Absolutely Exceeded What I Thought Was Even Possible, So So Grateful

Removal of under the muscle 255 cc saline implants, about 2 months recovery progress.

Scars are healing really nicely - not raised at all though I still have redness on the surgical scars, and the other skin irritation scars are basically invisible now (I'm using a daily silicone scar gel on both sets of scars)

Noticable animation deformity when I flex both my muscles, and on my right side if I just raise my arm up. Unsure if that will ever heal but at least it's improved from when the implants were in imo.

Some very very minor pain when I press/massage the breast if I hit a specific spot (on the left side more than the right) feels like a nerve thing maybe? On the whole very little pain in general and even when massaging so that's really the only thing I have to note pain-wise.

No issues using the muscles so far, though I am still easing into things somewhat. I do hope that the flex deformity heals and I also hope as I exercise that the definition of the peck muscle will become more typical to what it was before I had stopped working out (specifically the sides of the pecs I lost muscle definition before I got the surgery just bc of not using those muscles enough)

Concavity is very noticably improving, as is nipple assymetry. I was expecting about a year before seeing improvement and it may still be that amount of time before the "upper pole" totally fills out but I'm very happy so far!

Post op has been a breeze compared to the implant recovery. My shape and symmetry is improving immensely and I really love the aesthetics.

Under clothing the shape looks amazing, only when fully nude and at certain angles can you notice they're still concave (which is expected for up to a year of recovery from what I have seen)

Zero pain or discomfort and back to a fully normal lifestyle regarding exercise, bra optional, etc. Incredibly surprised at how quickly my skin has bounced back and though I'm still easing into using the muscles for heavier/more intense exercise I have had no pain or tension when using my pectoral muscles.

As of around a month post op, my surgeon approved me to start scar management (apparently starting too early can be detrimental so I waited untill I was explicitly given the ok)

I'm using a silicon based scar gel (ScarAway is the brand I was recommended) as well as massaging the scars regularly (was told to massage only the length of the scars not up/down!) and I am massaging either with soapy water in the shower or else with a maddecassoside serum because this ingredient helped heal hyperpigmentation/acne scars for my face really well (I use the A'pieu brand maddecassoside ampoule)

Aside from redness the scars are really healing impressively -- zero raised skin or anything. Also healing well are the scars from the skin reaction I had to the rubbing of the drain tubes (my skin is super sensitive and super pale so I'm unfortunately prone to redness and irritation)

There is still some animation deformity when I flex my muscles on both sides or lift my arm on the right side, but it appears to be improving (and is noticeably MUCH improved compared to before I got the explant)

Will update again in a few months: I expect more upper pole "fluffing", lighter scars, and potentially improvement on the animation deformity (I'm unclear if that will fully resolve or not)

Truly I don't have words for how happy I am to have gotten the explant and how thankful I am for going with my gut to choose my surgeon!! My sleep has improved, exercise is far more comfortable, and I'm just feeling much more comfortable in my own body. (note: the paper in the photos is just to hide a tattoo)

Background Info:
I got breast implants when I was 18 years old and living in a different state - saline implants, a little under 300cc. I went from being entirely flat-chested (like not even a AA cup) to being a B-cup and I had an awesome surgeon at the time who did an incredible job to make me look proportional and natural. The implants served my related self-esteem issues and I didn't have any noticeable complications.

However, after about a decade of having breast implants, I knew I was ready to have them removed. Mentally I was ready to accept my natural body, physically I was ready to get back some of the basic things I'd had to give up - like being able to sleep comfortably on my side, lay on my stomach, go running without needing a high-impact bra, etc etc. Financially, however, I was still years away from being able to afford the removal. Years of my mental health being more and more affected, years of uncomfortable sleep, uncomfortable bras, uncomfortable just sitting in my skin, as well as health symptoms potentially associated with BII (but not confirmed as being such.)

Cut to the year 2023 (my 16 year mark of having the implants) and I finally had a savings account was finally ready to start looking for surgeons in my area. I met with several candidates and had honestly such awful experiences.

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The Process of finding a surgeon:
The first surgeon I met (who I won't name directly but he is highly rated on here and I'm sure is a perfectly capable surgeon but clearly his clientele is overly-wealthy women who subscribe to Goop magazine) immediately he started selling me bs "nutrient tests" and an "herbal mouth spray" all sold directly from his office - didn't even talk to me about surgery details or answer my questions he just wanted to pay him to get my hormone levels tested (I literally have already gotten my hormones tested this year from my actual doctor ??? and also why ???) and he even gave me unsolicited advice about my ADHD (last I checked a plastic surgeon is NOT qualified to be speaking about my brain chemistry or telling me to stop taking medication that literally has made my crippling executive dysfunction manageable) and anyways like....I just wanted an explant, dude, I don't want your snake oil bs. His cost estimate for an explant was OVER FOUR TIMES what I paid *to get them even put in in the first place.* Like down payment on a brand new house money, for real.

I then met with another surgeon who was far more reasonable; she was clearly very capable and was actually able to answer my questions about the surgery rather than trying to sell me crap. But still it seemed her clientele was just people with far more disposable income than me. Just to get a *deflation* for my saline implants (not even the explant surgery, and not even a procedure I needed anesthesia for) she was trying to charge me $5000.

I was starting to feel really horrified at the possibility that I would not be able to afford getting my own body back - scared that I would have to save for over a decade more and in that time not be able to spend any money on things I otherwise might have - or god forbid have any unexpected financial strains. Then I finally found Dr. Hix-Hernandez here on Realself.

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My experience with Dr. Hix-Hernandez and her team:
I knew immediately that it was the right fit. I had a consultation with Dusky who answered my every question and gave me a clear understanding of what surgery would involve, what recovery would involve, and what was less sure given factors like my age/skin elasticity/etc. I was able to understand the risks and the expectations (while also being shown respect, patience, and compassion - which ought to be a given in these situations but worth mentioning in case you have experienced otherwise)

The price estimate was something I was able to reasonably put on CareCredit without fearing going into debt, and I was able to get the deflation months beforehand (specifically because I had saline implants of course) which not only helped with how my skin was able to heal more naturally (shrinking slowly instead of all at once) but also had the immediate effect of relieving the physical pressure that I felt sleeping on my side and I immediately had such a better quality of sleep.

During my pre-op appointment weeks before the surgery date, I voiced a concern that I wasn't sure whether I should schedule a lift in tandem with the removal just because I wasn't sure if I needed it but I didn't want it to be an extra financial burden if I didn't. Dr. Hix-Hernandez was so incredibly helpful and immediately put my mind at ease about the financial aspect of things and she also dissuaded me from getting the lift if I was on the fence. Because of my particular case and because I had no complaints about the aesthetics after deflation she encouraged me to just do the removal and she promised that if I decided later that I wanted a lift that there wouldn't be an extra financial burden. I'm SO GLAD she dissuaded me because as it turns out I truly did not need a lift and it would have been a much longer recovery process and unnecessary money spent if i had gotten it.


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Surgery + Recovery:
I was a bundle of nerves on the surgery date but mostly just excited. The entire surgery team gave me clear descriptions of what to expect and answered all of my questions. I had also let them know weeks before that I had a skin reaction to certain brands of tegaderm (and certain adhesives in general) and so they made sure to buy the brand that I had specifically already skin tested so that I wouldn't have an allergic reaction to it.

Getting the implants out was a MUCH easier and less painful process than getting them in let me tell you. I was only on the hydrocodone/diazepam for the day of surgery and the day after before I just switched to tylenol (and of course I was still on the anti-inflammatory and antibiotic) which is kind of crazy considering I was basically bedridden for a week when getting the implants put in and couldn't even delay my pain med schedule by a single hour.

I had drains in for a full week after surgery (actual amount of time varies per person) and they were definitely annoying and in the way but nothing crazy. I had a bit of a skin reaction to the drain tubes (again I just have very sensitive skin) but just put my brand of tegaderm underneath where they rubbed and it was fine.


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Post [main] recovery experience:
I'm now a little week post-explant and I feel incredible. I've finished my antibiotics, I'm off the pain meds and the tylenol, I still have the tape they put on the scars but those haven't caused any discomfort or anything. I was instructed that I could wear bras that were not underwire but didn't necessarily need to keep wearing compression bras. I still have a few weeks before I can take a bath but I am able to have a regular shower schedule again. My breasts are slightly sore/tender when pressure is applied (I also started my period this week so that is definitely contributing) but nothing wild. I'm being mindful not to do any heavy lifting but there's actually zero pain or impact on my mobility or anything like that.

Aesthetically my expectations were incredibly exceeded. I know everyone is different and I definitely don't have the totally flat "boy chest" that I had when I first got implants, but they are lookin pretty darn good! I worried that my nipples had been too stretched out but they are shrinking nicely (there's some natural asymmetry happening but nothing to do with the surgery.) I worried that they'd be super "floppy" or "pancake-like" and though I was absolutely willing to accept that and know that's part of the explant process, I'm really pleasantly surprised that it's not bad. There's also going to be some "fluffing" that will happen over the next year (right now it's still got a convex shape to the breast) but because they are so naturally small it's not even noticeable unless I'm naked. With clothes on they look amazing - I'm happy to have my itty bitties back and I hope to never take them for granted again.

I was instructed to wait before starting any sort of scar-mitigation treatments so I'll continue to update about how the scarring looks as well (for now, I was requested to keep the tape on for as long as it will stay on until my next post-op appointment)

I'll include a photo of me pre-implants at age 18 and a photo of me pre-explant and then the current photos of me one week post explant (and pelase note that the blue tape is just covering a tattoo and the redness/red marks are just my skin being overly sensitive and reacting to the drain tubes)