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20 months down the line...
I am still completely in love with them (if that doesn't sound a little creepy!), and I still am surprised sometimes to find that they are really mine! I actually hadn't looked at my "before" pictures for several months until today, and having reminded myself of where I used to be, boob-wise, I am even more amazed at what Mr Perreira did with my giant, droopy, flappy things.
With hindsight, there is, literally, nothing I would change - I'm particularly glad that I kept the size, I always thought I liked having big boobs, and it turns out that I really do! :) The only thing I wish is that I would have had this done sooner. That being said, I realise that I probably got quite lucky in that I had no complications at all, all the numbness (which was in the underside of my breasts) has resolved itself, and my nipples - which were already extremely sensitive - are, if anything, more sensitive than ever (loss of nipple sensation was one of the things that I was most concerned about). Also, the scarring seems to have faded pretty well and smoothened out, both on my breast and under it.
If I were to be hyper critical (and this is purely from what I would imagine would the perspective of someone else - I completely LOVE every single part of my new boobs), I suppose the areolae are less perfect than they were in the immediate aftermath of the procedure (but Mr Perreira had warned me that would happen, so I was prepared), and, erm, that's it. They are, to use a technical term, fan-fecking-tastic!
That's pretty much it - if anyone has any questions about the experience, I'll be happy to answer whatever I can!
One more photo
It is clearly too small, but it gives a better idea of my true size (the other photos make my boobs look especially huge, because of the angle and the fact that they are close up).
Unfortunately, I'm stuck with them as the site I bought it from does not do returns for underwear (but they really were dirt cheap - £6 - so I don't mind). In any event, they were only ever meant for, ahem, bedroom purposes, and I like the colour, but at very worst, I'll find someone to give them to.
As for my size : I am wearing a 36G, down from a 36HH / J this time last year, and a small amount, maybe half a cup size of that reduction in size is down to the operation. Actually, according to the fitters, I should be in a 34 GG, or even a 34 G, but that strikes me as a bit of vanity sizing. I do have to wear the 36 on the tightest hook, but turns out, after so many years of being driven by the need to give my breasts all the support possible, it feels really odd and insecure wearing my bra any other way! So, I'm sticking with the 36G.
Recent photos - scar progress
It's been a little while, largely because there has been nothing much to report, and I figured that even someone with the highest boredom threshold would find it hard to wade through yet another post by me telling the world just how amazingly and fantastically fabulous things are.
(But what can I say - they are pretty damn fabulous, and amazing, and fantastic and, and, and... :) )
Someone did ask me to post photos of how my scars were coming along, so here they are (these were taken over the course of the last 9 days, so that would be between 8 and 9 weeks post op). They will obviously still drop some at the bottom to give that rounded shape (this will take months, apparently) but I think that the size has settled, with the swelling mostly gone (although there is still a tiny amount of residual swelling, but not enough to make any difference to my size, which is a good thing, given that I have gone a bit crazy with bra buying!)
I assume that the scars are progressing as they should (I have no other experiences to compare this to, so I have no idea what they should look like!). They are narrow, and feel smooth; the only "problem" areas are the t-junctions on both boobs, where the scars are smooth, but wider than anywhere else, but I expected this would happen because of the delayed healing there. Also, on the right breast, there was a random spot about half way down that has healed wider than the rest of the vertical incision, as can be seen… I am assured that it will all fade in time, but even if it doesn’t, the t-junction scars certainly aren't visible unless you look under my boobs, and, aside from my surgeon, I would hope that anyone who is getting that close to my breasts has enough other things to occupy his mind! ;)
The one thing I would say to anyone who is still earlier on is to be prepared for things to get worse before they get better - at about 6 weeks in, my scars seemed to get dark overnight (they had been practically invisible for the first few weeks), and I had a bit of a shock! Anyway, they are lightening again, but of course, the fading process will happen over the next 12 / 18 months, and I’m pretty sure that nothing can rush that process (at least, not to any significant degree), so I will just have to be patient.
Which is why I haven't used any specific scar treatment so far - I'm a bit worried about messing with a healing process that seems to be going better than I could have hoped at this stage... The only thing I did try to do was to go back to using the micropore tape, to alleviate any tension on the scars, but as I am working out a lot at the moment, the tape just gets in the way, as it ends up all smushed up and wrinkled after a workout session, so I have mostly given up, apart from on the scars on the side (and I am trying to remember to massage those scars in particular).
Which brings me neatly to the "niggles" - lest anyone think that I am so blinded by love that I do not see any imperfections : I totally do, but I also totally do not care! But, for what it's worth, here they are:-
left underarm incision - I still have a hard knot at the end of the incision to the side of my left boob; Mr Pereira removed some fluid from this spot at my last post-op visit, and he did say that he suspected that more fluid would collect there, and I could very easily ask my sister (a doctor) to aspirate it again for me. Once the fluid is finally gone, I think it will leave a small "dog ear", which - I assume - will be easy to fix so that it lies totally flat as it should;
t-junction scars – as above, wider than the other scars, as expected; and
my left areola - this is not as "perfect" as my right, which is a beautiful, flawless circle, but again, I am totally unbothered by this. My left boob was always the bigger boob (it still is, I was absolutely adamant that there was to be no reduction on either breast, just the lift), and it may well have always had a slightly misshapen areola. The fact is, as is clear from my before photos, my breasts were so long and droopy, and both areolae so massively distended (they were bigger than a CD prior to the op), and I had avoided looking at my breasts for a VERY long time, I couldn't tell you what shape my areolae originally were!
Anyway, those are the niggles, but they are - for me, anyway - just that : tiny, inconsequential, nit-picky niggles. Cos, just in case I hadn't said it enough times, I fricking love my new breasts!!!!!!!!!!! :)
And finally… Turns out there is an unforeseen downside to this procedure, which is that I have turned into a mad, crazy exhibitionist lady, who is desperate to impose her new breasts on unsuspecting people at the drop of a hat. Literally, I cannot stop showing them to people, I am a woman possessed!
Picture the scene : a dinner party, an opportunity to enjoy some lovely food and (in my defence) far too much wine, a chance to spend time with friends without having to rush, with the unexpected bonus that a good friend who lives in NY was over for a couple of weeks.
Anyway, the conversation turned to me, and how I was doing, how I felt, how my recovery was coming along, and some crazy fool asked how the scarring was progressing.
Of course, the sensible voice in my head said "sweetie, they are only being polite, they just want to make sure you're okay, they Are. Just. Being. Polite". The other, louder, shrill, slightly mental, boob-obsessed voice in my head yelled "sweetie, don’t listen to her, what does she know, they want to see them, they wouldn't be asking otherwise, they are some of your closest friends, they really do want to see, Show them, Show them, Show them, Show them now!"
So, dear reader, I showed them.
In the middle of a dinner party, I undid my (now nicely buttoning up) shirt, pulled up my bra, and showed 4 of my close friends, and one relative stranger my [RS bleep], flashed my newly hoiked up boobies at people who were just trying to enjoy their roast chicken and perfectly roast potatoes in peace...
The only saving graces were that a) the lighting was dim, and b) we had all drunk enough that I may be able to convince them that they were imagining things, it didn't actually happen, what, do they think I'm crazy, I wouldn't do anything so ridiculous and inappropriate, I mean, c'mon, what do you take me for!
Except, they all know that I would do something so ridiculous and inappropriate, with or without booze, and it almost certainly won't be the last time I get them out, I love them so much it seems almost wrong not to let the world see them, scars and all!
Yes, Mr Pereira has created a monster.
But, you know, I feel so gloriously, wondrously liberated from the sense of embarrassment and shame that I hadn’t ever let myself admit that I carried around with me because of the way my breasts used to look, I feel free, and lighter and lifted (literally and metaphorically!), I just can't help myself!
Honestly, no one is more surprised than me at the extreme reaction that I have experienced to having had this op (and, of course, I know that I have been so fortunate that everything has gone my way, from my decision to go with the amazing Mr Pereira, to my textbook healing (so far, fingers crossed it continues!)... Of course, I knew I would be happier with breasts that looked more like breasts and less like giant udders, but I didn't know just how much my old boobs had brought me down, how much they upset me, and how wonderful and transformative it would be not to feel ashamed any more.
Anyway, enough from me for now - if anyone has any questions, please let me know. Also, I'd be interested if anyone thinks I am missing a trick by not doing the silicone / scar fade thing...
I hope everyone who has had the op is doing wonderfully, and anyone who is thinking about doing it, I wish them the very best of luck, and I hope it turns out just the way they want it to.
Provider Review
Mr Pereira was recommended to me by a previous patient who was absolutely delighted with her results 2 years down the line, and everything she said turned out to be absolutely right (although I did still have 6 or 7 consultations just to be totally sure). He inspired complete confidence in his ability to deliver results, he himself was supremely confident without being arrogant (a skill that seems to elude so many surgeons!), human but unwaveringly professional, honest but sensitive. He also managed the seemingly impossible, by making the physical examination, if not painless, certainly less distressing than it had been in all my other consultations - he got the information he needed quickly and sensitively, and it was over almost before it had begun. He and his team (wife Beverley and PA Kim) are efficient and kind, and I would recommend him unreservedly.