54 yr old - explanted 25 yr old implants and had lift

One day after my saline implants were deflated, the odd, dented/creased breast has settled out a lot, and is now just about as low as the right breast. It's still tender due the hard scar tissue inside and I couldn't sleep on that side last night. When I have a bra on you can't tell at all like you can in the photo from yesterday. So, whew!

Hello! Surgery was yesterday. I had the explant and mastopexy. I was in surgery for a little more than 3 hours and was well cared for at the surgery center. My anesthesiologist was great, and the O.R. nurses and P.A. were wonderful. My doctor, Dr. Yoo, is the BEST! I really like him and he's just genuinely a good person; easy to talk to, very down to earth, tells you straight up how it is and is so nice! Like a friend. I couldn't have asked for a better surgeon to take care of me. He finished with me around 11:30 and I was in recovery for 3 hours (longer than normal) because the anesthesiologist gave me a little more anesthesia . I have woken up during a few past procedures;a foot surgery and the breast augmentation years ago. I told him my foot surgery I was lightly put under and that the doctor had told me I might wake up, and I did. And then I also woke up when I had my breast augmentation all those years ago. Anyway, got back home and rested, because sleeping has not been so great. I'm very sore, especially underneath my breasts where the longer incisions are and where the bra band is. I will say that I cannot stand the bra band.This part sucks! Pain pills definitely take the edge off, but I had to sleep kind of inclined and didn't sleep much at all, even though I was very groggy. It's not excruciating pain, just incredibly tender and uncomfortable. I mean, who wants to wear a snug bra to bed...NO ONE! LOL. I have no pain in the nipple areas. Just little twinges every now and then like being poked with a tiny needle...nothing major. I have a very low pain threshold, so for me to say this should tell you that the pain is not THAT bad. I stay on top of my pain med too, and even though I can take 2 pills every 4-6 hours, I've only been taking 1. I don't like narcotics. I was prescribed Hydrocodone w/ Tylenol 5-325. Today, I I took 2 because I hear day 2 is the worst. The feeling is really the same even with 2 pills, and when 4 hours is close I can definitely tell it's almost time. By day 4 I'm sure I'll be down to regular Tylenol.

My doctor said I was a bit of a tough case, but he's seen worse. Since my breast tissue is very dense and my implants had been in for nearly 25 years, there was a lot of calcification that had formed along with thick scar tissue. He showed me a video of them after they were out. One capsule was rather squished or looked more like the shape of a piece of salmon, instead of nice and round. He cut them open and turned them inside out and that is where you could see these white pieces of calcified tissue, attached to the capsule, almost like bones. It explained why I was feeling hard areas after deflation - like little pebbles or bigger rocks. EEK! LOL. I also have a sort of deep cavity where the implant sat for so many years. He told me that usually, more pliable breast tissue is easy to kind of push up and help fill that cavity, but since I have dense breast tissue, he was not able to cover as much, and said I may have a slight concave look. I don't really care. I'm just glad they are out of my body! Right now they are sitting up high and swollen so they will settle over time and that concave area (which I can't see yet), may fill in some.

My drain tubes are fine...they don't hurt and draining them is not hard. My husband helped me yesterday and I was able to do it today. Your drain tubes are a very integral and important part of your recovery and success. One of THE most important. Do exactly what your instructions say about draining them and keeping area clean. I have to dab the area with Betodine using a Q-tip, just by where it enters your body and a few inches down the tube every time I drain them. And, you have to keep the area around the entry very dry, with a blow dryer if need be. He was really adamant about that. No moisture allowed.

I had some post-op bleeding that seeped through gauze and even seeped through to one area of the bra band underneath, and he said it's all normal and looks fine. No need to change the bra or gauze. He took some of the strips off from around my nipples (didn't hurt at all) as they had gotten pretty soaked in blood, and left the other strips in place around them. I can't see any stitches yet anywhere because they're covered.

Such an ordeal - right? I got to thinking why I got a breast augmentation in the first place 25 years ago and asked myself if it was worth it after what I just had to go through, not to mention the cost. I remember being so excited to get implants back then. I was 29, had been divorced a few years, was cute and petite and slender, but had flat as pancake breasts after having two babies. Getting them gave me a boost in confidence, but I also recall feeling a little self conscious of them too. I was never one to wear revealing tops that showed cleavage or really tight tops. And as I got older I did everything I could to hide them and not let people see how big I was. I was originally only a 34C and 103 lbs. when I had them put in. Over the years I've gained 20 lbs and gained a lot of breast tissue, so my size was 34DD! Ugh! I felt very frumpy, like a bigger person, with them. I have wanted to get them out for a long time and never had a desire to replace them with new implants. This is just my personal experience. I know many women replace them and are super happy and I think that's great. I'm just over it. LOL.

OK - that's it. Sorry for the book and thank you for reading this if you got this far! Hope this helps you if you are wanting or needing to do the same thing. I'll update again in a few days. Sorry no photos...there is nothing to see yet.Very thankful for my husband and his help! Getting into bed is challenging and I'm using my legs and abdominal muscles A LOT for movement...which is a good thing! I need all the help I can get with this older flabby body. LOL.

He called me yesterday to check on me and asked me to unhook my bra and check my nipples. He wanted to make sure they were nice and pink and they are.