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My implant journey: Almost twenty years ago, I...
Almost twenty years ago, I decided to have implants - mostly because of a boob obsessed boyfriend I had at the time. (Luckily, we are no longer together) As a former professional ballerina, I was fine with my size but decided, since, at the time I was acting for a living, that having my breasts done might even help with jobs.
They were done perfectly and I never had a problem. Most would say that my body looked perfect afterwards, but I could not get over the weirdness of having something plastic and fake in my body.
I wanted to remove them for years but was told explant would cost a fortune so I put it out of my mind.
My sister is an OB/GYN and happened to be friends with a plastic surgeon in Virginia named Dr. Mountcastle. She mentioned my desire to remove my implants and he told her it was a 'nothing' operation that could be performed in the office. I met with him - and he told me I was a perfect candidate for 'local' anesthesia and it would take less than an hour. When I asked about the 'capsules' he told me they reabsorb into the body and as long as the breasts are soft, there is no reason to remove them.
I ended up deciding against Dr. Mountcastle - only because I live in Los Angeles and he is in Virginia and I did not have the time to spend in Virginia for the follow-ups, etc.
I started looking in Los Angeles, starting with plastic surgeons in Beverly Hills. All of the Beverly Hills people I met wanted to use general anesthesia and talked about removing the capsules, which I have been told my many doctors are like tissue paper and not possible to remove if your breasts are soft. They also talked about drains, etc. - which make the whole procedure much, much more expensive, hard on the body and much more difficult to recover from.
Because of REALSELF, I found a doctor in Oceanside named Dr. Gregory Park. While, every doctor in Beverly Hills could not tell me the price over the phone, - insisting I make an appointment to talk to their 'financial person,' Elizabeth told me the cost right over the phone. Also, I found out that they had done hundreds of these procedures and they told me everyone that had their implants removed was 100% thrilled. Out of hundreds, they only had one woman who was considering getting implants again. I thought that sounded great to me.
He also did hundreds with a 'local,' which like I said above cuts the costs and recovery time significantly.
He was really reasonable - $1800 - and had fantastic reviews so, I scheduled the appointment.
I had the implant removed a few days before my 58th birthday (it was my birthday present to myself) and I am so happy I did.
Dr. Park is an absolutely fantastic plastic surgeon. His nurse, Elizabeth is amazing. You feel like family when you are there.
He went through the areola, which was where the first doctor had gone, so I would not have extra scars.
I took a couple of valium, an antibiotic and a pain killer, and when they kicked it I went to the surgery room.
They put up a tent so you don't see anything. It was 100% pain free - I felt a couple pricks when they numbed me up but that was it. And, believe me, I am a total baby with pain. This was nothing.
I was pretty smashed for about 2 weeks but it keeps getting better everyday.
Dr. Park said it would be about 3-6 months before I am probably where I will end up with my breasts.
I have to say, it was one of the best decisions of my life. I feel like a new person. For some reason, with the implants I always felt fat and bloated. I feel like I can lose weight for the first time and psychologically I feel so much better. Like I am happy with the real me.
I would recommend this procedure for anyone considering the pros and cons. And, I would recommend Dr. Park 150% as well.
Provider Review
Dr. Gregory Park in Oceanside, California, preformed my explant surgery under local anesthesia. He is amazing!! I was so scared and did not think I would be able to do it under a local since I am a baby with pain and thought it was going to be a much bigger deal than it was. I arrived at his office, signed paperwork, asked all my questions, took 2 valium, an antibiotic and a pain pill and about twenty minutes later, when they kicked in, I was taken to the surgery room at the back of his clinic. They had a tent that covered my view of what was going on. Dr. Park and his nurse Elizabeth (who, is amazing as well and really helped make me feel calm) talked me through the whole thing. The only discomfort was a couple of pricks when they were numbing up my breasts. Other than that I could not believe how fast everything went. They talked with me about other things the entire time so I was not even aware what was going on until I heard things like, 'the fluid is out of the right implant , now the implant is out, etc." Everything went so smoothly it was a miracle to me. I had to wear a sports bra for a month and not exercise. Also, I had to drive back down for a follow up a couple weeks later. If you are in Los Angeles, or even if you are not, I would recommend Dr. Park do your procedure. He is an excellent plastic surgeon (my scars are barely visible) a wonderful person and I can't imagine anyone better for this procedure. Also, Elizabeth, his nurse, is wonderful.