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My Breast Augmentation Journey
Where do I start!
I had breast augmentation surgery by Dr Peter Hodgkinson in October 2022. After having my first child in May 2021 I breast fed for a number of moths which left behind small empty sacks where my breasts used to be, (imagine a bean bag in a sock!) I was so self-conscious and even after losing my baby weight I was still wearing baggy clothes to hind the hideous sacks I now had. I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror or even imagine going swimming or anything that could potentially show off my cleavage in any way. After my wedding was cancelled due to covid back in 2020 we had booked a new wedding abroad for 2023, I couldn't get excited about this as I was constantly thinking about my boobs and how awful I would look in a bikini or even in my wedding dress that I once loved!
After months of research and discussions with my Finance I finally decided to book in for a consult with Peter and I'm so glad I did, from start to finish he answered all my questions and made me feel at ease. I struggle with anxiety so the thought of surgery and being put to sleep really scared me, all the possible things that could go wrong were constantly popping up in my brain. Peter and all of his team at the Colbalt hospital took the time to always answer my calls and talk through anything I was concerned about (which was a lot!).
After my 2nd consult with Peter, we had agreed that i didn't need uplift and just breast augmentation surgery but would need to go with a bit bigger implant to avoid the uplift. I tried on the bras with implants in under my top and I instantly felt like me again! This is when I knew I was making the right decision. I went home and deliberated some more. I had a 1.5-year-old at home who needed me and I knew I would be out of action for a while so this played on my mind a lot. Luckily my Finance was so supportive and offered to help so I would be able to recover. anyway, fast forward to the week of my op and I went in for my pre op appointment with a nurse (can't remember her name) she was so lovely and answered all my questions and put my mind at ease completely. She said to me that being a mom is especially hard and we always put others before ourselves she said that if this was going to make me a more confident person it will reflect on my daughter which I totally agreed with and really appreciated as i was feeling a lot of guilt.
Fast forward again to the morning of my appointment, I was terrified! the whole journey I was thinking am I doing the right thing what if it goes wrong what if I don't wake up! (very dramatic I know) I got to the hospital sat down and before I knew it I was called in I got changed in to my gown and had pre obs taken. Peter came and did the drawings on my chest and he could see how nervous I was, he reassured me and introduced me to all the staff members who would be working on me including the anaesthetist who was lovely. There was no waiting around which I was so grateful for, I was strait in and on the table ready to go. the team putting me to sleep were so lovely and reassured me again that everything would be fine and they were right, before I knew it I was awake, I asked if it was done as it felt like I blinked and I was awake! I looked down and saw my bandages, as for pain I was pretty numb but there was a small patch on my top left breast that was sore but the anaesthetist did mention beforehand that they try to numb everywhere but there may be a small section that may be missed.
The nurse gave me some tablets and before long the pain had settled down. I felt tight and stiff and hunched over, all i wanted to do was look at my new boobs but they were all bandaged up and very swollen and high, i was a bit taken back as obviously the swelling made them look a lot bigger than expected. Peter came out whilst i was in recovery and explained how everything went well and he was really happy with them he mentioned there will be swelling and the pain will start to be more severe once the anaesthetic wore off. yes, he was not wrong!
In the early hours of that morning i started to feel a lot more pain but i kept up with my codeine and paracetamol taking them alternatively which really helped. I slept on the sofa upright (Peter said i wouldn't need to) but it was easier for me as I couldn't get up from lying down. The next day the pain was a lot more severe and my left breast felt very warm. i felt sick and had cold shivers. I was concerned that I was having some sort of reaction so called the hospital emergency line as it was a Sunday no one was in. I immediately got a call back from peter Himself explaining it was just the aesthetic wearing off but to put my mind at ease I could go in the morning for an appointment if needed. I declined the offer as I knew I was probably just being dramatic and after the call from peter I felt reassured that this was totally normal. I needed to remember I had just been cut open I was obviously going to be experiencing pain!
My implants were 280-cc and placed under the muscle. I have a small incision underneath the breasts (I shall upload a photo if I'm feeling brave enough!) the next few days after this weren't exactly nice but so long as I kept alternating the painkillers it really helped. If I fell asleep in the night and missed a time slot for medication, I would wake up in agony so I set alarms which really helped. I had to take daily showers to keep my bandages clean and pat my breast bandages dry with a towel and then hair dry them to make sure they were fully dry.
Not sure how long after but must have been a few weeks I had a bit off blood leak from my right side where the bandages were and from the showers the one side became quite loose so I called again and Peter got me an appointment without hesitation. He took my bandages off and for the first time I saw my new breasts!!! they were still quite high and swollen and they looked a bit misshapen from being wrapped up but peter had explained that when they're healing, they can heal at different times so one may "drop and fluff" before the other, it wasn't drastic just slight differences i could notice. I won't bore you with every single detail and to be honest i can't remember exactly but there were a couple of occasions from this appointment that I went back again, purely for reassurance, as my breasts were healing they were looking different to one another and i was getting worried as i did what no one should ever do and that was GOOGLE! i got down a deep dark whole and was reading horror stories about Capsular contracture (don't google it) i convinced myself that i had this. I didn't.
i sent pictures via email to Peters sectary and had an immediate response from peter explaining again that what i was experiencing was completely normal and nothing to worry about but if i wanted to go in he would see me so i went in he examined my breasts and said they were healing nicely, my incision line was a bit red and bumpy but this was purely my fault for over doing things, it's hard to sit and recover when you have a toddler running around constantly wanting your attention.
It had now been around 12 weeks since my op and I was experiencing shooting pains in to my right breast down the bottom, I should probably mention the bottom half of my breast had been completely numb up until this point and i still at 7 months post op have a little bit of numbness on the underside of my breasts. When i went in to see Dr Hodkinson for like the 100th time about my shooting pains he said it was because my numbness was starting to wear off and my nerves were starting to work again and again this was completely normal.
My breasts at 12 weeks were now looking great! I struggled to find a bra that fit as since the op my breasts were constantly changing. At 12 weeks I was told I didn't need to wear a bra all of the time anymore and I was so relieved. I was discharged and told I wouldn't need any further appointments but I could call if needed. (He must have been sick of me by now). Since then, I haven't been or called back as I am extremely happy with my results my breasts are completely symmetrical and have dropped in to place perfectly! I feel I have now fully healed and I love my new breasts! I can now wear whatever I want and my self-confidence has returned! I am so glad I overcame my anxiety's and went ahead with the procedure and I'm so glad I chose Dr Peter Hodgkinson, he did an amazing job and was there for me through the whole process. He constantly made the effort to ease my anxiety's and answered any questions I had and there were a lot!
So a quick overview, I had 280CC Tear shape Implants under the breast. I am now a DD/E cup (I looked everywhere to find out what bra size 280 CC would be so here it is for anyone who needs to know. if you are thinking about getting breast implants... Do it! If you don't know who to go to... Go to Dr Peter Hodgkinson.
If you do have the procedure and they don't look perfect right away or you experience pain do not panic this is totally normal and they will heal just fine!
Thank you so much Peter and all the team at Colbalt Hospital, you have honestly changed my life.
I had breast augmentation surgery by Dr Peter Hodgkinson in October 2022. After having my first child in May 2021 I breast fed for a number of moths which left behind small empty sacks where my breasts used to be, (imagine a bean bag in a sock!) I was so self-conscious and even after losing my baby weight I was still wearing baggy clothes to hind the hideous sacks I now had. I couldn't even look at myself in the mirror or even imagine going swimming or anything that could potentially show off my cleavage in any way. After my wedding was cancelled due to covid back in 2020 we had booked a new wedding abroad for 2023, I couldn't get excited about this as I was constantly thinking about my boobs and how awful I would look in a bikini or even in my wedding dress that I once loved!
After months of research and discussions with my Finance I finally decided to book in for a consult with Peter and I'm so glad I did, from start to finish he answered all my questions and made me feel at ease. I struggle with anxiety so the thought of surgery and being put to sleep really scared me, all the possible things that could go wrong were constantly popping up in my brain. Peter and all of his team at the Colbalt hospital took the time to always answer my calls and talk through anything I was concerned about (which was a lot!).
After my 2nd consult with Peter, we had agreed that i didn't need uplift and just breast augmentation surgery but would need to go with a bit bigger implant to avoid the uplift. I tried on the bras with implants in under my top and I instantly felt like me again! This is when I knew I was making the right decision. I went home and deliberated some more. I had a 1.5-year-old at home who needed me and I knew I would be out of action for a while so this played on my mind a lot. Luckily my Finance was so supportive and offered to help so I would be able to recover. anyway, fast forward to the week of my op and I went in for my pre op appointment with a nurse (can't remember her name) she was so lovely and answered all my questions and put my mind at ease completely. She said to me that being a mom is especially hard and we always put others before ourselves she said that if this was going to make me a more confident person it will reflect on my daughter which I totally agreed with and really appreciated as i was feeling a lot of guilt.
Fast forward again to the morning of my appointment, I was terrified! the whole journey I was thinking am I doing the right thing what if it goes wrong what if I don't wake up! (very dramatic I know) I got to the hospital sat down and before I knew it I was called in I got changed in to my gown and had pre obs taken. Peter came and did the drawings on my chest and he could see how nervous I was, he reassured me and introduced me to all the staff members who would be working on me including the anaesthetist who was lovely. There was no waiting around which I was so grateful for, I was strait in and on the table ready to go. the team putting me to sleep were so lovely and reassured me again that everything would be fine and they were right, before I knew it I was awake, I asked if it was done as it felt like I blinked and I was awake! I looked down and saw my bandages, as for pain I was pretty numb but there was a small patch on my top left breast that was sore but the anaesthetist did mention beforehand that they try to numb everywhere but there may be a small section that may be missed.
The nurse gave me some tablets and before long the pain had settled down. I felt tight and stiff and hunched over, all i wanted to do was look at my new boobs but they were all bandaged up and very swollen and high, i was a bit taken back as obviously the swelling made them look a lot bigger than expected. Peter came out whilst i was in recovery and explained how everything went well and he was really happy with them he mentioned there will be swelling and the pain will start to be more severe once the anaesthetic wore off. yes, he was not wrong!
In the early hours of that morning i started to feel a lot more pain but i kept up with my codeine and paracetamol taking them alternatively which really helped. I slept on the sofa upright (Peter said i wouldn't need to) but it was easier for me as I couldn't get up from lying down. The next day the pain was a lot more severe and my left breast felt very warm. i felt sick and had cold shivers. I was concerned that I was having some sort of reaction so called the hospital emergency line as it was a Sunday no one was in. I immediately got a call back from peter Himself explaining it was just the aesthetic wearing off but to put my mind at ease I could go in the morning for an appointment if needed. I declined the offer as I knew I was probably just being dramatic and after the call from peter I felt reassured that this was totally normal. I needed to remember I had just been cut open I was obviously going to be experiencing pain!
My implants were 280-cc and placed under the muscle. I have a small incision underneath the breasts (I shall upload a photo if I'm feeling brave enough!) the next few days after this weren't exactly nice but so long as I kept alternating the painkillers it really helped. If I fell asleep in the night and missed a time slot for medication, I would wake up in agony so I set alarms which really helped. I had to take daily showers to keep my bandages clean and pat my breast bandages dry with a towel and then hair dry them to make sure they were fully dry.
Not sure how long after but must have been a few weeks I had a bit off blood leak from my right side where the bandages were and from the showers the one side became quite loose so I called again and Peter got me an appointment without hesitation. He took my bandages off and for the first time I saw my new breasts!!! they were still quite high and swollen and they looked a bit misshapen from being wrapped up but peter had explained that when they're healing, they can heal at different times so one may "drop and fluff" before the other, it wasn't drastic just slight differences i could notice. I won't bore you with every single detail and to be honest i can't remember exactly but there were a couple of occasions from this appointment that I went back again, purely for reassurance, as my breasts were healing they were looking different to one another and i was getting worried as i did what no one should ever do and that was GOOGLE! i got down a deep dark whole and was reading horror stories about Capsular contracture (don't google it) i convinced myself that i had this. I didn't.
i sent pictures via email to Peters sectary and had an immediate response from peter explaining again that what i was experiencing was completely normal and nothing to worry about but if i wanted to go in he would see me so i went in he examined my breasts and said they were healing nicely, my incision line was a bit red and bumpy but this was purely my fault for over doing things, it's hard to sit and recover when you have a toddler running around constantly wanting your attention.
It had now been around 12 weeks since my op and I was experiencing shooting pains in to my right breast down the bottom, I should probably mention the bottom half of my breast had been completely numb up until this point and i still at 7 months post op have a little bit of numbness on the underside of my breasts. When i went in to see Dr Hodkinson for like the 100th time about my shooting pains he said it was because my numbness was starting to wear off and my nerves were starting to work again and again this was completely normal.
My breasts at 12 weeks were now looking great! I struggled to find a bra that fit as since the op my breasts were constantly changing. At 12 weeks I was told I didn't need to wear a bra all of the time anymore and I was so relieved. I was discharged and told I wouldn't need any further appointments but I could call if needed. (He must have been sick of me by now). Since then, I haven't been or called back as I am extremely happy with my results my breasts are completely symmetrical and have dropped in to place perfectly! I feel I have now fully healed and I love my new breasts! I can now wear whatever I want and my self-confidence has returned! I am so glad I overcame my anxiety's and went ahead with the procedure and I'm so glad I chose Dr Peter Hodgkinson, he did an amazing job and was there for me through the whole process. He constantly made the effort to ease my anxiety's and answered any questions I had and there were a lot!
So a quick overview, I had 280CC Tear shape Implants under the breast. I am now a DD/E cup (I looked everywhere to find out what bra size 280 CC would be so here it is for anyone who needs to know. if you are thinking about getting breast implants... Do it! If you don't know who to go to... Go to Dr Peter Hodgkinson.
If you do have the procedure and they don't look perfect right away or you experience pain do not panic this is totally normal and they will heal just fine!
Thank you so much Peter and all the team at Colbalt Hospital, you have honestly changed my life.
Provider Review
Specialist Registered Plastic Surgeon
Cobalt Hospital, Newcastle upon Tyne ,