Going Smaller- Vertical Breast Lift and Implant Replacement

I found Dr. McNeel while researching plastic surgeons for my rhinoplasty. He did a great job on that and a few other small cosmetic items since then. He has become my go-to doctor for cosmetic issues.

Explant, revision – What to do next? My journey.
After 18 years I have decided to take on a journey toward a renewed me. I have been recording my story and deciding whether I want to share but after a few weeks and where I am on my journey, I thought I would share because someone might benefit from my journey. My story in short:
WHY I GOT IMPLANTS IN THE FIRST PLACE. I was always satisfied with my breasts growing up. They were a 36c, the shape was ok. The nipples were not perky but ok. When I had my first child, I became a G cup. I had to eventually stop breastfeeding due to overproduction of breast milk. I only breastfed for six months. When my breasts went down, they were totally misshaped, deflated and pulled down (I have included a pic). I decided that it was time. What I had were not my breasts and they made me depressed and feel not sexy and self conscious.
My original PS at the time said that he did not think I needed a lift and that all could be accomplished by adding 350cc implants. Unlike others, I really did not pick a “wish pic”. I just went with what my doctor thought would be best. When the job was done, everything looked better. They were still a bit asymmetrical but not very noticeable unless I pointed them out. They were no longer deflated but super inflated and my husband just loved it. I no longer felt depressed and after feeling so bad for so long, I sort of felt super sexy. I was a whole cup size larger than I had ever been (other than breastfeeding) (After augmentation pic included).
But be careful what you ask for. Although I loved the attention I would get from my husband, I received too many unwanted stares from others. So much so that I stayed in coverups at the beach because I just did not like to be stared at. I should be enjoying my sexy but I didn’t enjoy people talking to my breasts at work or just downright staring and this was BOTH men and women. Ugh!
18 YEARS LATER. Well at 18 years later, I find myself at 132 pounds which I am fine with. You need a little weight on you when you get older. But with the added weight, the width of my chest has become larger. I feel my breasts enter the room before I do. In pictures, I hate them because they are so huge. They make me feel and look fat. I have not been able to wear a normal bra because the difference in breast sizes has been enhanced. Now I have one D breast and one DD breast. One literally hangs lower than the other now. I am forced to wear genie bras. When I wake up in the morning, the side of my breasts are sore because of muscle strain. Also, I have had two annual mammograms and I had to have re-takes of both because there is a slight fold in one of my implants that they always need to double check. So screening has also become an issue. As I get older, more and more of my friends are finding lumps and things going on with their breasts. I want scans to be able to be accurate. (Current pic of my breast 18 years after augmentation included).
MY PLAN. I am opting to deflate my saline implants. Why? Basically, I want to see what we are working with after my weight gain. How much breast tissue remains. Where my nipples are on the map, etc. I want to procedure cautiously to make the right decision. I will need to live with what I opt for for many years. I know that Dr. McNeel can just jump from point A-D because he does this all day. I need to see each point. A, B, C and decide for D to ease my mind and to come to terms with my options.

VOLUNTARY DEFLATION! A CHOICE FEW OF US MAKE BUT I AM SOOO GLAD THAT I DID IT.
Remember I have been taking these notes previously deciding if I should publish so they posted one after the other.
DEFLATION: Well deflation was done today. Not very painful about 4 needle pricks. Two for the numbing and two for the deflation. The Dr. removed approximately 385 from each breast. I didn’t want to look. I hate the desiccated look of the nipples and skin on some of the pics with deflations. But … surprisingly … that was not the case. I imagined that I had more breast tissue than I actually did. What I wound up with is itty-bitty [RS bleep]. To me they look like a B cup – very tiny C at best. I went home and did a “bra calculator” and my underbust is 35 and over is 39 which should be about a C cup (I guess they look smaller than they are because of the sagginess). I don’t need to wear a compression bra because my Dr. believes he got nearly all of the saline out. The rest will absorb on its own if there is anything left.
The funny thing is that when they were gone, I felt this relief of pressure around my chest that I never even noticed was even there. The best I can describe it is when you take off a tight workout top. The feeling right after you pull it off. That is how my chest feels.
The nurse was in the room when I stood up to put on my bra and looked at them the first time in the mirror. She probably sees all different kind of reactions. I took a moment and smiled because they were small but nicely shaped from the front. They looked cute and she agreed.
I do like their appearance from the front. I no longer feel that I have blow up doll boobs. The side profile is very sorry looking and needs some help for sure.
I did not feel bad after the deflation so I went to the supermarket with my itty-bitties to pick up dinner. And my little [RS bleep] jiggle when I walk! They haven’t jiggled in years. Plus, they are super squishy! They were very firm. This is going to sound weird but I felt very feminine. More feminine than I did walking around with Dolly Parton boobs. Amazing!
Then I went home to reveal them to my husband who had said a eulogy for them, “the girls” as he called them, before he went to work in the morning about how he would miss them and remember them always. LOL Well, his face showed absolutely no reaction. I asked him his opinion and he gave me the man answer, “If you are happy with them, that is all that matters.” Which translates into woman language as “I don’t care for them.” He’s a boob man so what would I expect. I guess I would feel the same if I found a certain part of him very sexy and he changed it. So, his reaction is to be expected I guess.
FIRST 24 HOURS OF LIVING WITH THE REAL ME: Things I have noticed since deflation took place:
1. There was chest pressure that I was experiencing that I never noticed until they were gone. I feel extremely good;
2. I woke up this morning, no side breast pain;
3. My arm usually falls asleep all the time when I sleep so I am constantly turning in the middle of the night. Didn’t happen last night. No prickly sensation in my arm and hand. No toss and turning to try to alleviate it; and
4. When I fall asleep, I usually hold my husband with my chest to his back. Last night, when I was holding him, I realized that there had been this prosthetic device between us. The best I can describe it would be putting a rolled up towel between you and someone when you hug them. I didn’t notice the feeling was there all this time until it was gone.
I don’t know what else will reveal itself in the next days and weeks but I will certainly share them with you. My breasts will reshape themselves in 4 weeks and we will really see what we are working with. For now, I am happy.
AFTER FOUR WEEKS DEFLATED
Let me just say that deflation was a proper choice for me. I was so unsure as to whether I wanted or needed a lift. I was also unsure if I wanted to even replace my implants. Walking around deflated reintroduced me to my body and my shape not just nude but in clothes, in different blouses, with different bras. People thought I lost weight. They did not notice the fact that I lost 2 cup sizes!!! They just thought I looked thinner.
During this period of time, I experienced no pain whatsoever from the deflated implant. I could feel the deflated bags if I was feeling my breast tissue which was creepy (feels like a ziplock bag under there) but other than that, it was not noticeable at all.
After this time, they have regained minimal shape and they are very saggy. They hang too far down on my chest. You can basically see that if I go braless and put on a t-shirt. They come way too low. A lift is necessary. I measured from my mid-clavicle to the nipple and the distance for the breasts were 27 and 29 centimeters. When anatomically ideal is 21, then I am quite saggy. Not only do my eyes tell me that I have the saggy breasts of a 90 year old lady but the measuring tape does too! LOL
Thus, reality dictates to me that there is no avoiding the vertical lift that Dr. McNeel suggested. What is the real choice here - 90 year old lady breasts (that are worse than my deflated breastfeeding breasts) or better breasts with some scars? I think I choose a scar or two.
I have posted some layered timelapse deflation videos of my breasts that I made - sorry for their primitiveness but they still turned out informative.