienced board certified plastic surgeon with good credentials.

More to come in a later post...

I had my BA done in May 2018 with Dr. Sorawuth Chu-Ongsakul at Bumrungrad Hospital. The first time I met him, I was actually quite turned off, he came across as really cold and unfeeling, unsmiling "unsympathetic" kind of. But after explaining my situation and what I hoped to achieve, he was really professional and answered all of my questions patiently (I had MANY questions). We looked at breast implants together and I tried on a few sizes. He said that 225cc HP silicone implants under the muscle would be just perfect. I actually wanted smaller (and not HP, please !!) but he said that this is the best option and i'm so thankful followed his advice-- because now looking at my result it really does look perfect for my frame, "not too big but not too small" <-- those were his words

Also, I need to mention that I have pre-existing scoliosis and asymmetry (not sure if visible from the photos). One shoulder and one ribcage is higher than the other. I was mentally prepared beforehand that Dr. Sorawuth would turn me down after a physical examination and that I could go back to Singapore without having BA surgery. This was an option I was mentally prepared to accept. But he did some measurements, examined my spine & ribcage, asked questions on medical history, if I had any other health problems like heart problems (I do not). Eventually he said that he would try his best to achieve symmetry (may not be 100% but as symmetrical as possible). I was okay with that and surgery was scheduled for that same day.

To cut a long story short, Bumrungrad Hospital did not disappoint. All paperwork, X rays, blood tests, hospital lodging were settled very efficiently. I had a shower and got prepped for surgery. The hospital staff (nurses, counter staff, porters, hospital orderlies) everyone of them were nothing short of AMAZING, friendly, polite, efficient and are able to speak in English. I try hard to think back on anything that was negative (because I would like to give a balanced and honest review as much as possible) but I cannot actually think of one instance. Even the hospital staff I met in the lifts were so kind to ask me (as well as other patients who were in the lifts) what floors they were going to and helped us to press the lift buttons. The whole hospital was beautifully decorated and furnished like a hotel lounge. I was frankly stunned because some of the hospitals in Singapore don't. even. come. close. (I am unhappy to write this but unfortunately it is true)

Just before the surgery, Dr. Sorawuth came to see me, take photographs and draw on my chest with a marker. He commented again that he would try to achieve symmetry as much as possible. An anaesthetist came to see me as well. He was a really sweet, kind, grandfatherly sort of person who reassured me that I was in very good hands. He said that Dr. Sorawuth was the best and that pain and suffering would be minimal. He said that some of Dr. Sorawuth's patients were up and about doing "light shopping" on the 2nd day post-surgery! I don't know how true is this but I was so glad for this kind and sweet anaesthetist :)

After I woke up from surgery, I felt this weight/pain/soreness on my chest. It was bearable. I couldn't see properly because my chest was all bandaged up, but HELLO for the first time I had breasts!!! The most awesome feeling in the world :) The nurses came to ask me how I was. I told them -- FANTASTIC :) LOL I must have been the strangest, happiest patient there, lying in bandages, smiling from ear to ear. Whatever! didn't care I was happy to finally have breasts :)
They removed the oxygen mask (told them I didn't need it), continued to monitor my vitals for about an hour. Everything was okay, so they moved me up to the hospital room. I was able to sleep and just rested through the night. My chest did not hurt much due to the painkillers, but my stomach was uncomfortable (due to the general anaesthetic from the surgery). The fantastic nurses who were always attentive and lovely came immediately when I buzzed them using the bedside intercom button thing. That was about 4am. They gave me a Tylenol 500 for my stomach complaint and I went back to sleep.
Dr. Sorawuth came in at 5am to check on me and he took a look at the breast bandages. Thankfully everything was great so he explained about the antibiotics regime post-op, gave some instructions on the bandages (that they were waterproof, to shower as normal), not to lift my arms over my head and not to lift heavy things only light activity allowed etc. It was 5am and I wanted to go back to sleep. But now thinking back, I should have just said, right there, what I should have said -- thank you, thank you, thank you SO MUCH, DOCTOR :)