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POSTED UNDER En Bloc Capsulectomy REVIEWS

Implant Free And Super Happy Thus Far :)

ORIGINAL POST

I just wanted to write a little but detailed...

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mamamiakb
WORTH IT$10,250
I just wanted to write a little but detailed review about my experience travelling out of country for a proper enbloc explantation of my implants with mastopexy and fat transfer. I first decided to get implants about 3 and a half years ago on a whim. I was actually looking to get a breast lift but the ps at the time told me it would be useless and i needed a small implant to balance out my lower half/shape. Due to nursing i had a very saggy left breast which would fall out of swim suit. I would always be tucking it back in and i would never take my top of with my husband. I was very insecure about the appearance of my breasts. I was super lopsided as well, so bra shopping was a task. I was hoping he could just remove some skin, even me out and maybe throw in a areola reduction. I somehow left booked for a set of saline implants. We disagreed about size and i ended up with a smaller implant that i requested, which eventually dropped. I then had to go under again and get a saline fill. My breasts were like rocks. I started to develop a breast wound which wouldnt heal for the longest time.....week after week of wound debridement and was left with an awful scar. And eventually capsular contracture. Within the same time frame i started to have weird symptoms. My eye started twitching non stop, my face would go numb. my body would ache over nothing to the point i wanted to cry all the time. I became dizzy on and off first and eventually collapsed in the chicago airport on the way to see my husband. my bp was low but other than that they couldn't figure it out. I questioned my implants but ended up thinking that i was crazy and my ps at the time said it was likely not my implants but that my cc and wound should be fixed so lets go in and see if there are issues and replace. I don't regret this because i truly believe everything happens for a reason and i would not have found Dr Urzola or explanted properly (full capsule removal) if i had done it then. Replacing did not help my health and i ended up being diagnosed with Lyme disease. The thing is many women who have breast implant illness are also diagnosed with lyme. There is a definite connection and a fair amount of controversy surrounding this...

I treated my lyme and got somewhat better but my LLMD (lyme doc) told me i needed to remove my implants due to potential biofilms being able to hide in the chest wall. My autoimmune issues aswell, and toxic load ( i was also diagnosed with ankylosing spondylitis at 37 which is rare. I've carried the gene my whole life and just started to get signs on my MRI of sacroilitis which usually occurs at a younger age if you are to be affected). I've suffered from back pain and neck pain with terrible headaches on top of a long list of other symptoms. I didn't want to take a chance with this. I was also reached out to by a girl who is now a very close friend of mine who has lyme, removed her implants and is a lot better. I knew what i had to do but of course was terrified of results so i did my research and met another lady who introduced me per say to Dr urzolas practice , who also suffered from illness, and is now better. He is supportive of our issues and also cares about results so he was perfect for me. I needed a doc who didn't think implant illness was just the craziest thing in the world and i really wanted to some reconstruction as well so as i could feel comfortable in my own skin.

Moving forward to deciding to take those puppies out! I planned my trip to Costa Rica 3 months out which gave me plenty of time to sort out babysitting, work, etc. I had 1 skype consult with Dr Urzola and fell in love with who he is a person and a doctor. It's very rare you find such a talented surgeon who truly does care about his patient, their conditions and their very specific needs. He really listens and i really talk lol. I decided to go all out and try for fat transfer which doesn't always take. Especially if you have bigger implants/pocket and do the procedure all at once over waiting 6 mnths for the pocket to heal and then inject the fat. But i really just wanted 1 surgery in my current condition. He uses platelet rich plasma which basically feeds the fat and provides structure for the growth of blood vessels to promote the fats survival. It also helps with healing of the area. I expect to loose about 50%. At week 3 now and i'm hoping i've stabilized. By one month the fat should be stable he says. He also advises HBOT to help the fat survive. So you go to these sessions right after your surgery ideally. Alot of what you see in the beginning is swelling too which i realized quite fast. I will post pics so you can see what the dif is and what is actually swelling and what is fat loss.

All in all. I'm very happy with my results and i wouldn't think twice about recommending him to anyone for any procedures. He provides a video so as you can see that ALL your capsule is removed from your chest cavity as far as enbloc removal goes. I was not an easy case according to him and he took almost 6 hours to make sure he had gotten it all and also provided me with the best results that my body would allow. Post op i was pretty sick and he was there for me and covered all basis. Even now that i am back in Canada he still is reachable if you have any issues at all or questions. He is a very very talented doctor and a wonderful human being.

I'll post some pics from pre explant and then the beginning. Day 1 after explant, then day 4 (when i was verrrrry swollen) then 2 and half weeks as it started to subside and then 3 weeks with my tape off and the swelling had dissipated. I will end up being a B cup i think which is just fine with me. I have no denting as of yet or wrinkling. I love my small nipples and if i want to i can probably go braless! wooooooo hoo lol. I think if anything the fat transfer helps with just filling in small spaces so you appear more even and the skin is smoother. I had very little breast tissue.

I've had no headaches or neck pain thus far.My headaches were horrendous. My nails are oddly growing again. My sweat smells better. Other symptoms will take some time im sure but any symptom gone is a win for me.

Any questions let me know. I hope this was helpful xo Mia :)

mamamiakb's provider

Victor Urzola, MD

Victor Urzola, MD

Plastic Surgeon

mamamiakb

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Replies (27)

October 4, 2016
Your results are very nice. Would you please tell us how old you are and how big the implants were? Have you seen the scars yet? Did the Dr. do an anchor lift? How was the pain after having the explant, lift and fat transfer. Please let us know if you think it was a good idea to have all three. Also, looking back would you recommend Costa Rica? What about aftercare? Thank you. Answer at your leisure, I know it is a lot. Happy Healing!
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October 7, 2016
Hi, I'm 38 years old, i nursed 2 babies for 2 years each, my implants were 425 cc's, yes i had an anchor lift. yes he did my anchor lift and from what i see his lifts are amazing. Personally the pain wasnt that bad for me. I was off pain meds after my 2nd or 3rd day as they upset my tummy and was just very sore but not dying in pain. The aftercare was amazing and i can still reach him on whatsap with any questions. I stayed at a medical ranch called chetica for 10 days and their post op care was also incredible. I will post pics of my scars (a closer pic) shortly. I have a little opening at the bottom of one but it's not at all infected and is healing well. My only issue with the lift. As for getting them all done at the same time, it IS alot on your body and i believe there is a better chance perhaps with fat survival if you do the fat transfer 6 months after from what i am told as the pocket is allowed time to heal but i didn't want 2 surgeries so i took the risk. I'm happy my skin is tight and i have a little bit of shape. fingers crossed i'm safe next week at the 1 month mark for loosing fat! It would be best to ask him his opinion or whichever surgeon you choose about doing it all at once or in more than one surgery. I think its different for everyone too depending on the size of your pocket/implant and how much breast tissue you have. Thank you! Hope that helps :)
October 7, 2016
Thank you so much! I'm so glad it is going so well. Your experience and comments are invaluable!
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October 4, 2016

Hey! Welcome, and thanks so much for sharing your experience! Congratulations! You look amazing :) Did you need pain meds afterwards?

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October 7, 2016
Hi :), you know what.. pain wasn't really a huge issue for me. I'm not sure if that's because i was distracted with being so sick after surgery lol, or i just have a high pain tolerance. I also didn't really bruise terribly on my body from the lipo. I was definitely sore but i stopped taking pain meds after 2 days as they don't really agree with my stomach.
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October 7, 2016

That's good to know! I'm glad your recovery has gone so smoothly. Did you use anything to help avoid bruising?

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October 10, 2016
yes! arnica cream and arnica tablets and bromelaine, and vitamin c and zinc :), and vitamin a to take with the zinc so you don't get toxic from zinc which can happen but is rare.
October 4, 2016
You look amazing! And I am so happy for you that you are starting to feel better! Interesting that you write that there are many women diagnosed with lyme disease that also have breast implants. I had my implants removed by Dr Feng a year ago and after 6 months of explant I was still feeling ill. After seeing specialist after specialist who just wanted to place me on pain killers and anti seizure medication, I sent my blood for testing and I am indeed positive for lyme. I strongly believe my immune system has been compromised after having my implants placed. It seems to be happening to so many women and it's so wrong! I hope now that your implants are out you will be able to fight the lyme better and hopefully recover completely! Wishing you all the best with your recovery and thank you for posting your story!
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October 7, 2016
Hi! Thank you too for sharing that with me. yes, i feel it was just the perfect storm! Lyme is so complicated to treat but i still feel that we did the best thing we could for ourselves removing our implants. And dr Feng is supposed to be amazing! I look at it as a stepping stone. How are you doing now? Are you having any luck treating? :)
October 5, 2016
You look great! I'm in the process of consulting with Dr. Urzola now. Can't decide whether to explant, lift and fat transfer. Or just to explant now, see how I heal, then lift and fat transfer later. He told me he could pull some fat but definitely not enough to fill the 350 cc worth of implant I had before. I'm 5, 7" at 120, do not so much fat. However, you're then too, I'm impressed! How did you decide to do it all at once? Especially the lift?
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October 7, 2016
Thank you luv! I think doing it separately would be ideal IF you can for the fat transfer. I recall him saying that it's always the best to do each procedure separately for the best results. I think if your pocket heals, you have the best chance of your fat sticking but i would just confirm with him on that. He's done a lot more fat transfers i think on explant patients form my first skype consult. For me, i didn't want 2 surgeries and i knew i probably wouldn't make it back for the fat transfer after the fact. Some ladies do keep all of their fat and some loose it all and some of us keep some. So far i think i've kept some i would say. It's really hard to tell with all the swelling. I was always set on a lift because of my implant size and extra skin. I couldn't find one doctor here in Canada that would do my lift at the same time let alone removed all my capsule so that was a no brainer for me aside from just really having a good feeling about him that ended up being accurate. I am 5, 5" and 120 so we are close in size. I was a b cup prior and am a b cup now but my skin is much nicer and my nipples. I think the fat transfer may not have given me size but a youthful look and filled in some space along with the lift. I hope that helps! :)
October 8, 2016
I'm worried about that myself, doing explant and lift at same time. I really want to "get it all over with" at once and be done to move forward. But if I could have a better result waiting set amount of time for my lift, I want to give myself the best result. Although I would sure hate dragging this out even more and living w the saggy sacks of skin for 6 months or however long. Interesting to know what docs in your area have said!
October 8, 2016
I had BA because of extra skin- so I know it's not going to be any better after 1.5 years of giant implants!
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October 10, 2016
That's why i got mine too luv. Extra skin. I think urzola's lifts are amazing even with explant at the same time. i think he has a measuring system and lots of experience with that. i was more wondering about the fat transfer. like if i should have waited for my pocket to heal... if maybe more fat would have stayed. i'm having a hard time figuring out what is swelling and what is fat loss. i'll try and post some pics later or tomo. but i think its fair and reasonable to not want hanging skin first and foremost, and for me health. i have no hanging skin right now regardless of fat loss. i read prp helps with healing of tissue as well so maybe thats why. maybe it doesn't provide a lot of size but fills in spaces and helps with tightness and healing which also makes it worth it. it would be a good question for him :)
December 13, 2016
I am not sure if this is true but when I went for an ultrasound in my breasts the technician said that when people do fat transfers that the technicians are no longer able to see around the fat when doing an ultrasound which puts women at risk because they can't determine if anything wrong is G0d forbid in there.
October 7, 2016
Congratulations!!!! So happy for you and it will only get better from here now that you're on the other side. Thanks for giving me hope of a good outcome- every explant success story helps a lot. You really look beautiful!
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October 7, 2016
Aw, thank you sweetheart. I'm so happy to provide hope for you! I'm very happy in my own skin and this whole experience has been very humbling! Best of luck to you too! xo