52 Years Old, 5' 7" 120 Lbs, 32A/B to 32C, Natrelle 410 FF Gummy Bear Teardrops, 335cc

After years of breast envy and child rearing (two adult children now), I finally decided the time had come to treat myself to a decent pair of boobs! An acquaintance I met over the summer highly recommended Dr. Mark Epstein for the BA he had performed on her so I promptly made an appointment for a consultation. After the initial meeting, I knew I'd be very happy to have him perform the procedure and looked no further. I paid my deposit and scheduled the surgery for three weeks on.
I was clear from the start that I didn't want big, round [RS bleep] star-style boobs, telling Dr. Epstein I was partial to the teardrop shaped implants having reviewed photos of them and deciding a natural-looking slope (fuller lower pole) was more to my taste. I did not want anyone to see me post-op and know I'd had the procedure. I basically wanted to swap out my padded bras/bikinis for non-padded and look/feel sexier and more confident without my clothes. What little breast tissue I had pre-op was hard to see as my breasts are positioned very low on my chest so when viewed sideways without a bra my profile was quite flat.
Dr. Epstein is a big fan of the Natrelle Anatomical Shaped implants and decided I was the perfect candidate due to my diminished breast tissue and my goal for the most natural possible look. He said he used them routinely with great results (his patient reviews are stellar). He initially suggested I aim for a D cup but I adamantly replied that I would be most comfortable in the C range. Due to my very narrow chest wall, he chose the high profile implant (not sure what my BWD is - will find out). The week before the surgery I was in somewhat in a panic after reading so many other surgeons on Real Self stating a preference for round implants vs. anatomical for a variety of reasons (shifting out of the implant pocket, looking unnatural when lying down, less soft). Dr. Epstein and his staff assured me that none of those would be concerns, that all of his patients were very happy with their results and that his revision rate was far below the national average (less than 2%). In addition to the BA, I agreed to allow Dr. Epstein to correct an inverted nipple on my right side (an extra $2K!) figuring I was already spending over $10K and yet they wouldn't quite be perfect with two different-looking nipples. So I stuck with my original choice of teardrop implants and went ahead with the surgery on Aug 27th of this year.
The surgery went as well as expected and I was back to normal activities (except for my hot yoga) the next day! I would have returned to work two days post-surgery except that my grown son had had a terrible head injury from a skateboarding accident and I was in and out of the hospital for several days (talk about stress!!). Had I returned as planned, I'd have had to conceal the plastic medicine cup-cover that was sewn to my healing right nipple the first five days! I was wearing a draping scarf in 85+ degree weather!
My pain was relatively minimal during the initial healing process...I only required 800 mg of Ibuprofin on and off for about a week and then only as needed. The muscle contractions (forgot to mention the implants were placed sub-muscular) were quite painful at times, especially upon waking and standing up for the first time. I was also uncomfortable in my bras (non-underwire and sports bras) due to the chafing near the incision as well as touching the nipples which were hyper-sensitive after a few days. I flew to England on a planned trip exactly three weeks post-surgery with no issues. Upon returning, I resumed my hot yoga classes. After about five weeks, the swelling had completely subsided and any discomfort I'd previously had was gone.
I do wish I had gone slightly larger now although going up to the 385 cc from 335 cc would have made very little noticeable difference from everything I've read (50 ccs is about the equivalent of two shot glasses of volume, if I recall). It's possible that going above 400 ccs wouldn't have worked given my chest wall dimensions, skin elasticity, etc. It's true, however, that you quickly become accustomed to your new breasts, forgetting how small you started out. I still find myself looking at all the other BA photos on this site and wondering if I chose the right shape & size implants. I have to stop!!
Overall, after 2 1/2 months, I can say I am very happy with my beautiful, natural-looking new breasts (as is my "boyfriend"). I wish I'd done it about ten years sooner but I take good care of myself and intend to get the most mileage out of them possible (the advantage to being over 50 is that I'll probably never need them replaced!).
My four month post-op visit is next month and I'll post more before/after photos taken at the PS's office then.

This is the silhouette I was hoping for. Although I still wish I had a little more lower pole volume, I'm very happy with the natural appearance. They are lower on the chest than average but that's just the way I'm built.

Hi everyone. Today is one year since my BA so I thought I'd document here for anyone who's interested. Although I am overall pleased with final results, I occasionally wish I'd done more research before taking the plunge. I may have opted for round vs teardrop and/or slightly larger. Most of the time, however, I think I made the best choice (with surgeon's input), that my new boobs are proportionate to my frame & are as natural looking as I could've hoped to achieve.