Straight Breast Implant Removal - San Diego, CA

I had a breast augmentation procedure done on October 8, 2010. My implants are Mentor 350cc silicone gel- smooth round with a moderate plus profile. They are placed under the muscle. I went from a 32B to a 32DD. The original surgeon in Minnesota did a wonderful job- they are beautiful, but just too big for me. I am 5'5" and about 120 pounds. I have scheduled my surgery to remove the implants on July 15, 2013 with Dr. Pousti in San Diego, where I currently live. I am 27 years old and have never been pregnant and have no children.

I went in for my pre-surgical appointment today, July 3, and I am so excited for the surgery date! Dr. Pousti's office team is wonderful and welcoming. They make each patient feel at home and will answer any and all questions with the utmost professionalism and knowledge. I would highly recommend them to anyone considering breast implant removal. I am so happy to have found a surgeon that I trust and that I'm comfortable with, and I owe it to Real Self. All of the reviews by you wonderful ladies made my decision easy.

I made the choice to remove my implants because, although I truly loved them for almost 3 years, they didn't fit my lifestyle or outlook anymore, and I wanted to revert to a more natural look. I am a stomach sleeper and have always been bothered by not being able to lie flat. I have also been very active and found the extra weight and volume to be inconvenient and sort-of in the way. I know that the decision to explant without replacement is not favored by the plastic surgery community, and so I was even more relieved to find that Dr. Pousti was understanding and has had experience with performing this surgery many times.

I will post photos before my breast augmentation in 2010, before my explant coming up, and after the procedure.

I know that people make these personal choices for a variety of reasons, and I was lucky enough to not be forced to make this decision because of a medical issue stemming from my implants. My procedure will be very straightforward. I will be given general anesthesia to sedate me, my original incision sites under the breast will be used, and I may or may not have drains placed for fluid removal, depending on how my body reacts. My recovery time should be about one day. After that, I will need to take it easy with physical upper body exercise for several weeks. The doctor's office provides a compression bra to wear immediately afterwards, and I will be taking a pain pill (probably only needed for one day) along with nausea medication. I will need to sleep in an upright position for 3-4 days as well.

I've been told that the recovery period for breast implant removal is much quicker than the initial breast augmentation. From what I understand, there is much less pain involved.

During my consultation, I asked a number of questions which I think you all might find helpful. I was wondering about capsules and their removal. It turns out that the capsules that develop around the implants are basically made of each person's own scar tissue. So basically it is a somewhat hardened shell that, if left in place and collapsed after surgery, could not harm the body since it is actually composed of your own tissue. However, fluid buildup is possible in that space, which would need to be aspirated if drains are not placed and fluid does build up. I also asked about how to tell about the quality of the skin's elasticity and how well it will tighten up after. That is determined on a case by case basis and depends on a number of factors, so you really need to see a surgeon to get a professional opinion.

Although a lot of women probably wouldn't make the same decision I am making, I am prepared for what they will probably look like afterward. I have seen many before and after shots of implant removal, and I am expecting the worst but hoping for the best. My areolas enlarged with the original BA surgery, so I am hoping they will shrink a bit when the implants are taken out. Also, my left side implant has bottomed out slightly, so my crease on that side is a little lower. If my breasts return to a similar state to how they originally were, I will be happy. I miss my smaller breasts. So excited to have them back soon!!

I have been reading more reviews, and from what I gather, the recovery time is more like 3-5 days until the pain subsides, you can shower, and drains (if placed) are removed. So I am setting aside at least a week for recovery time.

I should mention the other reasons I am choosing removal. Aside from being uncomfortable when I sleep and the implants getting in the way while exercising, I will touch on the issue that seems to be a big topic of conversation here- self confidence. When I went in for my BA, I was in denial about why I was getting them. I truly felt that I just wanted a physical "enhancement" and that for me, it wasn't about self confidence. I am so relieved to find myself in the position I'm in today, which is looking back and seeing that I wasn't unhappy with my body before, but yes, I was lacking in self confidence. Today I see that it has changed. I am more confident and don't need the perceived "enhancement" anymore to feel good about myself. I hope other women will see themselves for who they truly are- beautiful inside and out, with or (preferably) without any artificial enhancements.

There is a wonderful website I came across, and it shows women of all ages, races, and locations with natural breasts. The idea is to give young people growing up the perspective to see what women are born with and what natural breasts look like (basically the reverse of what popular media does to sexualize and perfect the female body). It also tells how each woman feels about her own breasts, so a common trend can be observed- the women rarely say that they feel their own breasts are perfect, but some point out how they have grown to love themselves despite their imperfections: http://www.007b.com/breast_gallery.php

I am so inspired by all the strong women who have taken steps to return to their natural, God-given state. I am of the mindset that if women can embrace their bodies and not give in to media pressure to try to live up to the idealized female form, there will be a lot more character and individuality in the world. Why would everyone want to be the same? The world will be a much more interesting and beautiful place with a variety rather than a Stepford standard.

So I ended up having to postpone my explant surgery until May 1, but here I am afterwards, and I can tell you that I couldn't be happier! I am posting pictures of the results so far, and hopefully this will encourage others to go ahead with removal, if it's right for them. I was pretty worried not knowing exactly how I would look post-surgery (and I know this has been said before), but after having had my implants removed, I actually think I like my breasts better now... it's like they finally look more rounded out. I know I will always have scars, but Dr. Pousti did a great job of minimizing them and creating new, finer ones that fall into my creases. This website has really been the sole reason for my mental success with this, and if I hadn't found it, I don't know if I would have had the courage to explant- so thank you all!! I was able to adjust my expectations beforehand and make an informed choice. Also, I have to note that this website showed me which surgeons had positive reviews. This was tremendously helpful in finding a skilled surgeon. I strongly recommend Dr. Pousti for anyone in the area or out of state. He really takes the time to get to know you and what type of outcome you are hoping to have- a very personalized experience! His team is so caring and thoughtful too. They called me every day for two weeks afterwards, and they handled any and all of my concerns with patience and diligent care. I am extremely happy with them and how this whole process has turned out.

Here are some of the details that I couldn't post pre-explant. Dr. Pousti spoke with me the day of surgery to review everything before I went in. This helped to calm my nerves and assure me that we had covered all of the details. I am a bit of a perfectionist trying to maintain healthy, realistic expectations, and Dr. Pousti has been great in reassuring me while being honest along the way. When I woke up, I was told that everything went smoothly during surgery. I had a pleasant experience in recovery chatting with the staff. Everyone was nice, cheerful, and went out of their way to make sure I had everything I needed. I was not in much pain. I had drains placed for 6 days after the procedure. I slept in an upright reclined position for a week, which was a bit of a pain, but not a big deal. After taking pain pills for 2 days, I got a little sick from them. I wouldn't have had to take them at all and probably could have gotten by with Tylenol. The pain really wasn't too bad. The incisions were the only part that hurt for about a week, and then the pain faded altogether. I am two weeks post right now, and I have no pain or itching anymore. I like to err on the side of caution and always follow post-surgical guidelines to a T, and luckily the recovery for this was about 10 times easier than with my original BA.

The size I ended up with is the same as what I had pre-BA. I think the implants just acted as a pillow behind my breast tissue. The tissue was flattened out immediately afterwards, but in only two weeks, it seems that they have "fluffed" considerably. The negatives about the appearance are the dented look in the upper pole (which has been extensively covered on this site, although most natural breasts have little upper pole fullness, so I actually like it better), the scars (obviously, but they will be small and can always be revised to be minimized even further), and the slight stretched feeling of the skin afterwards. I am looking forward to continued improvement with my skin elasticity over time, but I'm satisfied overall if there is not much change. My areolas seem to have shrunk back to their original size with I'm very pleased about. Also, people have commented that I look like I've lost weight. I’m a fairly small person naturally, but that's always nice to hear.

Overall, SO WORTH IT!! My personal preference has changed a lot in three and a half years- I used to love my implants, and now I love the look of my natural breasts. The perks of going back to natural: I can sleep on my stomach (yay!!), I can wear button-up and low-cut shirts without causing a scene, I can exercise comfortably, I do not have to worry about any complications and further surgeries with implants, I do not have to worry about health issues developing due to implants, I can hug and actually feel close to people again, I am no longer top-heavy, I do not have to discuss implants with anyone (I'm a private person), I can find bras in normal sizes, I have very soft breasts again, I can wear strapless bras and swimsuits without having them fall down, I can buy cute padded bras again (the majority) any time I want to boost my bust without the weight of implants, I can move freely without implants getting in the way of my arms, I look thinner, I do not have to worry about someone else injuring them or rupturing an implant by accident, I can get the "right" kind of attention from guys instead, I look younger, I can accept a compliment without questioning if it has to do with my implants, I can finally stop obsessing about my breasts (!!), people actually look me in the eyes first now, and the list goes on.... haha. :)

I guess this is just a very freeing process, and it's nice for me to be able to do it for myself and no one else. I'm lucky not to have a spouse or boyfriend right now to worry about in addition to my own feelings of adjustment to my new proportions. But for those of you juggling all of that together, I commend you for your bravery! Remember that the only opinion that matters is your own, and you are the only one in your own body, so trust yourself. This is not an easy thing to do. Explanting is courageous when you know very well that the aesthetic result may be less than desirable, but if you are willing to give it time, I believe your body rewards you for treating it well. Good luck to everyone!