59 Yr Old Saggy Breasts Are Pretty Now After Lift! - Florence, SC

After breastfeeding 3 children, my once youthful breast were extremely droopy. I had implants to improve their appearance 15-20 years ago. But over time, even those drooped.
Though the implants should have been removed long ago, I am a great procastinator and just lived with them. My blouses never fit right and my breast were so droopy they would fall below the seam of an empire waist shirt, my favorite style.
Fate took the decision out of my hands when one of my implants ruptured. Had to get them removed for safety.
I consulted with a Plastic Surgeon in Florence, SC. Dr. Joe A. Griffin @ Griffin Plastic Surgery is the most caring and professional surgeon I have ever met. He took his time with me, and gave me the opportunity to do the talking, which is rare in a Dr.'s office! Since the implants were going to be removed under anesthesia, I had decided to have a breast lift done at the same time.
Best decision I've ever made!
Dr. Griffin and his staff explained the proceedure , and talked about my health history in detail. It was scheduled for Jan 12, 2015.
This office has it's own surgical suite, which is top notch and so much nicer than a traditional hospital surgical room. Soft music playing, warming blankets, lots of pillows and supports, very modern surgical equipment. The staff are all handpicked, very professional , from the nurses to the anesthesia person, to the recovery room nurse. After Dr. Griffin marked my breast for the surgery, it was lights out for me, and I awoke feeling fine in the recovery room.
I will post a pic of the dressings that were wrapped around my breast, so couldn't see much that day.
As for pain...had I followed the instructions of the Dr., it would have been minimal. But, I chose not to take the prescribed Percocet (as it usually makes my sick) . On the 45 minute drive home, the pain kicked in big time, and I made my husband pull over to the side of the road and get the Percocet out. Once it took effect, I was just fine.
Moral to the story...Obey your Dr's orders!! He knows best!
We returned to Dr. Griffin's office the next morning for first follow up visit, and to remove the dressings.
Now here is where the Real Self website was very helpful. I had looked at many breast lift pics on this site before the surgery. I wanted to be prepared for what I was going to experience. And a good thing I did...otherwise I would have been scared to death of the 'Frankenboobs' I saw in the mirror. They looked kinda like alien boobs that had been sewn on my chest. They were so high, I could practically rest my chin on them! (slight exaggeration)
But Dr. griffin was pleased with the way they looked, and assured me they would morph into a normal shape as time passed. I knew this from the RealSelf website, so was also pleased . From all my research, it takes 6-12 months for them to assume their final shape. It is a long process, so those of us that are a bit impatient people, you just have to get that firmly planted in your mind.
Initially, they are swollen and feel irritated. There are some shooting nerve pains (I call them zingers) as the cut nerves begin healing. Kind of electric feeling. Not unbearable, just uncomfortable.
If you are a side sleeper, it is hard to sleep at night. Supposed to lay on back, but I just can't sleep at all that way, so used a long body pillow pulled up snug to my body and kinda laid half on my side. The body pillow helped tremendously!
It takes about 10 days for the swelling to go down sufficiently to sleep in a normal side position.
I used 4x8 pads of gauze (purchase them at any drug store) to place under the bands of my surgical bra to cushion the long horizontal incision under each breast. Made it much more comfortable. Some people use mini-pads for this purpose, but the plastic backing was irritating to me .
I kept the stitches VERY dry the first week.. Only took 1 full quick shower. The rest of the days, I did a sponge bath. It is well known that stitches kept dry heal faster. And at the 1 week check up, Dr. Griffin told me I was healing great!
The steri strips didn't start curling up until a full 2 -2 1/2 weeks. so that's when they were removed.
It has now been slightly over 3 weeks, and the girls are looking awesome! There are still occasional zingers, especially around the areola, as more nerves are healing, but they happen less and less.
As far as pain levels go..I only needed 2 percocets and some ibupropen during this whole process.
Keep in mind that you will be restricted with exercise and normal upper body movements for a while. As I am very active and impatient, this about drove me crazy! Had to learn the hard way to ease back into normal activities. Just started back to the gym this week..walking(no jogging yet), light weights with lots of reps, and elliptical machines for cardio. And..I wore 2! sports bras to keep breast from jiggling. Have to keep telling myself to take things one step at a time and allow my breast to continue their proper healing on the inside. I surely don't want to mess up my surgeon's fine work.
Tried on empire waist shirt yesterday..boobs were finally in the right place! Yee ha!
Was it worth it? Would I do it again?? Dang right, I would!!!
If you are contemplating this procedure, and have any specific questions, I will be glad to help with answers.