I am loving the results

After 30 years of really wanting a breast reduction and lift, I finally spoiled myself and am getting it done. I am 57 years old. I have never given birth. I was originally 235 lbs, but in 2015 I had gastric sleeve surgery. I eventually got down to 155, but gained weight again during COVID and got up to 185, now I am 165 lbs. I have never had perky breasts, they have always sagged. I have ranged between 38D to 42DD.

I researched through RealSelf for YEARS! I did my gastric sleeve surgery in Mexicali and had done a lot of research on doing my surgery in Mexico and picking the correct surgeon. Just like in the States you can pick a crappy surgeon, the same is in Mexico. You have to do your research. I followed Dr Carmina Cardenas with Beauty Enhance in Tijuana many years ago and have watched her reviews. I finally got brave enough to pay for the consultation and send nude pictures over the internet (which was very scary for me). Dr Cardenas sent me an email with a voice consultation of what she felt that I needed to get what I wanted. At first we discussed getting a breast reduction to a size of large C and breast lift. We also discussed an arm lift, but decided to postpone this surgery. The price came in at $11,600. The price came in higher than I expected. She also said I need to lose weight, I was 185 lbs and she wanted me to be 163 lbs.

That was in March. It is now October and I am going to Tijuana in 2 days to have surgery. Dr Cardenas called me and she spent a lot of time discussing with me exactly what I wanted. She said that for me to get perky breasts I would need saline implants. She also said that she would need to reduce my breast size by 80%. We also decided to reduce it to a full C. This was a lot to take in. She did not give me a hard sell, she just laid out the facts and left me to decide what I wanted.

I made the decision to have the surgery the last week of August and was surprised I could have the surgery October 8th. I was excited that it could happen so fast, but I am telling you it was very difficult to get all of the tests completed by that time. Thank goodness my doctor in Arizona was quick to see me and help me get all of the tests completed. The MRSA test was extremely hard to get. I finally had to ask my doctor to order the test and my doctor's office was able to complete the test. My EKG came back with an anomaly. The Cardiologist at the hospital in Tijuana reviewed this EKG and confirmed, along with my doctor in Arizona, that I could still have the surgery.

I have been working with Daniela, who has been my contact with Beauty Enhance. Daniela has been very quick to respond to any of my questions. I had to put a $1000 down payment by credit card. I had another payment that I made about 1 month before the surgery by credit card. The remaining amount will be due when I arrive in Tijuana, which needs to be in cash. When I put the deposit down, I received the list of test and information about the Wellness Center where I will be recovering after the surgery for 3 days. I was given a list of things that I would need to bring with me to Tijuana.

As I got close to the surgery date, I was surprised at a few items that I still needed to get after I returned home and wash with before surgery. I also was not aware that I needed my COVID vaccination card, which of course I could not find.

I have attached some pictures of what my breast looked like before surgery.

The day before surgery I arrived in San Diego and was picked up by one of their drivers and driven across the border. I decided since my husband was not really going to be with me to just do the surgery on my own and have him deal with everything at home. When I arrived in Tijuana (if you have not been in Tijuana don’t expect much, it is definitely Mexico), my driver dropped me off at Newcity complex. To my understanding this is where the hospital is, many of the doctors who operate at this hospital offices are and I think they even have a resort hotel there. I did not realize that they had a pharmacy right when you entered the building and saw several brands of facial brands that you can only get in Europe, so I quickly stopped in and bought what I could remember. I was ushered upstairs to Dr Cardenas office, which was very fashionable. I filled out forms, which I think I signed my name more than I did when I bought my house. I made the final payment in cash. Then Dr Cardenas happened to be in her office, I guess this is not always the case. I had decided to get some Botox done since it is quite a bit cheaper to have her do it, plus she is a plastic surgeon so I knew I would get the best results. After the Botox Dr Cardenas marked my chest (yes I had purple lines not only on my chest but my face from the Botox). She went over everything that would be done and made sure I understood everything. I had done a lot of research so I was not concerned about anything. After this the driver took me to see the cardiologist to do 2 more EKG’s to confirm the original EKG, which was extremely informative. The anomaly he figured was because I had lost so much weight that my heart had shifted, but was not life threatening. Then Marcos (the driver) took me to Zen Wellness Center.

I feel Zen Wellness Center deserves it own paragraph. So basically this is a rehab center with nurses to manage your pain meds and bandages. You spend the night here before the surgery. It seemed like they had quite a few protocols in place and I was not sure where these protocols where coming from. Several doctors use this facility for their patients to recover in. The location is not in the best of town, but I don’t really think there is a best of town in Tijuana. I did not ever feel unsafe and I think that was the most important thing about location. They have a really nice courtyard that you can sit outside and relax in and not see Tijuana. The rooms are private, with their own bathroom. You have a hospital bed and a recliner. Some rooms also have a sofa in them. They do provide a TV with Netflix and WiFi. All of the meals are included. That means breakfast, lunch and dinner and 2 snacks. The meals are very healthy and I felt were very well prepared. I had the impression that you were not to bring any food from outside. I was worried that my bags would be searched when I arrived, I arrived with crackers in my bag due to my medication. They did not care. In fact you can purchase soda and junk food from them at a airport sort of price, so bring your own junk food if you need it. With that being said I do agree with Dr Cardenas that eating healthy increases the speed of recovery. The nurses were so good. They do not speak great English but they are very good with using google translate. If you can give yourself extra days here I would suggest doing this. It cost $270 more per day.

Day of surgery. I was supposed to be picked up at 5:30, I was told to be up by 4:45, which I was. Then I misunderstood the nurse and thought Marcos was waiting for me and hurried to the lobby and ended up waiting for him until almost 6:00. Supposedly Zen Wellness is supposed to hold your suitcase, but again we had a misunderstanding and I took my suitcase with me. Regardless you will need to take what you need in the hospital, at least your phone and charger. I was actually glad that I had my suitcase with me, I would have forgotten things otherwise, such as my toothbrush and hair brush. So now I have arrived at Newcity hospital. I don’t even think they start accepting patients until 7AM, so again I just waited in the lobby until someone called my name. Actually I had to go ask if they had my name. The receptionist were great and I felt their English was amazing. Again I filled out enough forms to purchase a house with the exact same information I had been sharing non stop. After signing in they quickly came and got me and took me to my room to drop off my stuff. I then followed them to the pre op suite where they eventually assigned me a room. A little FYI go to the bathroom before you go into your pre op room otherwise you get to flash everyone in your lovely gown. I changed into my operating gown and put on my compression tights (that they provided). Just like clockwork someone came in and put an IV in my hand, then someone came and drew some blood. At some point they started an IV with antibiotics which really itched. Dr Cardenas came into the room and updated any marks on my chest and took more pictures. I was given a cap and shoes at this point and laid back down. The anesthesiologist came into the room and discussed how he uses epidurals as his form of blocking the pain, which he felt increased the recovery. Don’t worry you are asleep the whole time of the surgery and some. This is where it was really cool. I have had several surgeries in my life and this is the first time I have seen a process like this to prevent any outside disease entering the OR. They wheeled me to this opening that had rollers on it. Then 3 people on 1 side pushed the gurney mattress over onto these rollers where 3 people receive me on the other side never taking the gurney mattress that I was on. Nothing but me came from the other side preventing as much contamination as possible. At this point they wheeled me into the operating room and the operating team introduce themself to me and then lights out.

I remember waking up and asking for more blankets but not really being coherent enough to know where I was or what time it was. It seemed like only a couple hours when they wheeled me into my room, but I was surprised to see that it was 5PM. My surgery started at 9AM. I was pretty out of it that evening, I am sure Dr Cardenas came into the room, but I seriously cannot remember if it was that night or the next morning. So Dr Cardenas had told me the breast reduction would not be that painful, but the pain could come from the liposuction. She was not kidding. She barely did any liposuction and my back was literally killing me, to the point I thought I might be having kidney stones. I did try to get more pain killers around 7, but at the hospital they seemed to be reluctant to give them to me, so I pretty much did not sleep that night and actually started rocking in pain. The pain at first felt like I had just done a hard chest workout, but as the evening progressed it felt like I was stuck in a mammogram machine squeezing my breast 24x7. I really just wanted to get up and walk around but they would not because I had a catheter in me. I am here to tell you that was the worst part of the surgery (at least so far) and if I am ever to do surgery again with Dr Cardenas (which I would) I will be more forceful on getting something for the pain.

The next morning Dr Cardenas arrived fairly early to the hospital and realized I was in pain and immediately talked to someone and they took care of the pain (hallelujah). She was concerned about my right nipple. Apparently the longer the lift the bigger the chance you will lose feeling in your nipple. She said optimal is 5cm and I believe I was 14cm, so I knew going into the surgery there was a risk of not having feeling in my nipples. She did realize she had some issues during surgery and adjusted to fix the problem, but was immediately concerned when she saw my right nipple that morning and started treatment. I cannot remember if I mentioned that I also had a fat transfer to my face (instead of fillers) which I would like to discuss in another review so it does not get lost in this review. To say the least I was one purple marked up patient, where I am guessing the employees have to have lessons on not laughing at this. By noon I was packed and out of the hospital. Marcos wheeled me down to the mini van making sure to avoid anyone seeing my lovely marked up face. Just so you know I could walk just fine, just the protocol to wheel you out.

When I arrived back at Zen Wellness Center I was greeted immediately by a nurse and taken to my room (different from the night before surgery). The room was bigger, but faced the street and was much louder. They brought me a snack right away and got me settled into bed. Even though it was only 4 days ago I really cannot remember much about that day. I do remember Dr Cardenas showing up and looking at the troubled nipple and we decided to definitely go to the hyperbaric chamber everyday. I have never heard about the healing factors of the hyperbaric chamber, but what it does is pumps your body with intense amount of oxygen to get your body healing faster. I found the nurses to be outstanding at the Wellness Center. They really cared about the pain level and kept on top of keeping me medicated. I have heard that if you do not have to fight the pain that your body will take that energy and fight the wound, which speeds up recovery. I immediately started walking in the courtyard which provided me plenty of opportunity to discuss with other patients their operations and experiences. It is always refreshing to talk to other people what you are going through to see if you are experiencing the same thing. That evening I asked for a sleep aid and boy did I sleep well. They do have to come into your room multiple times in the night to administer the pain meds, but I quickly went back to sleep.

So my surgery was on Tuesday, today is Saturday. I was supposed to leave today, but decided because of the condition of my nipple it would be best to stay 2 more days to utilize the hyperbaric chamber. My breast are basically black from the bruising, but I feel that is normal. I have 4 drains hanging out of me, which are annoying and praying that at least 2 drains will be removed before I get on the airplane on Monday. They removed the IV finally that was annoying, it always got in the way. Suggestion have them put the IV in your less dominant hand so it isn’t always in the way. They also removed the epidural line today (Saturday). I started showering on Wednesday (wahoo) and was able to have lymphatic massages (which is very gentle). That in itself was very confusing to me. I received information about services from Beauty Enhance and then when I arrived I received more information that I could receive services at Zen Wellness. They are 2 separate entities. I do feel Dr Cardenas staff is better equipped and trained for the massages, but then you have to get to Dr Cardenas office which is complicated. Since I was doing the hyperbaric chamber (scheduled through Dr Cardenas office) I was able to combine the 2 services, paying less in transportation cost. My face is bruised from the fat transfer, so hopefully I will be able to cover that somewhat up with makeup on Monday.

Dr Cardenas came to visit on Friday and that is when we decided to keep me here a couple more days. When she came I asked if I could get a lip filler. Guess what I got a lip filler. She uses lidocaine so the pain in minimal, but still brings tears to your eyes and then I basically could not feel my lips the rest of the evening. In fact it has been over 24 hours and my lips still feel a little numb and yeah now my lips are bruised too. I definitely look worse than I did before I came, but hopefully within a month I will be rockin a great body!

Right now being less than a week out of surgery I feel I made a great decision using Dr Cardenas. The level of attention was impeccable, much better than in the states. The staff much more caring. I obviously do not have anyone to compare my surgery with, since I don’t plan on baring my chest nor do I want to see anyone’s else’s breast I cannot vouch on whether she is the best, but I felt I made the right decision by going with her.

Getting Home
I was picked up at the Wellness Center and they took me over the border. Apparently they purchase a pass that takes you right over so you do not wait the 2 hours to get across the border. They dropped me off at San Diego airport. I did not bring a big bag so I did not have to put it overhead which was great. I did have a wheelchair take me to the gate and pick me up from the gate, which was nice, although I had to walk to the restroom since they deposit you and then you defend for yourself. I only had an hour flight, so the trip home was not bad.

Recovery 1 week to 2 week
I suggest doing as little as possible. You are not supposed to drive for 3 weeks, so if you can stay home for 3 weeks then don’t do anything for 3 weeks. For me life didn’t stop and I was being picked up and dropped off at places which I do not recommend, it will slow down your recovery. I was diligent on taking the pain meds and using the ointments given. I started swelling about at week 2 and it was pretty tender. At week 2 the swelling was where the liposuction happened. I used the arnica tea, iced and massaged the area. Still not real comfortable, but I did have major surgery, so I was not expecting comfortable.
Week 2 to Week 3
Swelling started going down where the liposuction happened, the incisions where the drains were are closed. At week 2 I went and had my physician remove the stitches, which was not that comfortable, but I just made sure I was medicated before. Between week 2 and 3 I noticed some separating at the T, but the doctor told me this is where it would happen if it happened and not be worried. I am just making sure I keep it clean. Also my scab at my nipple is starting to bleed so I just make sure I keep that area bandaged. The swelling has increased in the boobs and boy does it not feel good. I have a hard time getting a deep breath in and if I cough it really hurts. I am driving now. My compression bra feels like it is sucking me out and it is very annoying, but I am trying to be very diligent in wearing it.
Sleep
I thought I would cover sleep. In the wellness center I slept on my back in a hospital bed that was inclined. I wore compression socks at all times. Because I was getting sleep meds I slept pretty good. Once I got home I do have a bed that inclines and I am still sleeping on my back (at 3 weeks), they say I can sleep on my side, but it does not feel comfortable. I need to wear my compression socks more because I am sitting a lot more than I usually do which I am getting swelling from. Sleep is not great, but more because I am a stomach/side sleeper and not really liking sleeping on my back. Getting up and down from the bed at first was a little painful, but now at week 3 I don’t have any problems. It doesn’t feel great to bend over and I definitely do not feel like picking anything up. I know this next week I should see a big difference in the swelling and I am told I get to move to a sports bra.
I still feel like it is worth it. I am loving the results