POSTED UNDER Breast Augmentation REVIEWS
Natural Breast Augmentation with an Amazing Dr. - Seattle, WA
ORIGINAL POST
I chose BA because I am 5'10" and about 130lbs and...
JRiley23August 6, 2011
WORTH IT$6,994
I chose BA because I am 5'10" and about 130lbs and have always been naturally thin (some would say too thin), which extended to my bustline. I have always felt confident and pretty, but disproportional - which is only exaggerated by my height. I didn't want a large enhancement: I was a 32B on a good day and went up to about a 32D (although most people don't really notice till I'm in a bathing suit).
I had submuscular, 330CC silicone, with the incision in my breast crease.
For the first few weeks post-op, I remember every other day I was terrified I went too little or too small. And I think sometimes I still think that when I catch myself at a bad angle. I used a VS Miraculous bra a few months prior to surgery to try to make my change less noticeable as I honestly have only told close friends, my boss and close family. Anyone I haven't told hasn't noticed (or at least hasn't mentioned) but it's sort of like I went to the exact size I was trying to achieve with the Miraculous bra. And at least in my opinion it looks way better (and feels better) than it did with all that padding. And now I don't have that awkward moment that I had in the past where my bra would sometimes thud when it hit the floor!
The biggest thing for me to get used to going from someone with little-to-no cleavage to someone with cleavage is appropriate wardrobe (I'm somewhat conservative and most of my V-Necks now need a camisole for work). Also working out feels a lot different! I notice I even cup my boobs in my apartment when I run downstairs if I am not wearing a bra as I don't want to get saggy! It's just a different sensation (not to mention boob sweat. Sigh, one draw back to breasts...)
The only other thing is that I know you always hear that BA will not fix self esteem problems. I never understood how that could be because I always felt like "If I just had boobs, that would make me happy" I do have to say that after my BA especially because you invest so much time and money I was incredibly worried and self conscious that I would hate my results or that I'd have some tragedy. I don't think mine are perfect, but I don't believe in perfect breasts anymore. I do sometimes still long for having natural large breasts - that will never go away because it's sort of like that was what I really wanted and no one can ever give you that.
When I looked at before and after I also noticed that you can always see the boobs usually stay the same before and after - so when selecting a doctor or a size, try to find pre-op boobs that are a similar shape/fullness/size to yours. It is freaky sometimes how much of "me" is still there when I look down, but freaky in a good way.
I do feel much more attractive and comfortable in most situations (I don't feel like I need to wear a padded bra to the gym for example). I also did it fairly young (25) - well before I had any sagging. I do worry that I may have difficulties breast feeding some day, but that was a risk I was comfortable with going into it.
You can see my before/after on Dr. S website - I'm currently case 2. I don't have many before personally but I've uploaded a few pictures that are post-op about 6 months.
I'm happy with my results, and I would be very happy to help anyone I can. I don't think I'm the typical candidate for BA - no one I knew guessed I would ever get one. I know for me the forums are sometimes hard to read when you're getting advice from someone who just got upgraded to 900CC and you're just looking for something natural.
I had submuscular, 330CC silicone, with the incision in my breast crease.
For the first few weeks post-op, I remember every other day I was terrified I went too little or too small. And I think sometimes I still think that when I catch myself at a bad angle. I used a VS Miraculous bra a few months prior to surgery to try to make my change less noticeable as I honestly have only told close friends, my boss and close family. Anyone I haven't told hasn't noticed (or at least hasn't mentioned) but it's sort of like I went to the exact size I was trying to achieve with the Miraculous bra. And at least in my opinion it looks way better (and feels better) than it did with all that padding. And now I don't have that awkward moment that I had in the past where my bra would sometimes thud when it hit the floor!
The biggest thing for me to get used to going from someone with little-to-no cleavage to someone with cleavage is appropriate wardrobe (I'm somewhat conservative and most of my V-Necks now need a camisole for work). Also working out feels a lot different! I notice I even cup my boobs in my apartment when I run downstairs if I am not wearing a bra as I don't want to get saggy! It's just a different sensation (not to mention boob sweat. Sigh, one draw back to breasts...)
The only other thing is that I know you always hear that BA will not fix self esteem problems. I never understood how that could be because I always felt like "If I just had boobs, that would make me happy" I do have to say that after my BA especially because you invest so much time and money I was incredibly worried and self conscious that I would hate my results or that I'd have some tragedy. I don't think mine are perfect, but I don't believe in perfect breasts anymore. I do sometimes still long for having natural large breasts - that will never go away because it's sort of like that was what I really wanted and no one can ever give you that.
When I looked at before and after I also noticed that you can always see the boobs usually stay the same before and after - so when selecting a doctor or a size, try to find pre-op boobs that are a similar shape/fullness/size to yours. It is freaky sometimes how much of "me" is still there when I look down, but freaky in a good way.
I do feel much more attractive and comfortable in most situations (I don't feel like I need to wear a padded bra to the gym for example). I also did it fairly young (25) - well before I had any sagging. I do worry that I may have difficulties breast feeding some day, but that was a risk I was comfortable with going into it.
You can see my before/after on Dr. S website - I'm currently case 2. I don't have many before personally but I've uploaded a few pictures that are post-op about 6 months.
I'm happy with my results, and I would be very happy to help anyone I can. I don't think I'm the typical candidate for BA - no one I knew guessed I would ever get one. I know for me the forums are sometimes hard to read when you're getting advice from someone who just got upgraded to 900CC and you're just looking for something natural.
JRiley23's provider
Replies (10)
August 7, 2011
I'm thinking about using Dr. S... do you have any before and after photos? How was the pain?
August 7, 2011
Yes, my photos are actually on his website. I'm listed as Case 2. Quite honestly, 7 months post-op I look much more natural than I did even then. Pain wise after the first 24 hours it's pretty good and the pain killers ease that quite a bit. I went back to work faster than most (5th day post op) and I wish I had waited a full week. Nothing tragic happened but I did get tired very quickly and little things like lifting a small light weight box, are somewhat embarrassing to ask people to lift for you.
After about a week the pain was minimal but I did use the full pain meds prescribed to me as I had a friend that said she stopped when she felt like she could and then it came back her 3rd day and she always felt like she was catching up so I would just go with it.
My greatest advice is to try very hard to be patient - originally I would take pictures myself every day trying to see them evolve and now it seems sort of silly looking back. Also scar prevention is probably easier than revision, so definitely use tape and a good moisturizer. I still use silicone sheeting to try to reduce my scars further - but I'm somewhat prone to bad scars (I have a keloid from an upper ear piercing) but his incisions were much smaller than I expected.
I also know everyone tells you to expect your final result at 6 weeks but my pictures were taken at 6 weeks and my breasts are much softer and more natural looking now than they were then. Most importantly choose the doctor that's best for you but he was most definitely the right choice for me. I'm actually even moving to England soon and if I ever need re-work or some other procedure I honestly would fly all the way back to see him again.
Just be sure you have a good idea of the risks and have a plan for what you would do if you did have a complication. I like that Dr. S has a really low rate of capsular contraction as that and sensitivity were my biggest concerns. Either way I consider myself lucky because I had a great experience and I know not everyone does. I have to say all of my close girlfriends have said they're jealous! Just do what feels best to you - if you meet him and feel at ease I think that and if you like his before/after work, would be your biggest selling factor. I'd be happy to answer any more questions though.
After about a week the pain was minimal but I did use the full pain meds prescribed to me as I had a friend that said she stopped when she felt like she could and then it came back her 3rd day and she always felt like she was catching up so I would just go with it.
My greatest advice is to try very hard to be patient - originally I would take pictures myself every day trying to see them evolve and now it seems sort of silly looking back. Also scar prevention is probably easier than revision, so definitely use tape and a good moisturizer. I still use silicone sheeting to try to reduce my scars further - but I'm somewhat prone to bad scars (I have a keloid from an upper ear piercing) but his incisions were much smaller than I expected.
I also know everyone tells you to expect your final result at 6 weeks but my pictures were taken at 6 weeks and my breasts are much softer and more natural looking now than they were then. Most importantly choose the doctor that's best for you but he was most definitely the right choice for me. I'm actually even moving to England soon and if I ever need re-work or some other procedure I honestly would fly all the way back to see him again.
Just be sure you have a good idea of the risks and have a plan for what you would do if you did have a complication. I like that Dr. S has a really low rate of capsular contraction as that and sensitivity were my biggest concerns. Either way I consider myself lucky because I had a great experience and I know not everyone does. I have to say all of my close girlfriends have said they're jealous! Just do what feels best to you - if you meet him and feel at ease I think that and if you like his before/after work, would be your biggest selling factor. I'd be happy to answer any more questions though.
August 7, 2011
Wow! Thank you for the quick response! I appreciate all of your feedback and updated photos. Did you go with Saline or Sillicone? Where did you have the implant placed (behind the muscle, in front of the muscle, etc)? How did you pick your size of implant?
I thought your before and after pictures look really good- your after pictures look totally natural! I'm very interested in Dr. S because from what I've heard he works hard to make sure they look natural and not fake. How much contact did you have with him throught the process? How often do you need to visit his office now that your surgery is over?
I thought your before and after pictures look really good- your after pictures look totally natural! I'm very interested in Dr. S because from what I've heard he works hard to make sure they look natural and not fake. How much contact did you have with him throught the process? How often do you need to visit his office now that your surgery is over?
August 8, 2011
No problem! I updated my original post too to sort of explain why I got them, too if that helps.
I had Silicone, under and crease incision. I knew prior to going into my first consult that I would want silicone/under. I was fairly certain about the crease incision but that was probably what I was most open minded about.
Everyone I had known before me had done saline and I had sort of poked a few Saline boobs haha on my friends and it always felt really hard - like I guess if you were flexing all the time? Just not natural at all and also it's more likely to ripple on the sides in thin people, which was a fairly sizable concern for me. Dr. S also told me about the gurgling/sloshing you can hear with Saline which would freak me out. There are certainly cons to Silicone, but to me none of the cons are that bad. Aside from cost (which I don't think should be a real factor) I don't get why anyone gets Saline, personally. But to each her own.
Size wise I went into my consult with the VS Miraculous that sort of brought me close to the size I wanted so that sort of gave him a good visual - I also told him what I wanted cup size (a full C basically, though they say not to reference that since it varies so much person to person). Then one of the staff brought in four sets of implant sizers and a sports bra and a shirt that I could try them out with. It's a little different than actual cause you can't really tell in terms of cleavage and what not but it gave me a really good idea. I tried them on again at my pre-op consult when I had narrowed down to two sizes and felt reassured that what I liked before hadn't changed (I think the actual number was like 337). It helped that he agreed it would be the best result for me... not sure what I would have done if we disagreed, but I'm guessing he would have told me to use my preference over his.
One thing I like about Dr. S and have heard of better doctors is that he sits you up during surgery to make sure they align with the size you had discussed - they basically bring extra implants to the surgery in case the ones you agreed upon end up looking too large or small. Typically the muscle contracting over the implant makes it look slightly smaller than normal. Also in Seattle the average BA is about 300-400CC so that helped me feel confident in my decision (LA/TX is usually around 600 which I cannot even imagine!).
I have heard from most people to lean toward the larger size if you're torn because most women usually just wish they had gone bigger. I would say 5% of the time I think that I went too small, and 5% I would say I went too big... the other 90% I just think it looks like what I think I should have looked like. I can also say that the size that I would have guessed I wanted by looking at them on the table was clearly not what I wanted when I tried it on. (297 or something like that I think). Which is funny because when I was younger I always thought well if I just had this little pad that the bra has I would be golden - and then you see these large implants and I thought "whoa I don't need all that" but it's a little different.
I had my initial consultation right around Thanksgiving, a pre-op consultation 2 weeks prior (my boyfriend at the time joined, and we called my mom on speaker who lives in Chicago), I think one longer phone call too after pre-op and then they prepped me for surgery and I learned a lot more about what to expect afterward. I think my surgery itself was about an hour or 2... I was pretty drugged haha I even asked the nurses and anesthesiologists if I could tip them!!
My surgery itself was Dec. 29th, I went back the next morning and then a week later. I saw him again at 2 weeks and then at 6 weeks out. I called a couple times inbetween and spoke to him at somewhat weird hours (I had slight bruising that freaked me out, but as I said I went back to work quick and I think lifting a gallon of paint may have been a bad idea) - he always offered a next day appointment anytime I had a concern but it always turned out to be nothing.
At two weeks I felt a little uneven which he did offer to revise if I wanted to - I can still see it a little but if you look at my before I can still see it then too, and it was more exaggerated at 2 weeks than now. I think it's mostly just that I use one side more than the other and for me I like them enough that I wouldn't want to risk surgery again for something so silly.
I really like that he leaves a very open door for any future appointments. I have read that some doctors set you up and don't really adapt within that. I was 2 hours late to an appointment once because of traffic and they actually apologized to me! Lastly I had a 6-month appointment just to make sure everything has settled out well. I would say they started feeling natural somewhere around 2 months and continue to do so more and more. Somedays they feel 100% real, which I love.
I don't have to go back anymore, but like I said I would if I had a complication or if I ever wanted other work. I do appreciate that he's also seems very skilled at other cosmetic surgery and that even his face work looks really natural. It's much more of an enhancement to me than an outright change. Which was very important to me.
I had Silicone, under and crease incision. I knew prior to going into my first consult that I would want silicone/under. I was fairly certain about the crease incision but that was probably what I was most open minded about.
Everyone I had known before me had done saline and I had sort of poked a few Saline boobs haha on my friends and it always felt really hard - like I guess if you were flexing all the time? Just not natural at all and also it's more likely to ripple on the sides in thin people, which was a fairly sizable concern for me. Dr. S also told me about the gurgling/sloshing you can hear with Saline which would freak me out. There are certainly cons to Silicone, but to me none of the cons are that bad. Aside from cost (which I don't think should be a real factor) I don't get why anyone gets Saline, personally. But to each her own.
Size wise I went into my consult with the VS Miraculous that sort of brought me close to the size I wanted so that sort of gave him a good visual - I also told him what I wanted cup size (a full C basically, though they say not to reference that since it varies so much person to person). Then one of the staff brought in four sets of implant sizers and a sports bra and a shirt that I could try them out with. It's a little different than actual cause you can't really tell in terms of cleavage and what not but it gave me a really good idea. I tried them on again at my pre-op consult when I had narrowed down to two sizes and felt reassured that what I liked before hadn't changed (I think the actual number was like 337). It helped that he agreed it would be the best result for me... not sure what I would have done if we disagreed, but I'm guessing he would have told me to use my preference over his.
One thing I like about Dr. S and have heard of better doctors is that he sits you up during surgery to make sure they align with the size you had discussed - they basically bring extra implants to the surgery in case the ones you agreed upon end up looking too large or small. Typically the muscle contracting over the implant makes it look slightly smaller than normal. Also in Seattle the average BA is about 300-400CC so that helped me feel confident in my decision (LA/TX is usually around 600 which I cannot even imagine!).
I have heard from most people to lean toward the larger size if you're torn because most women usually just wish they had gone bigger. I would say 5% of the time I think that I went too small, and 5% I would say I went too big... the other 90% I just think it looks like what I think I should have looked like. I can also say that the size that I would have guessed I wanted by looking at them on the table was clearly not what I wanted when I tried it on. (297 or something like that I think). Which is funny because when I was younger I always thought well if I just had this little pad that the bra has I would be golden - and then you see these large implants and I thought "whoa I don't need all that" but it's a little different.
I had my initial consultation right around Thanksgiving, a pre-op consultation 2 weeks prior (my boyfriend at the time joined, and we called my mom on speaker who lives in Chicago), I think one longer phone call too after pre-op and then they prepped me for surgery and I learned a lot more about what to expect afterward. I think my surgery itself was about an hour or 2... I was pretty drugged haha I even asked the nurses and anesthesiologists if I could tip them!!
My surgery itself was Dec. 29th, I went back the next morning and then a week later. I saw him again at 2 weeks and then at 6 weeks out. I called a couple times inbetween and spoke to him at somewhat weird hours (I had slight bruising that freaked me out, but as I said I went back to work quick and I think lifting a gallon of paint may have been a bad idea) - he always offered a next day appointment anytime I had a concern but it always turned out to be nothing.
At two weeks I felt a little uneven which he did offer to revise if I wanted to - I can still see it a little but if you look at my before I can still see it then too, and it was more exaggerated at 2 weeks than now. I think it's mostly just that I use one side more than the other and for me I like them enough that I wouldn't want to risk surgery again for something so silly.
I really like that he leaves a very open door for any future appointments. I have read that some doctors set you up and don't really adapt within that. I was 2 hours late to an appointment once because of traffic and they actually apologized to me! Lastly I had a 6-month appointment just to make sure everything has settled out well. I would say they started feeling natural somewhere around 2 months and continue to do so more and more. Somedays they feel 100% real, which I love.
I don't have to go back anymore, but like I said I would if I had a complication or if I ever wanted other work. I do appreciate that he's also seems very skilled at other cosmetic surgery and that even his face work looks really natural. It's much more of an enhancement to me than an outright change. Which was very important to me.
I'm glad you had a great experience!