53 y/o explant & capsule removal after 23 yrs. & upper eyes. Newport Beach, CA

I first had my breast implants in when I was 28. PS said they were a bit high, so he would re-do them two years later. At age 30, I had my second set of implants put in under the muscle. I was originally an A cup and I was so small that the recovery was extremely painful. I had to ice them; I used frozen peas which came in handy. I loved my boobs as I'm small on top and bigger on bottom, so the implants made my body more proportional. It also made buying a swimsuit much easier, as they did not have mix and match swimsuits back then, so you could only buy one size. Not long after this I got a job with the airlines and approximately 4-6 months later I started experiencing terrible headaches, which later became migraines. About six years later I also started experiencing extreme anxiety and depression. Antidepressants and hypnotherapy helped with that. Also, since about 4 years after getting the implants I have been experiencing weird pain in my back and tight shoulders/neck/jaw. In just the past year I have also experienced weird pains in my joints. Basically, I never put two and two together and I really don't know if the implants were causing this. I took this test and it said that I need to stay away from plastic and silica. A friend told me about RealSelf, which is how I came to find out about this forum. After reading all the stories from the women here, I realized that my problems could be due to my implants and they need to come out.

The next step was finding the PS for me. I had seven consultations. I decided on Dr. Daniel B. Kim. He was friendly, compassionate, caring, and gentle; he explained the whole process very well; he didn't make me feel rushed. Even the office and staff were warm and welcoming. Basically the best part for me was how well he explained everything to me. I would never have found him if it were not for the women on RealSelf. I am extremely thankful for that. Back to Dr. Kim: you just feel at ease around him. He makes you feel good about yourself. I knew going into the appointment that I wanted to have the capsules removed and drains, especially after reading The Naked Truth about Breast Implants: From Harm to Healing, by Susan E. Kolb, M.D., F.A.C.S., and after watching the hour-long documentary AbsolutelySafe I think every woman should at least watch this before getting implants. I loved my boobs and never had any problem with them, so I'm a little sad to see them go, even if it is for health reasons. Because of that, I decided to do my upper eyes to do something to feel good about myself. I didn't tell my husband until right before I went into surgery about my eyes because he thinks the whole plastic surgery thing is unnecessary. I thought about not telling him at all, but I figured that I better tell him because he would probably notice. So I told him right before going into surgery, "oh by the way, honey, the doctor's going to do my eyes!"

On the day of the surgery I was very anxious, as all the women here, hoping for the best and also excited to see Dr. Kim's art work on me. I got to the hospital a little early, so my husband and I sat outside the reception area and enjoyed watching the koi fish swim by (very relaxing). I told Dr. Kim that it would take two hours to get to his office the next day, so he gave me the option of doing a video call on my smartphone instead, which I was thrilled about (I love modern technology!). This appointment was the unveiling when I would see my natural boobs for the first time. It was important for him to be with me when I saw them for the first time because he knows how emotional it can be for us women. When I first saw them I was thrilled; they looked perfect! He went in through the upper part of the nipple and also did a crescent lift. One nipple was lower than the other, so he raised it so it would be symmetrical.

As for my eyes, they look really good too. It's been nice to be able to compare my eyes to the eyes of the other women in this forum.

Today is day 3. I am experiencing a little pain in the right breast (the one that was ruptured) and my eyes are very itchy (which is good because that means they are healing).