Breast Reduction in SF - San Francisco, CA

I'm 57 years old, 5'7" and weigh around 180. I wear a (tight) 42DDD bra. I've been wanting a breast reduction for about 15 years -- my breasts grew to excessive size in my 40s. Tho I've always been on the busty side, in my 40s my upper back and shoulders started to be pulled out of shape. lots of pain around my shoulder blades. I had enough money in savings to pay for this, but my insurance came through for 60%, because I chose an out-of-network doctor.

(I live in a small town and wanted someone female and more experienced than are available here.) The plastic surgeon offered a free consult, and I was very favorably impressed with her. My pre-op was a few days ago, and I got the fistful of prescriptions filled today. I was quite anxious before the pre-op, but everything was explained to me in detail, and now I know what to expect, and i dont Feel as nervous. I'm scheduled for surgery on Monday, February 27, and will be at my sister's till the 1st post-op appointment (she lives a little closer to SF than I do).

Feb. 28, 2012
It's done! I like what I see so far. I haven't taken a close look inside the dressings/bra, except to follow the doctor's instruction to check the color of my nipples -- pink and getting good blood flow, not purple or black. I have a drain in on each side, and they are simple to empty and "reset". The vicodin makes me sleepy and kind of loopy, but the highest my pain has been when it wears off has been about a 5 out of 10.

Bless my RN sister who's taking really good care of me. Today we will be leaving our hotel for her house (about 2.5 hours away), and I will stay there till my post-op visit next Tuesday.

Dr. Rajagopal and her staff were very kind and helpful. This doctor has a lovely manner, energetic and warm, and whenever I can take a look at her work, I'll report back on that.

It's day 4 post-surgery, and I'm feeling pretty good. My sister was concerned about the color of my left nipple (bruised looking) and called the doc, who asked us to send photos via email, since we're 2 hours away. She said the pix look good, the bruising is normal (much more on the left -- right looks pretty happy ;-) Along with Keflex, I'm taking 2 herbal preparations for inflammation recommended by the doctor, drinking lots of fluids, sleeping quite a bit. Yesterday was a bit more of a high-energy day, today more of a crash. I'm happy so far with Dr. Rajagopal's work, and will report back after post-op on Tuesday, March 6th.