POSTED UNDER Sientra Breast Implants Reviews REVIEWS
27YO Widowed Mother of Twins. Sientra GummyBear Textured 505ccHP Subglandular Periareolar Incision w Mastopexy. Huntersville, NC
ORIGINAL POST
On June 16th, I lost my husband of 4 years after a...
WORTH IT$7,150
On June 16th, I lost my husband of 4 years after a 3 1/2 year battle with liver cancer. In the two months following his passing I lost 20 lbs from a decreased appetite and increased workload, going from 155lbs size 10/12 jeans to 135lbs size 6. I haven't been this thin since my freshman year in high school. Everyone has been commenting about how good I looked and I Felt good, except for one thing...
I have never been happy with my breasts. I was born with a tilted sternum so my left breast hung down more and pointed off to the side and a lump in the middle from where the bone stuck out. Even with the best pushup bra I never had any cleavage; I could stick my whole hand in between my breasts. I brought up the subject with a friend of mine who had hers done several years ago and she said it was totally worth it, she just wished she'd gone bigger.
Once I received the life insurance settlement, I decided to just go for it. For the past few years I have been a dutiful wife, mother, stepmother and then caregiver. I rarely even bought clothes for myself; I've been wearing some of the same stuff for over 7 years now and most of what I did buy was second-hand. It was time to do something just for me.
I Googled "best implants in Charlotte, NC" and clicked on the first link, realself and looked at the surgeon with the most reviews, Dr. Kortesis. After checking out his website, I saw that they were part of the Sientra clinical study and that clinched it for me. I called and was given an appointment for the following Monday.
At the consultation, I did the Vectra 3D imaging. Or tried to I should say. My breasts were so off that the image came out distorted. I was looking forward to playing with that so it was kind of disappointing, but the fault was with my anatomy not with the imaging. I got to handle the different types of implants, and I liked the Gummy Bears the best which worked out cause that's what they were doing the study with. Dr. Kortesis came in and listened to what I wanted; more volume, some real cleavage but not a lot of projection. He did his examination and took measurements. He said my left breast was tubular and that I'd need a lift on that side. I kind of grimaced at that since I knew it would cost more but in for a penny, in for a pound. He wanted to do a round textured moderate profile implant over the muscle. That's exactly what I wanted. He did warn me that with my tilted sternum, my breasts still may not be exactly symmetrical but he'd try to get it close. I appreciated the honesty. Even if they weren't 100% perfect, it'd still be a vast improvement. Then he said the larger the implant, the closer I would be to the cleavage I wanted. Fine by me, I wasn't going to drop this kinda bank for only a small increase and I remembered my friend regretting that she didnt go bigger. Go big or go home, I told him. He stepped out while I put on a sports bra and tried on the different sizes. When he came back I had decided on the textured round 595cc moderate profile.
When I got to scheduling, I asked when was the soonest I could schedule, thinking it'd be months out. She asked if I wanted to come in that Friday. Ack, I needed another week to make arrangements for the care of my 3 year old twins, so we made it for the following Friday. I guess since they have their own (certified) surgical center on site it makes things quicker. I'm not a patient person; once I decide I want something I want it yesterday, so waiting 11 days was torture. I can't imagine waiting months like some of the girls on here.
He was running a little behind which didn't bother me, it reassured me that he would take his time when it was my turn. He marked me up and went over our goals again. He reassured me that he would take good care of me. I got settled on the table and the anesthesiologist remarked that I looked very relaxed. I really wasn't, I was nervous as all get-out and had considered backing out all day long but I'd already made all the arrangements, my mom left my poor dad in Maryland who was sick so she could come help. I just had to grit my teeth and wait for the drugs to kick in...zzzz...
The first thing I remembered next was Dr. Kortesis saying I was still pretty groggy and that he'd discuss how it went next time I saw him 'cause I wouldn't remember if he told me now. "Nooo, I'll remember" I slurred before dozing off again. Once I fully came out of it, I was sore but out of all the prescriptions I brought with me, I left the pain meds an hour away at home. When they wheeled me out, it was dark outside. I was confused, I went under at 4:30. My mom explained the best she could, apparently while he was in there, he made the decision to do a "full lift" which apparently took longer. I was supposed to be under for 2 hours, it ended up being more like 4..which may explain why he was running behind, he takes his time to do things right. I somehow managed to dig out the card with my implants serial numbers, it looks like he also ended up going with 505cc high profile. I'm sure the change had something to do with the extra lift he did. Now that it's all said and done, I'm glad he went a touch smaller, I'm happy with the size I am now.
The first couple days were pretty painful. I hate sleeping on my back but sleeping on my side was NOT an option, trust me, I tried! Getting out of bed in the mornings was a task and a half, it felt like I had an elephant on my chest. Things didn't really get any better until almost a week later.
I'm currently 10 (actually 11 now since its midnight) days post op. Earlier in the day(Sunday)I noticed some scabby stuff on my sports bra,thinking that maybe the bra was just rubbing on the incision I lined the bra with pantyliners . I checked it later in the evening and the pantyliner had captured some yellowy discharge. Dr. Kortesis gave me his cell the night of the surgery and told me contact him with any issues, so I sent him a text asking if he wanted me to come in on Monday or wait til my scheduled follow up on Tuesday. I was pretty surprised that he responded back exactly two minutes later telling me to come in tomorrow.
Overall, I'm satisfied with the results thus far. I know they're going to go through some changes here over the next few months, but even this soon I can already start to see it filling out in the middle. The first day I could fit about 2.5 fingers in the space between my breasts (much better than my whole hand!) and I was okay with that, but now it's about 1.5 and they should only get better. I didn't take any before pics, maybe I can get them from the office.
Sorry for the novel. Albeit a short one, it's been a journey!
I have never been happy with my breasts. I was born with a tilted sternum so my left breast hung down more and pointed off to the side and a lump in the middle from where the bone stuck out. Even with the best pushup bra I never had any cleavage; I could stick my whole hand in between my breasts. I brought up the subject with a friend of mine who had hers done several years ago and she said it was totally worth it, she just wished she'd gone bigger.
Once I received the life insurance settlement, I decided to just go for it. For the past few years I have been a dutiful wife, mother, stepmother and then caregiver. I rarely even bought clothes for myself; I've been wearing some of the same stuff for over 7 years now and most of what I did buy was second-hand. It was time to do something just for me.
I Googled "best implants in Charlotte, NC" and clicked on the first link, realself and looked at the surgeon with the most reviews, Dr. Kortesis. After checking out his website, I saw that they were part of the Sientra clinical study and that clinched it for me. I called and was given an appointment for the following Monday.
At the consultation, I did the Vectra 3D imaging. Or tried to I should say. My breasts were so off that the image came out distorted. I was looking forward to playing with that so it was kind of disappointing, but the fault was with my anatomy not with the imaging. I got to handle the different types of implants, and I liked the Gummy Bears the best which worked out cause that's what they were doing the study with. Dr. Kortesis came in and listened to what I wanted; more volume, some real cleavage but not a lot of projection. He did his examination and took measurements. He said my left breast was tubular and that I'd need a lift on that side. I kind of grimaced at that since I knew it would cost more but in for a penny, in for a pound. He wanted to do a round textured moderate profile implant over the muscle. That's exactly what I wanted. He did warn me that with my tilted sternum, my breasts still may not be exactly symmetrical but he'd try to get it close. I appreciated the honesty. Even if they weren't 100% perfect, it'd still be a vast improvement. Then he said the larger the implant, the closer I would be to the cleavage I wanted. Fine by me, I wasn't going to drop this kinda bank for only a small increase and I remembered my friend regretting that she didnt go bigger. Go big or go home, I told him. He stepped out while I put on a sports bra and tried on the different sizes. When he came back I had decided on the textured round 595cc moderate profile.
When I got to scheduling, I asked when was the soonest I could schedule, thinking it'd be months out. She asked if I wanted to come in that Friday. Ack, I needed another week to make arrangements for the care of my 3 year old twins, so we made it for the following Friday. I guess since they have their own (certified) surgical center on site it makes things quicker. I'm not a patient person; once I decide I want something I want it yesterday, so waiting 11 days was torture. I can't imagine waiting months like some of the girls on here.
He was running a little behind which didn't bother me, it reassured me that he would take his time when it was my turn. He marked me up and went over our goals again. He reassured me that he would take good care of me. I got settled on the table and the anesthesiologist remarked that I looked very relaxed. I really wasn't, I was nervous as all get-out and had considered backing out all day long but I'd already made all the arrangements, my mom left my poor dad in Maryland who was sick so she could come help. I just had to grit my teeth and wait for the drugs to kick in...zzzz...
The first thing I remembered next was Dr. Kortesis saying I was still pretty groggy and that he'd discuss how it went next time I saw him 'cause I wouldn't remember if he told me now. "Nooo, I'll remember" I slurred before dozing off again. Once I fully came out of it, I was sore but out of all the prescriptions I brought with me, I left the pain meds an hour away at home. When they wheeled me out, it was dark outside. I was confused, I went under at 4:30. My mom explained the best she could, apparently while he was in there, he made the decision to do a "full lift" which apparently took longer. I was supposed to be under for 2 hours, it ended up being more like 4..which may explain why he was running behind, he takes his time to do things right. I somehow managed to dig out the card with my implants serial numbers, it looks like he also ended up going with 505cc high profile. I'm sure the change had something to do with the extra lift he did. Now that it's all said and done, I'm glad he went a touch smaller, I'm happy with the size I am now.
The first couple days were pretty painful. I hate sleeping on my back but sleeping on my side was NOT an option, trust me, I tried! Getting out of bed in the mornings was a task and a half, it felt like I had an elephant on my chest. Things didn't really get any better until almost a week later.
I'm currently 10 (actually 11 now since its midnight) days post op. Earlier in the day(Sunday)I noticed some scabby stuff on my sports bra,thinking that maybe the bra was just rubbing on the incision I lined the bra with pantyliners . I checked it later in the evening and the pantyliner had captured some yellowy discharge. Dr. Kortesis gave me his cell the night of the surgery and told me contact him with any issues, so I sent him a text asking if he wanted me to come in on Monday or wait til my scheduled follow up on Tuesday. I was pretty surprised that he responded back exactly two minutes later telling me to come in tomorrow.
Overall, I'm satisfied with the results thus far. I know they're going to go through some changes here over the next few months, but even this soon I can already start to see it filling out in the middle. The first day I could fit about 2.5 fingers in the space between my breasts (much better than my whole hand!) and I was okay with that, but now it's about 1.5 and they should only get better. I didn't take any before pics, maybe I can get them from the office.
Sorry for the novel. Albeit a short one, it's been a journey!
Windrunner's provider
UPDATED FROM Windrunner
11 days post
bit of an infection
I went in yesterday to have him take a look at the discharge and when he pulled the tape of there was also some redness indicating an infection. He gave me some gauze to soak in a saline solution and a pad to tape over it and two antibiotics, Augmentin and Bactrim DS. He also said it was swollen which was a relief, I thought the left was just going to be a bit bigger cause of my deformity. I texted him these pics this morning at his request and he said looks like the antibiotics are working.(I'm still surprised by how quickly he responds to text) and I'll go see him again tomorrow.
I just hope this doesn't lead to CC. I can't afford another surgery, I went over what I already spent.
I just hope this doesn't lead to CC. I can't afford another surgery, I went over what I already spent.
Replies (0)
Replies (2)
September 10, 2014
Oh wow, that looks scarey! Fingers crossed, the antibiotics work and this goes away quickly for you! Keep us updated, please!
September 10, 2014
He said it was looking good and to keep changing the dressings. I asked about the risk of CC but he told me not to worry, the infection is superficial and that the textured Sientras have a less than 5% risk of CC and he personally hasnt run into it since he started it.
I asked to be a full D (which is a poor description, I should have done wish photos like I see here but I hadn't done much research since it was a snap decision) I went to try on real bras yesterday even though it'd be a while til I can wear em and I filled out a 36D. He said theyre still high so I'm wondering if theyll end up DD. I guess numbers dont really matter, I'm happy with em whatever the tag says.
Replies (2)