Tuberous Breast Correction in NYC - 39 Years Old with 2 Kids

I'm usually not very good with writing reviews, although I felt compelled to in this case because I found the reviews on this site to be extremely helpful to me as I was grappling with the decision of whether or not to have surgery to correct and enhance my breasts. I'm 39 years old with 2 children, and while I guess I did feel that my breasts were somewhat oddly shaped growing up, my main problem with them were not as much the shape, but the size. Only after researching the procedure on this site, did I realize that I most likely had tuberous breasts. This realization brought on many different emotions for me.

At first, it was kind of horrifying to realize that I had a deformity that I didn't even realize. It also cleared up some questions I had regarding breastfeeding. I had problems with breastfeeding my first baby in that I didn't produce enough milk, and was essentially supplementing 50% of my baby's daily milk intake with formula. I ultimately stopped breastfeeding when she was 6-7 months. I remember reading books about breastfeeding and it describing that tuberous breast syndrome could be a cause of low milk supply, however usually the pictures showed extreme forms of it, so I assumed that I didn't have the condition. It's not well known that there could be so many varying degrees of the condition. I tried so many different tactics to boost my milk supply - pumping after breastfeeding, taking Fenugreek, drinking special teas, etc., but nothing really worked. Anyway, I was determined to breastfeed my second child, and thankfully I was able to fully for 13 months. I read that women with tuberous breasts can see an improvement with milk supply with successive pregnancies, and I think that's what happened in my case. I was still taking herbal supplements and pumping after breastfeeding, so it still wasn't easy, but I did see an improvement with my second child.

Anyway, back to the mixed emotions. At first I was saddened by the realization about having tuberous breasts, then I was also not thrilled with the seemingly much more complicated procedure of having them corrected. At the same time, I also felt more vindicated for wanting them corrected because it's a congenital deformity that also caused my difficulty with breastfeeding. Being from NYC, beast implants are not as common as other places like Miami or California, so I had all the mixed emotions of feeling really superficial and unenlightened and ultimately that I would be crossing a line of being "that kind of person." At the end of the day, I think knowing that I have a deformity has helped me come to terms with moving forward with the procedure. Also, now that I'm definitely done with having children and breastfeeding, they no longer serve a functional purpose. In addition, they are more sad looking now than ever before. I don't know how, but they they seem even smaller than before and are now kind of stretched and sagging.

So, now that I've made a determination to move forward, I knew based on the reviews from this site, that Dr. Adam Kolker would be the right doctor for me given his experience with tuberous breast syndrome and general skill as a surgeon. I had my consultation with him on Oct 27th, and felt very confident in him and his practice. Dr. Kolker confirmed that I do have a form of the condition and explained the procedure to correct them - a full incision around the areolas so that he can have direct control of how high up they need to go to ensure symmetry and alignment. He would need to score the area around the nipple to release the bands and also create a pocket which the implant would fit into. The procedure would take about 3 hours and I would need to have the drains put in as well, which I was prepared for after reading all the tuberous breast correction reviews with Dr. Kolker.

I have a scheduled date of Dec 14th and the next step is having my mammogram and sonogram, which is scheduled for next week. I feel both anxious and excited and can't believe that it's only a little over a month away!

I had my mammogram and sonogram done on Tuesday and results were good. I'm looking forward to my pre-op appointment next week, which will be about just a month before my scheduled surgery. This is when I go over lot of paperwork and try on sizers.
Unfortunately I'm dealing with some negativity about this decision however. I told my husband that I wanted to do this a few months ago, but didn't tell him until recently that I was making plans for it, as I waited until after I consulted the surgeon, which needed to be 3 months after finishing breastfeeding. I know my husband wasn't happy about it, but he didn't really give me a hard time either, so I took it as a good sign. Today he was pretty negative unfortunately and expressed that he has lost a lot of respect for me, that this is really selfish, superficial, and that I'm making the biggest mistake of my life. Also, that he's not going to be more attracted to me, but if anything, will be less so and is going to be really embarrassed about it. I tried to explain that I think this has affected me in more ways that I can even really express, but I don't think he's ever really going to understand where I'm coming from. He also let me know that of the 2 people he's discussed it with (his mom and a co-worker), they both think I've lost my mind and are going through a mid-life crisis. His co-worker had breast cancer and had breast reconstructive surgery from a fat transfer. I said that I would speak to her but now I don't think I should because it's not going to change my mind and will just make me feel worse. I know that she will be coming from a completely different place, so I really can't relate. I never for once take for granted that I'm healthy and do not really need the surgery, but I still don't see why I should have to live with this deformity if I can have it fixed. I refuse to define my true happiness by it because overall I am a happy person, but I will be more happy with the appearance of my body. He has also reminded me of the fact that if something happens to me, I will be leaving 3 people behind, which has not helped my psyche at all. In addition, he's said this sets a really bad example for my daughter. My response to this is I'm completely comfortable explaining to my daughter when she's older that if she wants to have breast surgery to fix a deformity after she's an adult and is able to pay for it herself, it's her decision. I would recommend waiting until after she has children, however, because she might want to breastfeed, but that's her decision. His mom is 70 and isn't really the type of person to be assertive and really go after what she wants, so I can't really relate to her either on this. Normally we have a really great relationship, but there are certain things that we don't see eye to eye on. At the end of the day, it's my decision and I will need to be comfortable with what I've decided. It would just be nice if I had more support.

I know it's been a really long time since I updated since things have been crazy with work and young kids, etc. So about a week before Thanksgiving I went to Dr. Kolker for the pre-op appointment and to try on sizers. I thought 200 was too small and 250 was too large, so I told them that I was aiming for about the 225cc range. I also learned that the size you can go up to is limited to the width of your rib cage area. Based on my measurements, the ideal range was 220-240cc's.
Two weeks pre-op, I started to avoid red wine and while I do not usually take aspirin or any other blood thinning medications, just made sure that I was cognizant of that.
One week before, I started taking the vitamins/herbal supplements (Zinc, vitamin B Complex, and Arnica Montana).
The night before I took 2 Robaxin pills and the morning of took 1 Valium and 1 Robaxin pill.