POSTED UNDER Breast Implant Removal Reviews
Getting them OUT!!! - Bethlehem, PA
UPDATED FROM misspixie
6 months post
SIX months post op!!
WORTH IT$1,950
Hey girls! It's been a million years since I've been on here and I haven't updated my post in a long time. I suppose I healed up after my surgery and then just went on with my life, little boobies and all! I feel like it was another life that I had my implants. I feel like these tiny little breasts have always been mine (and of course they have!) I still have some loose skin and very very faint stretch marks, but none of that bothers me. They're super tiny, probably smaller than before, but that doesn't bother me either. I'm happy, free and natural now and that's all I care about :) Of course I see women in movies and stuff with large beautiful full breasts and think "wow I would love it those were mine!" But they're not! God gave me little ones and I'm just trying to love them up as best I can. So here's my six months out pic, still looking the same to me but maybe over time they will actually fluff and "fill in" some more. I just want to say out there to all the women considering explanting, please think about how natural and free you will feel. No more "embarrassment" or "shame" for feeling you are not proportionate. If you can tell yourself you will love the real you, little boobies and all, then this surgery is right for you. It's the best thing I've ever done! I'm training for a half marathon on 9/7, my very first ever, and I just know there is no way I could have done this with those big hard huge things weighing me down! God bless you all, pre and post op, still deciding and those decided. So glad we are all here as one big group!
misspixie's provider
Replies (5)
April 10, 2014
Your incisions look great and I love how happy you sound in your update! Yay for little boobies!
April 10, 2014
Dr Chung said give yourself 6 months fully to recoop and your boobies to retract. I know I have very little tissue too but he was confident It would retract beautifully. U already look awesome and will look even better soon
April 10, 2014
Hi, Pixie! Nice to hear from you, and great to hear your news. And OMG, I can so relate to not having to hunch your shoulders to hide the big, fake boobs. About an hour ago, I was looking at myself in the mirror and seeing what it will be like to stand up straight with my shoulders back! I'm not a runner (I ski, bike, do yoga, kayak and hike, and work out at the gym), but I've hated the fact that I feel so uncomfortable when I even run a little bit. I can't wait to get on the other side of this when I can get back to really enjoying the exercise I do. Your post was very inspiring! :)
April 10, 2014
So happy to find this site. I'm wanting exlants, I'm sure of that. I have to start checking different surgeons now. I had my implants in 1977. (boy I'm old). but naturally I should have done this a long time ago. I'm so nervous about post surgery. I live by myself now. Hoping I won't have too much problems recovering. Glad to hear about the 'local' instead of general anesthesia. Just starting all my research. Now reading all your remarks, I'm more determined to do this in the near future. I read somewhere that insurance would pay, since it is removing a foreign object. First time I heard that.
April 10, 2014
Hi, mamamo. Read EVERYTHING you can on this site and everywhere else. I'm having my surgery May 2nd after a long process of researching and learning and communicating with the women here. I've had mine for a long time too, and I'm traveling to another state alone to have it done. I live by myself too. I won't say I'm not nervous about it, but I've gotten a lot of info and reassurances and support about dealing with everything. Btw, you might need general depending on your situation. I have old silicone implants that are above the muscle. Don't think they're ruptured, but not sure. The doc I decided on takes out the capsule "en bloc" as well, and does the surgery with general. I can't say I like the idea, but so it goes. Best of luck. You'll have a lot of help here dealing with it. :)
April 10, 2014
Hello ladies! Yes- totally read all comments- such a positive site, this is!! Depending on the type of implant- they may pay for removal- read my comments and also DWM
So many great courageous women and encouragement- so good to be free if them despite everything- the fear is the worst part- stay strong on thinking about good health!
April 10, 2014
Hi CandS, thanks for your encouragement. From the things I've been reading, there're only a few who are experienced enough to trust with the 'en bloc'...is that why you're going out of state? How did you find out you needed the whole thing? I'm getting so much info, I don't know which steps to take first. I guess I'll talk to my gynecologist.
April 10, 2014
Hi, mamamo. You're right, there are only a few who are that experienced. One of them is Dr. Edward Melmed in Dallas. He doesn't have a website, but a lot of people talk about him here, etc. After getting to the point where I decided he was one of the few I was interested in, I called and spoke to one of his consultants. Then I uploaded photos and spoke to Dr. M. He's very down-to-earth, very easy to communicate with, and unlike most docs, will talk to you as long and as often as you need to! He's pretty unique in that he's done thousands of explants and he won't even do implants anymore. He believes in doing them all en bloc (at least all the silicone ones), I think. If you're anywhere near Texas, you might want to check him out. And... yes, I'll be flying to Dallas the morning before, seeing Dr. M for my pre-op consult that afternoon and having the surgery the next morning. I'll stay for the rest of a week, then fly home and recoup. Believe me, I was pretty nervous about doing it that way, but 1) Dr. M and staff assured me that it's done all the time, 2) I met a great woman through this site (!) who lives in Dallas and had her surgery with Dr. M who is going to help me through the first few nights in a hotel, and she's invited me to stay with her the rest of the week! I made sure that I'll have a wheelchair meet me at both airports (weird, but what can you do?), a friend is picking me up, and by then, I should basically be okay with friends helping here and there. That's the plan.
April 10, 2014
P.S. If you go to YouTube, Dr. M is on there testifying at some govt hearing re implants. Pretty interesting.
April 10, 2014
Hi- DWM is the name to search, her profile and information has been helpful :)
April 11, 2014
You are so lucky to have met these really nice people. Good luck. Let us hear how you're doing. And thanks for all the info...
April 11, 2014
Hi mamamo! This site is an AMAZING resource! All of the women here seem to have learned so much and really come together to help each other. And it is so wonderful to hear of successful explant stories; it's really encouraging when you are beginning this journey yourself. It would be great for you to research some surgeons and go for some consults, everyone seems to do things a little differently and may suggest different things. Someone told me to just go in there knowing what I want and if I felt pressured to get new implants in or a lift, or anything I didn't want then I should trust my gut that this was not the right surgeon for me. Everyone here is so happy to help, believe me!
April 11, 2014
misspixie...thank you for the encouraging words. Even though I've been reading a lot just this week, I don't really know what search engines to connect me to these wonderful doctors. I keep coming up with plastic surgeons that specialize in implants (not Explants). But I'll keep trying till I find some familiar names from all of you.
April 11, 2014
Hi, mamamo. Here are some docs that I checked out. Some of them were too far away from me and some were very (too) expensive, but it's still good for info gathering. Dr. Linda Huang in Denver, Dr. Lisa Sowder in Seattle, Dr. Hayley Brown in Las Vegas, Dr. Lisa Cassileth in LA, and Dr. Edward Melmed in Dallas. Can't think of more right now. Check the DOCTORS section of this website; you can go to their reviews and see what people have said. Then just google the docs' websites. Good luck. :)
April 11, 2014
CandS - thanks for answering my questions. I'm in Fla. and so far, I haven't come across any in the southeast part of the country.
April 11, 2014
I do not know where you live, but I had my explanation in Phoenix with Dr. Meger. He was wonderful, my results are great, too!!!
April 12, 2014
Hmm... I know there are docs in Fla; just don't know about any of them. There's a state-by-state thing for docs on this site which you can check; then look at the reviews people have left for them. If anyone looks good, google their websites.
April 12, 2014
Yeah. Go to the top of this page, to the SEARCH bar, and type in: "doctors in florida breast implant removal". That will take you to docs in a number of cities there.
April 12, 2014
I'm in Florida. I'm checking to see if there are some closer, as good as the ones y'all have in other states. thank you for your input.
April 12, 2014
Mamamo, I know there are a lot of wonderful docs who specialize in removal of explants. I researched a lot of them too. All that I found were way out of my area and very expensive. With having a toddler at home and working full time, I just couldn't go across the country for this surgery. To be honest with you, because I thought of mine as a "simple" explant (not ruptured, no capsular contracture, no medical issues) I decided to just go with a surgeon who seemed knowledgable, understood what I wanted and made me feel comfortable. In my opinion, and from what I've read, it's a lot "easier" to remove an implant than it is to put it in, so I didn't think it was a big deal that my surgeon didn't necessarily specialize in explanting. Don't know if that helps you at all, but just sharing my experience!
April 12, 2014
misspixie, so how did your surgery go? Did you have it yet? How long did you have your implants? It would be more convenient to do it in my own state. Since I don't have any help.
April 12, 2014
It's also a lot less expensive if you don't have a lift. Whether you need one or not seems to depend on a lot of things including how big you were before the implants, how elastic your skin is, how much tissue you have, how long you've had the implants, and more. Some docs advise you to do the lift months after the lift to let it heal and then see whether you actually need it. Others do it when you have the lift.
April 12, 2014
I meant "the explant", at the end there. Also, I meant to add "how big your implants are."
April 12, 2014
CandS, I don't think I want the lifts at that time either. I guess I'm a wimp. My implants weren't big when I had them put in. But with gravity and age, they're much bigger (D's). Or, at least, my breasts are.
UPDATED FROM misspixie
2 months post
8 weeks post op
I have been a terrible RealSelf member lately- I haven't posted an update in weeks! Well I am now over two months post op and feeling great. Part of me feels like I've always been this small chested, it just feels so good and so natural to be me again. I have been running a lot more, about 12+ miles per week and have never felt so good in my life! Running feels so good and so easy now that I am lighter (and flatter!) My breasts look pretty much the same as they did a few weeks ago I guess, maybe getting slightly less wrinkly looking. My incision scars are healing really nicely, the left a little more ahead of the right. I haven't really worn any bras with underwires yet, just shelf bra tank tops, coobie bras and sports bras. They just feel more comfortable right now! I bought a few different sized bras from VS to try on (but haven't been officially measured yet) and so far I think the 34A feels most comfy. One day when I have some free time I'll go get measured for real! I guess I haven't "fluffed" at all yet and I feel like I have very little breast tissue. In fact if I put my arms above my head you can kind of see my ribs right thru them! At least at the top and center of my chest. But honestly I really don't give a crap! I just feel soooo happy not to feel like I have to hunch my shoulders to hide those big fake boobs. It's a relief to have them gone, that's for sure!
Replies (4)