60 Year Old with 24 Year Old Ruptured Silicone Implants, Planning for Explant and Lift. New York, NY

Just thought I would send an updated pic.I went on a cleansing retreat and lost 10 pounds so they are a bit smaller but I am still happy! They are soft and warm and mine! I look tons better in clothing and can do exercise much more comfortably. All in all I am thrilled to be rid of them. My interstitial cystitis has not returned...I am hoping it is gone for good but we shall see. I recommend that anyone on the fence about doing ithat first find a doctor you can trust that has done many explantations and not left women with deformed results.If any doc says you will not look good after definitely look elsewhere. That is my advice.

This is for any woman who may be considering removing their implants and are debating getting a capsulectomy If you are having symptoms possibly related to your implants my advice is to go to a surgeon who knows how to do "en bloc" explantation. If they don’t or appear reluctant, find another surgeon, If they tell you you will be deformed or will not look good without another implant find another surgeon because they are likely telling you the truth!
A surgeon who says this has probably not been pleased with his skills of reshaping the breasts and correcting the problems caused by the implants.
I came across the following interesting information on a site called "healingbreastimplantillness.com”
"THE REAL REASON PLASTIC SURGEON’S AVOID EN-BLOC EXPLANT"
“Some plastic surgeons argue against a Total Capsulectomy and En-bloc style removal saying it is unnecessary as they do not believe implants cause illness, or unnecessary due to thin capsules or it carries undue risk to the patient. If you’ve had your implants for twelve months or longer you will have capsule tissue and if you are symptomatic, it should be obvious that your breast implants have contaminated the surrounding tissue capsule and a Total Capsulectomy with En-bloc style removal is necessary. The real reason some plastic surgeons avoid Total Capsulectomy and En-bloc style removal is because it takes a more skilled surgeon with experience and it takes extra time and requires a general anesthetic which carries more risk than a local anesthetic. Your placing plastic surgeon will not make much money from the removal of your implants and so they prefer to do a short 20 minute procedure, in their office, under a local anesthetic simply cutting you and pulling out the implants leaving the contaminated capsules in your body. Easy for them. Bad for you! Leaving the capsules in your body whether thin or thick means all the contamination within the capsules will be left behind and eventually taken up into your body which results in a longer and more severe illness for you. Some plastic surgeons even rupture the implant while removing it causing additional contamination. Some plastic surgeons will argue that a Total Capsulectomy with En-bloc style removal could result in disfigurement of your breast but this is mostly untrue. A skilled and experienced surgeon should be able to avoid further disfigurement than the disfigurement already caused by implantation.

It has been a little over six weeks since my explants and lift and I am very pleased with both my result and the state of my health. My 3 most troublesome symptoms before explantation were burning chest wall pains, numbness in my arms and fingers especially upon awakening but also at random times, and interstitial cystitis,which I have had for many years. it started about 3-5 years after I got the implants (I had them 24 years) and although waxing and waning has gotten progressively worse and harder to control in the last 5 years.
Since my explant the burning pains are completely gone! The numbness is all but gone...it is reduced by 90% and for now the IC is in remission!
I have just started to use Cordran tape on my incisions and it will hopefully prevent the scars from forming keloids which I am prone to. It is a clear steroid impregnated tape that can be cut into very thin strips and placed precisely over the scars. I am using it in the pic I posted...you can barely see it. It is a prescription item and rather pricey...time will tell if it is useful.
In regards to bras I am loving the Genie bras with the removable triangular "modesty" pads. I was a 36 DD before. I am now a 36 small b. I realize that in the pics they appear larger...I guess because they are close-up shots. The Genie bras apparently come in different styles...I purchased one that had shapeless round pads that made my breasts look blob-like, then found the ones with the triangular pads which give a nice shape under clothes. They run very small...I am 5 feet 7 inches tall, 135 pounds and 36 small b. According to their size chart I am a medium but for me the extra large fits great.
One more thing in relation to healing post explant. It depends on so many factors such as your bodies innate healing abilities but also on exactly what you had done. A saline implant that is being removed through an infra mammary incision without a capsulectomy and lift will have a very different recovery time from a ruptured implant capsulectomy, muscle repair and full lift. Age is also a factor .
I am very happy with my surgeon Dr Christina Y Ahn and have provided a review for her below. I wanted to wait a full 6 weeks before reviewing to give a fuller picture of my experience with her.She is a top notch surgeon and I highly recommend her without reservations.