Removal of 15yo Saline Implants, 330cc Smooth, Under the Muscle, Age 38

It's obvious now that the pressure of the implants have deformed my ribcage, likely from me sleeping on my stomach. The left side is not as noticeable; the right side has a deep, round indentation.

Other than that, any changes have been subtle. The left side looks almost okay now from the front. The right is very concave, especially from the side view.

I can do a lot more push ups now than I ever could, even though I took some time off after the surgery. So that's awesome.

Someone else wrote this too ... I find that bra cups are too close set for my chest now. Also, I have a lot of fat near my armpit that I hope will reposition to my breast. Fingers crossed!

Overall, things are going well. I no longer have any exercise restrictions, so I have returned to doing short HIIT workouts and yoga. I haven't attempted any 30 minute HIIT workouts I did before the surgery because I don't feel quite ready yet. With push-ups, I'm not lowering all the way down, just 1/3 to 1/2 of the way. I also spent this past weekend scrubbing window screens and was a little achy on my right side after that, but mostly okay.

My left scar is doing great, my right scar is still giving me a bit of trouble. It feel like there are two pointy things trying to come out of my incision ... maybe it's the internal sutures not getting absorbed. I haven't really wanted to poke at it. It's still red compared to my left side, which is mostly skin colored now. It also appears to still have two scabs in its inner recesses, but it's hard to tell if it's just discoloration.

I feel discomfort under my right incision sometimes, if I exert myself too much, try to pull something heavy, or stretch that side. There is a lump under the incision, which I assume is the internal wound healing. There's nothing to indicate a need to revisit my surgeon though ... just healing slower than my left side.

I am mostly sticking to my sports bra still because the wireless push-up bra I bought from Victoria's Secret irritates my right incision. Even if I wear the padded cups in the sports bra for too long, it bothers that side. My surgeon said I'm cleared to wear an underwire 8 weeks post-op, but I'll have to see how I'm feeling. I'll probably buy a bra in advance just in case.

In terms of size and appearance, I think I'm still a 34A. My right breast is smaller than my left, so it doesn't quite fill the cup. The concave look of my chest above my nipples continues to improve and fill in. My left nipple continues to plump out ... I'm sure my right one is too, but it still looks pretty sunken in, maybe just in comparison. A few days ago, I showed my husband the state of affairs and he was cool with it.

In many ways, I feel great. I love laying on my belly during yoga and just feeling my sternum flush to the ground and no discomfort, nothing in the way. About a week ago, I had a breakout between my brows which was unusual, but it's gone away now. I also love being able to take deep breaths. For whatever reason, my libido has also made a reappearance. It definitely took a major hit starting a few months after I got implants and stayed that way for 15 years. I'm also a bit slimmer ... my workout pants fit much better and my appetite has gone down a bit. All in all, things are good.

My incisions seem to be totally closed and I've been applying the silicone scar gel from my surgeon twice a day. There is some discomfort in the rib area immediately under my right incision, so I'm thinking that I might have an internal bruise. Other than that, no real itching or pain.

I still have the indentations above my nipples, on either side of my sternum. They have filled in quite a bit and I'm hoping once I can start working out my chest again, the muscle will build up and completely cover the area. My right nipple is sunken in and the left one is half plumped up and half flat.

I have very little breast tissue, but I optimistically ordered a 34A wireless bra from Victoria's Secret Pink line. They didn't offer the wireless option in a smaller size, and my surgeon wants me to stay out of underwire bras for 8 weeks ... or wear a gauze pad between the wire and my incision. We'll see how the bra fits when it arrives.

I did try a 32A bra from On Gossamer, but it was too small for my frame. The cups were too close together, and like others have mentioned, it squeezed my armpit tissue in an unsightly way. Another woman on this site said she thought the implant stretched the skin and pulled the armpit tissue tight, and after removal, it's all back. I think she's right.

I would love to wear the padded cups that came with my sports bra, but they keep the fabric away from my breasts and I do still want the gentle compression at this point. They also just look really unnatural to me. My surgeon said I can switch out of the sports bra, but I am still concerned about seromas. Hopefully the wireless bra is a good fit and I'll be able to transition to it when it arrives next week. It will be nice to have the appearance of breasts in clothes at least.

I'm definitely a little bummed out about the appearance of my breasts, especially when I see the nice results of other women on this site. And even more so when women who have beautiful, ample breasts in my opinion, say that they are completely flat. I totally understand, it's all relative, and in the end, it's only their opinion that matters. Regardless, I made the only decision I could and have no plans to get even the fat transfer that my surgeon floated. I think I wouldn't care at all, except I am a bit worried about my husband, who was quite attached to my breasts with implants. The surgeons on this site say it takes 3 months for the mind to adjust to the new body appearance, so I have a while to get my head straight on this.

I'm still taking it easy on exercise. My surgeon said I can go 30% back to what I was doing and then fully at 3 weeks post-op. I'm listening to my body, and mostly sticking to lower body and core exercises, as well as getting back to more heavy duty cleaning of the house, like scrubbing the shower.

I guess I had more to update than I thought. There's not really anyone I can talk about this with, so it helps to write about my progress in these updates. One last thought ... Fluff Fairy, are you out there? Please come visit when you can.