30 Yo Explanting 11 Yo Saline - Idaho, ID

So today is two weeks plus one day since the explant. Things are looking good and feeling good. I can say that psychologically recovery is happening faster than my physical recovery - I want to go back to the gym and mow the lawn and do all the things I am used to, but have to rein myself in. My body also feels better, but now I am at the point where I have muscle aches from NOT working out. My implants were over-the-muscle so that probably helps a lot in how well I am feeling. Still now gym for a month... Argh!

I had a two-week post op appointment yesterday with the doctor and he removed the tape underneath. I am extremely please with the incision lines - he did something akin to a slipstich that you would used to finish something - no external thread but for the knot. The scar is going to be better than the scar from my BA eleven years ago! It itches like crazy, as do the drain sites, but everything is healing really well.

I have noticed that both breasts seem to be developing their own crease above the incision lines. Doctor confirmed this may be from my tissues naturally finding the crease on their own. I have seen a few women post about this with frustration - I don't think it sucks because I did this to myself. It is a consequence of a decision I made at 19, and my choice is to either deal with it or get another set of implants at some point. Guess which choice I am making?

I have a weird sense of humor so my boyfriend and I have started saying that my breasts now have some character. So if anyone out there is struggling with a less-than-perfect outcome remember that your result is based on so many factors (age, health, skin, length of time implanted, size of implants, surgeons skill, etc etc) and that it is unrealistic to think it's going to be perfect. You have to laugh at yourself and remember that you put yourself in this position in the first place.

And finally having someone who is supportive helps so much. My boyfriend jokingly said it's not his fault that men like breasts because they are programmed to. True! But being a mature adult he is more concerned with my health and happiness and told me I am beautiful, scars and all. Ladies if you are not getting this kind of support from your significant other you need to do some serious thinking about your relationship - we are more than our bodies and if your spouse can't see that then you are not getting the love and attention and support you deserve or need. Sorry, didn't mean to get on a soapbox there but women are more than meat and I think we can forget that if we are not in good relationships.

Anyways I am still happy, actually happier now, with my decision to explant. I don't care if I have somewhat wonky breasts. I can move freely and with how low body fat I get, I won't have any breasts anyways! One perk of working out so much is my chest muscles give me some size - so I will have 'chests' instead of 'breasts.'

I will update again in about a month, hopefully when I can return to the gym!

Hi there! I felt compelled to write a review because this site really helped me make the decision to explant and gave me a starting point. I thought I was insane for wanting my implants out and reading about how many other women were in the same boat really helped. Hopefully my story can help someone else too!

When I was 19 I had Mentor smooth saline implants inserted over-the-muscle. The implants were 370ccs and brought me from an AA cup to a solid C.

Now I had come out of a really turbulent teen-hood that included abuse and leaving home at the tender age of 16 to fend for myself. I was in a place where I was struggling to figure out who and what I was, and knew that part of the problem was that I did not feel right in my own body. Would that I knew then what I know now - that it is normal to feel that way! I felt like my body was one thing I had control over, so I was going to fix it.

I felt that my too was out of proportion to my bottom (I am athletic and had a big booty, solid legs, wide shoulders, but no boobs!). The surgeon who implanted me did a great job - no complications, I was happy with how I looked and felt, and more confident in myself.

As time went on things slowly changed. I began to notice how the implants got in the way... Of everything! Golf swing? Yep, in the way. Martial Arts? In the way and a liability. Sky-Diving? HUGE liability and guess what, in the way too! Sleeping comfortably? Who needs that? Especially sleeping on my stomach... I would contort my body and pillows and sheets and literally pick up and move boob to get some stomach time.

Not only were they in the way, but I noticed some postural changes. My shoulders started rounding forward and I had trouble keeping my chest out. Why? I finally figured out that it was because my breasts felt like the most prominent feature on my body... And I HATED that.

Also aesthetically, they didn't look as nice as they once had. The left one in particular was starting to bottom out.

But the kicker happened in the fall of 2013. I have always been an athlete but with the encouragement of an awesome trainer started competing in body-builder shows. I won my first show and was done, hook-line-and-sinker. I knew I wanted to do more, lift heavy, and build a great muscled body.

There was one odd side-effect though. When you cut weight for a show you cut fat. Breasts are fat. So my breasts became smaller. And in doing so, I began to see, and even hear, those invisible but oh-so-felt implants!

I first noticed rippling on the side of my right boob. I freaked right out thinking something was horribly wrong until I realized that it was the implants shell rippling. As I continued to lean out the ripples on both sides became more prominent until I swear I could hear a 'crunching' sound if I poked the side of my boob.

I was horrified by that. Crunching is not a good sound for the body in any context, but this was a silicone shell surrounding decade-old saline (which generally has a shelf-life of a year) with a calcified shell around that.

I knew I was done at that point. I wanted them out. I also felt obscene being so low body-fat that you could see all of my muscle striations but had giant boobs. Thats not sexy, appealing, or normal!

I talked to my boyfriend and got his blessing (not that it honestly would have mattered anyway - it is MY body!) and started researching. I found this site and read everything I could. I researched surgeons. I knew mine was the one I wanted to work with because instead of telling me to re-implant he presented all options and then when I told him I wanted the implants gone, sat down and made a game plan with me.

My surgery was originally set for December 2014, but due to some unforeseen circumstances I asked if there was any chance I could get in during the beginning of August. Someone or something had my back because I was told yes indeed, how about August 8?

I am on the other side now and had an explant, full capsulectomy, and very limited masectomy (just a thin strip in the crease of each removed). I was in surgery for about 2.5 hours and home maybe an hour after I woke.

The first few days were spent on the couch and tending to the drains. Anyone who has had Jackson-Pratt drains can understand how disconcerting it is to have those sticking out of you. They itch, they hurt, they leak, and you feel like a mad octopus that has to drag its bloody tentacles around everywhere.

Today, Wednesday 8/13/14, is five days post-explant. The drains came out (I would have cried had I been told they had to stay - honestly thats been the hardest part of the surgery!) and I brought a new sports bra which I am wearing now. Helpful tip - drains coming out feel SO odd but not painful, more like relieving an itch that you haven't been able to scratch - an itch that has put constant pressure on your chest!

No pain aside from itchy incisions and most importantly no regrets.

How do my boobs look? Tired and like I have put them through a lot, but beautiful! I love my small boobs (I forgot boobs are meant to be SOFT) and know they will just get better with time. And you know what, even if they were ugly and never got better, I wouldn't care because I feel so free and happy that it would be worth it. I no longer have to worry about a rupture, future surgeries, or looking strange because of my fake breasts.

So ladies. If you know someone who wants implants please let them know they are beautiful just the way they are. And here's the thing; I don't regret having implants, but I think that is because I am willing to pay the price now to recover from them. I wonder if more women knew, what they might choose to do, or not do.