32 Y/O, 36 DD, Low Hung Breasts Since the Teenage Years (NYEE Patient) New York, NY

Although I was ready to schedule the surgery, the way their system works at NYEE is that the fellow has to co-ordinate with the supervising surgeon's surgery schedule. So if the supervising surgeon is not available expect to get your dates shuffled around a bit. It wasn't horrible in my experience, but it is difficult if you have to take time off from work. I was given about a week and a half notice, but luckily my boss was warned previously. My surgery was finally scheduled for March 19th.

I did my lab work, medical clearance, and mammogram which was required about a week prior to surgery. I used my own insurance for those tests, so if you don't have insurance, take that into consideration.

On the day of surgery, I must say I was quite nervous. The surgery was scheduled for 2:30 PM and I was told to arrive no later than 12:30 PM. You don't necessarily have to have someone with you and I decided not to until after I came out of the procedure. With my nerves, if I have to do it again, I think maybe I'll ask a friend or family member to come along. Then they can go out or something while I'm in the operating room. They registered me into admissions and then they directed me to a floor. The nurse led me to my room and advised me to change into my gown. Luckily that day I didn't have to share the room so I got some quiet time to contemplate and read! Dr. Curran came in about 45 minutes prior to the surgery and marked me up. He was conversing with the supervising surgeon about what methods would be used and what would be best for my physique. They settled on doing a vertical scar with a possible horizontal incision if needed.

I'm just letting you guys know, as much as I was shy with my breasts and they way they were, you're going to be showing a lot of breast and they're going to be out in the open so you can't have any shame. I practically gave up, and when I do visit for post-ops I don't really care anymore that I'm half naked! Ok back to the topic.

So a few minutes before 2:30 I was assisted to the operating waiting area. It was kind of chilly, but they gave a warm blanket while you sit around waiting. I was so nervous. You're there alone and all these thoughts run through your head about what can go wrong and as much as you don't want to think about it, you still do! Well at least I did. So they brought me into the operating room, and of course I saw all the photos Dr. Curran took of me during my consultation lined up against the wall. Real cute. I know it's necessary for them, but I never enjoyed looking at them lol.

I was put under general anesthesia. The next thing I knew it was 7 PM and I had goo in my eyes! It must have been related to medication or the oral tube that was placed, or just being under. All I knew is that I couldn't see and I wanted it off. :) The nurse wiped my eyes clean and I was back in the operating waiting room in a bed this time. Dr. Curran came by and said some kind words that were extremely helpful in calming me down and making me feel that everything was ok. That was a super thoughtful moment and I really appreciate his bedside manners. I can't say for sure how I got back upstairs. I'm sure it was in the same bed that I was in earlier when I was reading and waiting, but I can't really remember that part.

My aunt was there to help me and support me. I didn't feel nauseous like some people feel w/general anesthesia, but I was feeling weak. I didn't feel a lot of pain on my chest at the moment. I was extremely thirsty. They gave me some crushed ice to chew and suck on and some sort of gelatin. It wasn't hospital jello :( . Dr. Curran came by again for one final visit, and gave me instructions on what I should do in the upcoming days. I was nodding my head a lot, but I know I wasn't really grabbing all the info so I'm glad he wrote it down for me. I walked around for a bit, used the restroom, and took a breather. It was already hitting around 8-830 and I didn't want my aunt to wait around so decided it was time to go.

I live in the Bronx, and I must say that the FDR and all these Manhattan streets are a pain if you are in a car! All the potholes because of the winter snow and just the old potholes in general didn't make my car ride home a happy event. It wasn't extremely painful, but when you're just coming out of surgery, you kind of want to feel like your stitches won't pop out accidentally.

My surgery did not require for me to have drains placed, therefore it didn't require me to get antibiotics. Yay me! I did have to get Tylenol w/Codeine for the pain in the upcoming days. It might be best to ask the surgeon if you can get any prescriptions prior to the surgery so you won't wait like I did at a Walgreens at 10 PM waiting for painkillers. Just an FYI. Also, depending on how the procedure will be done, and this all depends on how the surgeon feels he/she should perform the procedure, you may have the drains. I am pretty glad I didn't have to get them.

I got to my aunts home (I was going to stay w/her for 2 days since I live alone), changed my clothes, and she tucked me into bed. The anesthesia made me super emotional for most of the night. It was an uncontrollable feeling, but I got to sleep soon enough. The pain wasn't bad. It was more like a throbbing full sensation, if you can understand that. As long as I didn't move, I was fine. For the next 2 days, I was ok. I walked slowly, moved carefully, and sat upright a lot. I took the Tylenol w/Codeine the next night and didn't have to use any painkillers during the day. I actually didn't take anything else after that second night because the pain was tolerable.

I will state that the Marena compression bra they put on you after surgery is a bit uncomfortable. I would say it depends on the shape of your body. I still have a tummy, so when I sat, my stomach would push up against the Velcro in the front and made it very itchy. On the third or fourth day, I just put an organic cotton shirt tank on under the compression bra and it helped a lot. 4 weeks in and I still do this because you have to wear a bra 24/7 and I use this one as my "home/sleep" bra.

By that Sunday I was home, relaxed, and ready to spend the next week being a couch potato. That Sunday I was allowed to shower (3 days after surgery) and remove any of the clear dressings that may get wet. The stitches around my areola were tender and I just lightly sprinkled water on my breasts. I removed the clear dressings, but kept the gauze on there in case any juices were squeezing out. I did have a fainting spell when I had to take the dressings off. I guess it must be like what people who see blood go through. Everything started to get hazy so I went and lied in bed for a few minutes. After that passed, I put the compression bra back on and everything was back to normal.

So far I could tell that my breast were smaller, but they felt quite full and swollen, so I could not say for certain how they really felt. I met with Dr. Curran that week and he was happy so far with how they were looking and so was I. He had advised me to take 2 weeks off from work initially, but I felt totally capable to go back to work the following Monday (the 28th). I have a sedentary administrative job, so I was sure there would be no heavy lifting and I felt really well. There wasn't any pain that I could tell.

Well that's it for now, and hopefully I'll write some more this weekend so I can be caught up with my progress!

Since I hit puberty I don't ever recall having nice perky breasts. I remember them being small mounds then blam!, large breasts that hung. When I say hung, I felt that they hung rather low. I was overweight and have always been chunky, but I couldn't understand why or how my breasts decided to sag. When I was 17/18, my mother also noticed how my breasts were hanging and we decided to check out whether insurance would cover a breast reduction. They said it would, but it required me taking photos of my breast and going to see different doctors. Imagine me, a teenager, having my mother or some stranger take pictures of my breasts?! I had decided I did not want to do it and that it wasn't a big deal to have my large breasts.

As I got older I started noticing how uncomfortable I felt when I was naked in front of a partner. I would constantly pick up my breasts or wear shirts when we were "in the moment". It kind of put a damper on things, but it was a part of my routine. My shirts were also always ill fitting. I never had back pain, and I think I had decent posture. It's amazing as we get older, how certain things don't phase us anymore and other things do.

Now being in my early 30's I felt I really needed this breast reduction. I needed it for my self-esteem, my confidence, my motivation to lose weight, everything. Every time I looked at myself in the mirror, I didn't feel I should bother losing weight because my droopy breasts would always be in the way. They were a burden and I needed to do something about it. My wonderful mother, once again, said, "Hey, if you do this, you have to work on everything else. I'll help you out financially, but do your research."

I did my research and I found that NY was really pricey for plastic surgery. I never had back pain or medical problems and honestly I am not the type to exaggerate to get something covered. I really had no symptoms or problems, except the mental kind, but insurances do not cover it for that reason. So I found a fellowship program at New York Eye and Ear Infirmary (NYEE). Their prices were reasonable and I decided to give it a go.

I made an appointment and met with the Dr. Curran, (the surgeon) on Feb. 18th, 2015. The way this program works is that a Fellow (the surgeon), who has already completed their board certification, practices for 1 year under the program to gain experience or for which ever other reasons they may have. The money that the patient pays is to the hospital, and the surgeon doesn't get a part of it. I previously worked for a college that had a clinical setting and you can see why these types of programs are important for the growth of the doctor. I wasn't hesitant in knowing whether my surgeon knew what he was doing. I had to have faith in the person no matter what. A person could have years of experience and do a shoddy job. I was told I had asymmetrical breasts and ptosis of the breasts! What? I know ptosis was the medical term but asymmetrical breasts? Never! I was glad he took his time with me. He was knowledgeable, answered any questions I had, and I liked his bedside manners. Quick and to the point. I was sold and I was ready to schedule my surgery.