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POSTED UNDER Breast Lift REVIEWS

After Months of Researching and TWO Consultations I Have Scheduled TWO More! - Minneapolis, MN

ORIGINAL POST

Hi RealSelf! I finally decided to make a profile...

MsRogers11.
WORTH IT$9,930
Hi RealSelf! I finally decided to make a profile and post my experience. I have gone through months and months of research and stories from RealSelf.
I'm 29 years old, married, 3 children (all breastfed) & a proud NAVY WIFE! :-) I'm about 5'3 & 155 pounds. I have an athletic build with a round bottom (I love my butt). I'm Puerto Rican, German, African American, Indian ( I know it's a lot).

My husband & I originally wanted 5 children, but after number 3 he retired. The youngest just turned one so we'll see how many years go by before he changes his mind. He plans on having a vasectomy this year. From the beginning we agreed on having children and after we were done I could get my boobs done (& now anything else I wanted). So since his deployment I started researching slowly & now I'm now I'm a research addict.

I'm currently a 36C but that is not the actual size because I have stretched skin. I'm told I'm more likely a B cup due to the loss of breast tissue.. I want to be the 36D I was in my breastfeeding days.

I went on my first consultation about a month ago with Dr. Jennifer Harrington (referred by my hair stylist). I waited for over an hour & had to come back the next day. She got caught up in something. She was truly a nice doctor. She made me feel very comfortable and explained it all to me. However she only recommended a breast lift & if I still wanted implants she could do so at a later date. Not really what I was looking for but okay. After she gave me the price I almost choked! I quickly learned that if your looking for a certain price you may want to find a doctor that uses their own operating room to cut down on "facility cost".

I felt bad for my husband. I couldn't believe it would cost that much. I decided to try to wait to have this surgery done. I couldn't stop researching though. I think he felt bad for me & told me to try to find another doctor. So that's what I did. I scheduled a consultation with Dr. Richard Tholen (found him on this site!), but his first available was a month out! It's scheduled for July 26th. So back to looking for another doctor. I found a David O Smith. He seemed to be experienced a little older so I figured I should give him a shot. I went first thing Monday morning. He was very polite. He answered all my questions, took measurements, & had me try on a bra with "fillers". I liked the way the 550cc looked, but it quickly told me that was not going to be big enough to fit my stretched breast. He told me 600cc with a nipple lift would get the look I wanted. ALSO I would need a lift at a later date (years down the line). I was kind of relieved. The cost was much more fitting. He also did the surgery in his office. I explained this to my mom & my husband. I also had doubts in my mind after thinking about everything I read. So what do I do? Schedule another consultation with yet another Doctor. Dr. Wilke of Edina Plastic Surgery you are the lucky one. He was out of town this week so I am scheduled for next Friday the 19th! I will let you know how that goes!

I could not wait for a whole week so I posted my 2 pics of my breasts & I "asked a doctor". Thanks to all the 11 doctors that answered. They mostly all agreed a nipple lift and 600cc's will not give me the look I am looking for. I hope Dr. Wilke can settle this. I have been to two different doctors & received two different answers (both not what I really wanted).

*One thing* I never thought about how busy these doctors are! I was hoping I could get a consultation and schedule a surgery maybe two weeks later. Before you laugh, the only reason I thought that is because I read several stories on here where they scheduled surgery the next week! I do understand it is summer time. I also thought about traveling somewhere, but I think the safest place for me is right here. :-)

Any tips, comments, or questions I'm open to. Thank you to all the RealSelf members. You have helped me more than you could have ever imagined.

MsRogers11.'s provider

Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS

Richard H. Tholen, MD, FACS

Board Certified Plastic Surgeon

4.9 | 349 Reviews
PROFILE

MsRogers11. rating for Dr. Tholen:

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Replies (12)

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July 13, 2013
Meet with doctors until you find one you click with. You will be spending a lot of time with him and his staff - so make sure he is board certified, listens, and that you communicate exactly what you want. Bring some example photos of what you are looking for and what you do not want. I know you are excited about getting them done but don't rush this! You will be healing for months and will be living with them forever - so make sure you are comfortable going in! I'm so happy I did it (and so happy) I have a wonderful doctor whom I trust emphatically.
July 16, 2013
Your absolutely right. I will go on as many consultations as need be to find the right one for me. Thanks for the tips!
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July 14, 2013
See my review. There is only one doc in the country (triple board certified) who can do this because he invented the technique but I had a scarless lift and was able to go from a c cup to an E cup with only 175ccs. He told me he could take me to a DD with no implant (the size I wanted) but other docs insisted I needed 550ccs so I opted for smallest implant. People fly in from other countries for Dr. Horndeski's lifts. I have no slices in my breast other than around the areola and all that fat flab that sticks out of one's bra? That is really breast tissue. He located it to the cup! Both implant and lift were done at the same time. Looks fantastic! I had the mini ultimate breast lift. Good luck!
July 16, 2013
Wow! You look fantastic! Really great review!
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July 16, 2013
without seeing pics it's hard to give opinion on size, but generally, when getting a lift you want to get an implant size that is proportionate to you, also, 500/600 cc are LARGE implants... I had them, didn't want them that size but that is what my dr. wanted, eventually my body would not hold them up, they bottomed out and within 4 months looked like 41 year old saggy boobs. I started a small perky B, so that was not an issue beforehand.... 3 months ago I finally had the implants taken out, I also had a small lift to address the stretched skin/tissue, and a smaller implant put it (300/340) I'm not real happy with the small implant size esp. since I KNEW what i had started with, and with a 400 would give me the look i wanted, but once again, the dr. did what he thought would be best size... It's not so much the size of the implant, but he used moderate profile, which are a flatter wider implant, where i wanted a 400 mod. plus, would have been same diameter size but a bit more volume/projection. (btw, my first implants were 500/550 High Profile, HP is usually recommended for very thin, small framed women. Anyway, when i had my lift I had the implants put in as well. If you have them done after the lift heals, yes you will pay for 2 surgeries (ie: lift $7k, implants $6k = $13 seperate)... with doing both together, (approx. $9,000)... but with a lift comes incisions that need to heal properly, with a small implant you may be able to do them together, but a larger implant would put too much weight/pressure on the incisions, this may be the case with most dr., but not all. Do you REALLY want to be a D cup? With a large implant you are setting yourself up for potential drooping and stretching again. Also, how much tissue would you have after the lift? Some are just "deflated" , when others still have plenty of tissue but stretched and droopy.... I would bring lots of pics of the look you would like and ask what could be done to acheive it
July 16, 2013
You make valid points. I do want to be the D cup I was when breastfeeding. It was very proportioned. A few doctors on here explained to me that a 600cc implant would not put me there. The size I am is not the actual size I am (if that makes sense. I never wanted 600 cc's. That was just what doctor Smith told me. I didn't fully agree with him that's why I'm still looking. I posted pics if you want to see. Thank you for the tips!
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July 16, 2013
You seem to have a good amount of tissue, I'm not a doctor but i've been researching, planning, redo for 2 years, and with the tissue you have without implants you would be at least a B cup (from what i can tell) I would think you would need a mod plus profile, and maybe 400cc.... you have to remember with a lift you will have much less skin and tissue, it's not that you need them big enough to will what you have now, but when they bring your nipples up and center, any implant will be centered behind them, which is almost horizontal to your armpit. I would ask them what volume will be left with a lift and no implants. Also, r u getting saline or silicone? Silicone is more "natural" feel, but if i had to do these over again, i would get saline as they slightly overfill them, and would give more projection and roundness. Good luck in whomever you chose, and make sure they are ABPS Board Certified
July 17, 2013
You are so helpful. I now have a list of questions to take with me. I appreciate you taking the time out to help me. I hope that once I get the job done you are still active on this site. I would love to share my ending with you.
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July 17, 2013
No problem, just my opinion from alot of (unnecessary) experience.... I get updates emailed from this sight, but if you reply, to my post i get a notification. Please, let me know how you make out.... you can always click on my profile name and message me too. Let us know about your next consultation, and have you made any other new consult appts?
July 17, 2013
Great! Next consultation is Friday at 8 am. I actually received a call from Dr. Tholen asking me to an earlier date. From what I was told he was scheduled a month out. He contacted me to get me in sooner. I am very excited about that because I've heard so many great things about him. He even offered to see me on Saturday (this Saturday)! I am so excited to meet with him I can't wait!
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July 17, 2013
Well, my only regret (well not only, but...) is that i had my lift done in April. I'm in New Jersey, pool/beach weather are generally May-Sept... I have to remember to put sunscreen on my incisions (that are still in the red/purple stage) if not they will not fade.... I was going to do this back in October, then Jan, then Feb, then told my old dr. to you-know-what, and went to someone else.... If you are a "summer" person, i would defin. wait until the end of summer to have surgery, you would not be allowed to go in pool for 4-5 weeks, no sun, and obviously may be a lil deformed in a bikini for a bit...
July 18, 2013
Aww I see. I was wondering how these women get their breast done in summer & are in the pool the next week. I just wouldn't take that risk. We're already half way through summer so I don't think I will be able to schedule until August anyway. I'm totally ok with that. By next summer they will have dropped & settled in nicely. That is my hope
UPDATED FROM MsRogers11.
27 days pre

Some pics

MsRogers11.
Here is what I am currently looking like. 3 children. Each breastfed for a year. (The best decision I ever made).

Replies (0)

UPDATED FROM MsRogers11.
27 days pre

One of my consults from 7/8/13

MsRogers11.
This consult shows just a nipple lift with 600cc implants. Those were the smallest he recommended. They looked kinda big, but he said they would be actually smaller. Here is what they looked like on.

Replies (4)

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July 16, 2013

Congratulations on all your great research. You are getting some excellent community feedback. I know you wish this process could go more quickly, but I'm certain your patience will pay off in the long run. :) You probably have come across some of these questions to ask during your consult, but just in case, here is a helpful link to questions for your consult. Let us know how your consult goes this Friday!

July 17, 2013
Thank you so much. This site is truly a blessing. I feel so much more comfortable talking about this knowing the thousands that are going through some sort of change too. Talk to you Friday! Oh THANK YOU SO MUCH for the link!
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July 22, 2013
My doctor was in Edina, who does many BL/BA combination surgeries. He (Dr. Joe) is listed on my review if you are interested in doing a bit more research (it sounds like you have done quite a bit already), towards finding a surgeon that meets your needs. Also, he does have a clinic, and you do not have to schedule surgery in a hospital facility. As for me personally, I had a lift and reduction, and love my results, there are pics you can view also on my thread if you'd like :)
July 24, 2013
Dr. Joe... I looked him up awhile ago and filled out the consultation form online and I never got a call back. I probably should've called the office, but I totally forgot about him until you just mentioned him. But I did read your wonderful review and your results look great! I can't wait to be as happy as you seem to be.