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I had breastfed two children two years in row...
I had breastfed two children two years in row during which my breasts increased from a full 32B to a 34F. Post breastfeeding my breasts returned to a small B cup, but they lacked the fullness they had before and the skin was stretchy and would wrinkle when I lied down. I was dejected about my old looking breasts. I was living in Miami, FL at the time and I started looking into breast implants. I had known many people who had them, had no problems and enjoyed having them.
I saw 4 different board certified plastic surgeons that had been recommended to me by people who had used them.
I chose Dr. S in the end and he had come up with a solution that sounded good.
In August 2013 I had my operation and was implanted with 310 cc textured shaped Sientra silicone implants. I immediately woke up from the surgery feeling horrible and very upset with myself for having put the implants in. I hated them from day 1 and each subsequent day I hated them more. I had a lot of pain post implant, lost movement in my left arm for two days, developed a fungal infection within days post op on my back, the implants felt rock hard and were so high, I had lost nipple sensation (luckily only for a few months, although it never fully came back). I was upset and started researching removal options while still taking the time to see if the breast implants would soften and drop.
At my 3-month check-up, my breasts were extremely firm, very high and I had breast pain for quite some time that kept worsening. Dr. told me that I had capsular contracture grade 4.
In the meantime, we relocated to the NYC. By the end of June 2014, the breasts were significantly softer on Singular, but had never dropped because of the scar tissue that still held them up there.
In researching implant removal, I kept coming across the term “en bloc” and reading that it is the “gold standard.” After researching, I found out that “en bloc capsulectomy removal ” means removing the implant by cutting around the capsule in its entirety, thus removing all silicone from the body in tact.
Most doctors only take out the implant and leave the capsule in its entirety, not performing even a partial capsulectomy. Many doctors believe that “en bloc” removal is not necessary, that it removes too much breast tissue, has risks such as puncturing the lungs and bleeding. Plus the recovery from an “en bloc” removal is much more than that of a simple implant removal and the operating time much longer.
However, there are risks of leaving in the capsule. Down the road, women may end up back in the surgeon’s office to have the capsule removed. Moreover, when removing the implants the doctors, if not removing via en bloc, have to puncture the capsule to get the implants out of the body. If there are any infections, silicone bleed, rupture, bacteria, etc. these substances can contaminate the tissue around them.
For these reasons, en bloc is the gold standard of removing implants, BUT you must seek a surgeon who specializes in performing en bloc removal.
I explored en bloc removal and came to know Dr. Christina Ahn in NYC.
Dr. Ahn was the fourth doctor I consulted over the span of six months regarding implant removal. I was fortunate enough to find her via my husband’s family doctor. I am extremely thankful to him and to her for giving me back my own sense of self. Dr. Ahn is more on the academic side of the implant business and has been removing implants since 1992. She is also an expert in breast reconstruction for breast cancer patients. She attended the top programs in plastic surgery: UCLA and NYU – both of which are considered #1 & #2 in plastic surgery. She is a charismatic lady who is a real champion of women.
At our first visit, we discussed en bloc removal, fat grafting, a lift, and muscle repair. In the end, I decided to go forward with the en bloc removal, the muscle repair, and the Lolliop breast lift. Dr. Ahn is one of the only surgeons who actually repairs the muscles damaged by implants. She reattaches them so that you have your natural power back in your arms and your muscles don’t “window shade.” I spoke with doctor Ahn two more times via telephone and did much research on her background and the technique she was proposing before committing to go with her as my surgeon.
Dr. Ahn has a very strict pre operation regimen as well as post operation regimen. She operates at NYU and has a stellar team of residents, nurse practitioner and administrative team that help her be in touch with her patients round the clock from the time of the operation throughout the weeks post operation.
I set my surgery for 12/29/14 to ring in the New Year on a positive note of being implant free. The day before my surgery, I went to her office to be marked.
The next day I arrived at NYU Langone hospital where Dr. Ahn practices at the Day Surgery Center. My husband and I passed a few hours talking and trying to enjoy the last few hours we would have with me being a fully functioning person for a few weeks. I was escorted into the operating room.
I went to sleep with tears in my eyes and Dr. Ahn telling me to think of Bora Bora. I met my husband in the recovery room and he told me that Dr. Ahn had done her work and the en bloc was successful which contained “Leaky silicone implant”. She had put in an AlloDerm mesh because my breast tissue was very thin.
Dr. Ahn’s team and the hospital social worker arranged for an at-home nurse to see me daily the first two weeks post operative. The nurse was outstanding.
Dr. Ahn communicated daily with my nurse.
I was nervous going in to have the drains pulled the first two times. I had read online that it feels like a snake going through your body. However, with the influence of Percocet and Dr. Ahn’s breathing technique and pulling technique I never felt any pain.
After four weeks, life started feeling normal again just in time for my husband’s 40th birthday party which was at 5 weeks post op. Dr. Ahn told me I didn’t have to wear a bra for the party so I could wear a nice dress and that I could have a half glass of wine at the party. Freedom!
The best gift that Dr. Ahn gave me was a surprise. Up until the 5th week post op, I hadn’t had the nerve to look at my incisions at the bottom of my breast. I was waiting to brace myself and look at one bruise, one incision first before scaring myself too early in the process. I looked down on both breasts – there was no incision where my surgeon had originally cut. I thought I was hallucinating, but there really was NOTHING. We call it Dr. Ahn magic, somehow she found a way to take out my leaky implants en bloc, muscle repair, put in an AlloDerm mesh, reconstruct my breasts, and perform a lift with only creating a lollipop incision!!! This is a huge gift. My scars healed very well and are barely visible from my first surgery and now I do not have to worry about those. I am forever grateful!!
Dr. Ahn is a woman’s champion. She is a rock star at her job and I have full faith in all that she has done. I love my breasts! Despite the scars right now, my breasts look more like my own perky breasts I loved pre breastfeeding than I have had in years. I am wowed that they actually look decent. She has given me back a sense of self and, most importantly, a sense of health. Thanks to her skill I feel that 2015 is going to be a year where I can live a healthy life unburdened mentally and physically. Life without implants FEELS SO GOOD!
Thank you for reading this lengthy personal account. Between researching implants, being implanted, researching explant, being explanted and recovering it has been close to two years. There is a lot of detail to talk about with a 2-year experience. I hope my story helps some of you.
I saw 4 different board certified plastic surgeons that had been recommended to me by people who had used them.
I chose Dr. S in the end and he had come up with a solution that sounded good.
In August 2013 I had my operation and was implanted with 310 cc textured shaped Sientra silicone implants. I immediately woke up from the surgery feeling horrible and very upset with myself for having put the implants in. I hated them from day 1 and each subsequent day I hated them more. I had a lot of pain post implant, lost movement in my left arm for two days, developed a fungal infection within days post op on my back, the implants felt rock hard and were so high, I had lost nipple sensation (luckily only for a few months, although it never fully came back). I was upset and started researching removal options while still taking the time to see if the breast implants would soften and drop.
At my 3-month check-up, my breasts were extremely firm, very high and I had breast pain for quite some time that kept worsening. Dr. told me that I had capsular contracture grade 4.
In the meantime, we relocated to the NYC. By the end of June 2014, the breasts were significantly softer on Singular, but had never dropped because of the scar tissue that still held them up there.
In researching implant removal, I kept coming across the term “en bloc” and reading that it is the “gold standard.” After researching, I found out that “en bloc capsulectomy removal ” means removing the implant by cutting around the capsule in its entirety, thus removing all silicone from the body in tact.
Most doctors only take out the implant and leave the capsule in its entirety, not performing even a partial capsulectomy. Many doctors believe that “en bloc” removal is not necessary, that it removes too much breast tissue, has risks such as puncturing the lungs and bleeding. Plus the recovery from an “en bloc” removal is much more than that of a simple implant removal and the operating time much longer.
However, there are risks of leaving in the capsule. Down the road, women may end up back in the surgeon’s office to have the capsule removed. Moreover, when removing the implants the doctors, if not removing via en bloc, have to puncture the capsule to get the implants out of the body. If there are any infections, silicone bleed, rupture, bacteria, etc. these substances can contaminate the tissue around them.
For these reasons, en bloc is the gold standard of removing implants, BUT you must seek a surgeon who specializes in performing en bloc removal.
I explored en bloc removal and came to know Dr. Christina Ahn in NYC.
Dr. Ahn was the fourth doctor I consulted over the span of six months regarding implant removal. I was fortunate enough to find her via my husband’s family doctor. I am extremely thankful to him and to her for giving me back my own sense of self. Dr. Ahn is more on the academic side of the implant business and has been removing implants since 1992. She is also an expert in breast reconstruction for breast cancer patients. She attended the top programs in plastic surgery: UCLA and NYU – both of which are considered #1 & #2 in plastic surgery. She is a charismatic lady who is a real champion of women.
At our first visit, we discussed en bloc removal, fat grafting, a lift, and muscle repair. In the end, I decided to go forward with the en bloc removal, the muscle repair, and the Lolliop breast lift. Dr. Ahn is one of the only surgeons who actually repairs the muscles damaged by implants. She reattaches them so that you have your natural power back in your arms and your muscles don’t “window shade.” I spoke with doctor Ahn two more times via telephone and did much research on her background and the technique she was proposing before committing to go with her as my surgeon.
Dr. Ahn has a very strict pre operation regimen as well as post operation regimen. She operates at NYU and has a stellar team of residents, nurse practitioner and administrative team that help her be in touch with her patients round the clock from the time of the operation throughout the weeks post operation.
I set my surgery for 12/29/14 to ring in the New Year on a positive note of being implant free. The day before my surgery, I went to her office to be marked.
The next day I arrived at NYU Langone hospital where Dr. Ahn practices at the Day Surgery Center. My husband and I passed a few hours talking and trying to enjoy the last few hours we would have with me being a fully functioning person for a few weeks. I was escorted into the operating room.
I went to sleep with tears in my eyes and Dr. Ahn telling me to think of Bora Bora. I met my husband in the recovery room and he told me that Dr. Ahn had done her work and the en bloc was successful which contained “Leaky silicone implant”. She had put in an AlloDerm mesh because my breast tissue was very thin.
Dr. Ahn’s team and the hospital social worker arranged for an at-home nurse to see me daily the first two weeks post operative. The nurse was outstanding.
Dr. Ahn communicated daily with my nurse.
I was nervous going in to have the drains pulled the first two times. I had read online that it feels like a snake going through your body. However, with the influence of Percocet and Dr. Ahn’s breathing technique and pulling technique I never felt any pain.
After four weeks, life started feeling normal again just in time for my husband’s 40th birthday party which was at 5 weeks post op. Dr. Ahn told me I didn’t have to wear a bra for the party so I could wear a nice dress and that I could have a half glass of wine at the party. Freedom!
The best gift that Dr. Ahn gave me was a surprise. Up until the 5th week post op, I hadn’t had the nerve to look at my incisions at the bottom of my breast. I was waiting to brace myself and look at one bruise, one incision first before scaring myself too early in the process. I looked down on both breasts – there was no incision where my surgeon had originally cut. I thought I was hallucinating, but there really was NOTHING. We call it Dr. Ahn magic, somehow she found a way to take out my leaky implants en bloc, muscle repair, put in an AlloDerm mesh, reconstruct my breasts, and perform a lift with only creating a lollipop incision!!! This is a huge gift. My scars healed very well and are barely visible from my first surgery and now I do not have to worry about those. I am forever grateful!!
Dr. Ahn is a woman’s champion. She is a rock star at her job and I have full faith in all that she has done. I love my breasts! Despite the scars right now, my breasts look more like my own perky breasts I loved pre breastfeeding than I have had in years. I am wowed that they actually look decent. She has given me back a sense of self and, most importantly, a sense of health. Thanks to her skill I feel that 2015 is going to be a year where I can live a healthy life unburdened mentally and physically. Life without implants FEELS SO GOOD!
Thank you for reading this lengthy personal account. Between researching implants, being implanted, researching explant, being explanted and recovering it has been close to two years. There is a lot of detail to talk about with a 2-year experience. I hope my story helps some of you.
Provider Review
Amazing doctor who has exceptional surgical skills and bedside manner. She truly provides emotional support as you go through the healing process.