Updated review - full of regret

I had 7 year old saline implants replaced on July 13th. They were submuscular and I had capsular contracture that was causing bad neck and shoulder pain. I met with Dr Eades after seeing three other plastic surgeons. His bedside manner, explanations/recommendations and kindness exceeded the others by far. Price wise, he was comparable to others I met. Dr. Eades recommended I have a capsulectomy when removing my old implants, and replacing them with gummy bears over the muscle. After surgery I learned that over the muscle placement actually increase your risk of capsular contracture, especially if you’ve already had it; however I don’t regret the change. They feel so much better, I only hope I will luck out and not get CC again.

As far as post op care, I really panicked when I first saw my breasts. They were not at all what I expected and they looked extremely messed up. In some ways I wish I had a surgical bra so I wouldn’t have seen them, but Dr Eades does not personally recommend a bra. I felt very uncomfortable without one so I ordered a couple on Amazon just so that I didn’t feel like my incisions were going to come open from the weight of the implant.

I was on narcotics for 4 days, and slowly lowered my doses. I highly highly recommend starting a laxative on day 2 whether or not you think you need it. I had horrible constipation that almost landed me in the ER. After day 4 I rarely needed meds. I will take Tylenol when I’m feeling a little sore but nothing has been unmanageable.

I had drains placed due to the capsulectomy/removal of UTM implants. They were so uncomfortable and it was such a relief when they were removed at my first post op appointment a week later. I had steri strips and stitches removed at the same appointment and took a Percocet one hour prior. Highly recommend. It wasn’t the most comfortable. Anita assisted doctor Eades in the suture removal. she was extremely gentle and took her time with it. New steri strips are on my areola and vertical incisions. I’ve been using manuka honey and gauze on my crease incision in the hopes that I won’t have any reopening. My incisions from what I can see are beautiful, thin and straight.

As far as the neck/shoulder pain from the capsular contracture - it was immediately gone after surgery.

One unfavorable thing I will note is the answering service. I had called twice, once because I had a fever and felt very unwell and another time because I wanted to know if it was ok to put a bra on. Both times the woman initially answering claimed she couldn’t hear me, so I would call back and she’d pick up the line and then hang up. Upon calling the third time I was re-routed to somebody else who then would pass the message to Dr Eades. Dr Eades called quickly both times and answered my questions thoroughly.

Now for the fun part. I had 450cc saline implants replaced with 440cc. I’m not sure why the 10cc difference but size wise I know that’s not much of a difference. My lift wasn’t as high up as i expected. I thought this bothered me, but as my breasts are healing and settling I’m beginning to love the natural look they have. When I went to my post op, I planned to address that concern I had plus a few other things (I had some odd lumps/bubbles) but before I even said anything Dr Eades began to explain my procedure and some things that had come up. In my mind this comforted me because it wasn’t like a counter or excuse to any complaints I had. The lumps/bubbles have smoothed out on their own as they are healing and swelling is going down.

I’m 12 days post op and still a lot more uncomfortable than I expected, so that has been a bummer. I expected to feel completely back to normal after a week like I did with my first surgery, but I’m older, out of shape and had a lot more done. I’m really hoping that by 3-4 weeks post op I will be completely pain free. I will update as the months go on.

These are my personal feelings….Take it for what you will….

Two weeks after my implants/lift, one of my incisions opened. I got into the office quickly and Dr Eades discovered I had fluid in my right breast. He drained it, packed it for 24 hours and then had me in the next day to re-stitch it. The promptness of treatment was good. I was started on Bactrim, but two days later was spiking a fever and felt unwell. I was admitted to the ER for an infection. Ultimately, I lost my implants. There was an infection in my tissue/breast pocket. My breasts are now deformed. The stitches from the removal surgery aren’t nearly as clean as the initial ones, maybe that was inevitable. Dr eades didn’t charge for the removal but then again - I can’t imagine who would - they had to be taken out. I still had to pay another $1600 for anesthesia and the facility. So - I’ve paid over $11,000 to have a sub-par lift and no implants. Completely deflated and sad breasts. No one can say where the infection came from, it could have been on my skin or in my body already, but it also could have been from improper hygiene on the surgeons part. I make no claims to know for certain, but in my observations and visits, there were multiple occasions where he touched my breasts without first washing his hands or sanitizing in front of me, and with no gloves. Again, I can’t confirm if this is or isn’t done outside the room, but this coupled with the way things have played out leave me with much to wonder. I asked dr eades about pre-op blood work at my consult, about prophylactic antibiotics, and was told they weren’t necessary or weren’t needed because I was young. Maybe that’s true, but again - considering the outcome, I wonder now if pre-op bloodwork or antibiotics after surgery would have left me with a different outcome. I understand there’s a risk of these things happening, but I also know that it’s rare and in such cases, I would hope that a caring surgeon would be more accommodating. Others I know who have experienced this were compensated part of their fees, or were offered revisions for free or heavily discounted after healing. I was basically just sent on my way with $11k out of my pocket and uglier breasts than I walked in with. I know not all of that is his fees, but it doesn’t really hurt any less.

It’s been 3 months since my implant removal due to a capsule/tissue infection in my right side. I’ve started seeking out consults with other surgeons who have all said i need another lift. Another lift isn’t an option now as I’ve already lost all feeling in my right breast, and there’s significant nerve damage. I don’t get goosebumps or any skin reactivity on that side. My skin has lots of puckered areas at the lift incision. For $12,000 plus whatever I pay now for revisions I could’ve had an entire mommy makeover with a more reputable surgeon. Other women have complained of post op infections with Eades as well, so I find it hard to believe it was coincidental. Something isn’t sanitary about him. Avoid the potential risk. I should’ve listened to the other reviews.