From JJ to D and Thrilled - Sydney, AU

29/3/13
I went from a 34E to a size 38L when breast feeding my son just over 6 years ago and only reduced to a 34JJ despite losing lots of weight after the birth. I hated my breasts. They caused huge amounts of back and neck pain and looked awful.

I have just moved from London back to Sydney and decided that now was the best time to do something about it as I am not yet working here.

I went to my GP and she was happy to refer me to a cosmetic surgeon as my boobs were so big. I made an appointment to see him a week later. I couldn't wait. For me it was a done deal, all I wanted to know were the costs as having just moved back to Aus I didn't have private health cover.

The Surgeon was great. He agreed they needed doing, and rather than try and sell me on the procedure, the first thing he did was tell me all the things that could go wrong e.g. Infection, losing the nipple, scarring, uneven sizing, reduced nipple and breast sensation etc etc. He then examined the breasts and took some pictures. I asked a few questions including could I speak to some of his prior patients and he agreed to provide names.

Later that day, his office sent thru a quote ($7000 less $1350 Medicare) for his services including aftercare. The hospital would be $2,726 for the surgery and $1,151 per night for a private room. My estimated stay was 2 nights. Other costs would be c$2,500 for the anaesthetic and c$1,500 for the surgery assistant. I haven't had all the bills yet but total cost estimate is c$AUD15,000.

The next day I spoke to two of his current patients. Both of them spoke very highly about the doctor and one of them had consulted two other surgeons before choosing him and both of these surgeons had spoken highly about my surgeon so it gave me more confidence. Plus they talked me thru their surgery and healing process. I rang my surgeon that afternoon and booked in for a week later.

I couldn't wait. I got teary every time I thought about it - tears of relief and happiness that I was finally doing this.

I went into St Vincents Private Hospital on Tuesday morning at 11am for a 1pm surgery. At 1pm my surgeon came in and drew on my breasts while I stood up. I was then taken in to the operating area and woke up in recovery about 6.30pm. I didn't feel any pain (really!) just a tightness around my chest where the bandages were. As I didn't need pain medication I was taken straight to my room. My husband arrived about an hour later but didn't stay long as I was quite tired.

I didn't sleep very well that night. I usually sleep on my stomach/side so found it difficult to sleep propped up on my back. Plus every time I did drop off I was woken by the nurses for blood pressure etc checks. BTW the nurses and others staff at the hospital were lovely. Made me feel very relaxed, nothing was too much trouble, and they shared in my joy about the surgery. I had two panadeine forte that first night but didn't need anything else. I could get out of bed to use the toilet with the help of a nurse to carry my drip and the drains. The surgeon said he had removed approx 2.4kg of breast tissue in total and put in over 300 stitches.

I was a bit scared to look at or touch my boobs that first night and day. It felt a bit surreal, to have such a dramatic change made so quickly. My boobs are a bit smaller than I expected too so that was a bit of a surprise.

On Wednesday morning the surgeon came in early and advised the drains and drip could be removed. One had not had any liquid in it at all since the surgery and came out very easily and with no pain, though there was bleeding from the drain site afterwards. The other one hurt a bit on the way out but there was no more blood. The surgeon checked me again that afternoon due to the bleeding but all was ok. He said I could go home if I really wanted to but I decided to stay another night as there was still some bleeding around one nipple and I was still quite stiff. I only needed two paradol that day as there was very little pain. One of the nurses helped me put on a sports bra. I slept much better that night and the nurses did not wake me at all.

I was awake early the next morning and moving around when the surgeon came in. He removed some of my bandages and replaced others, then covered much of them in a waterproof bandage and said I could have a brief shower, which was lovely. My husband picked me up just after 10am and I went home.

I've looked at my new boobs quite a lot since coming home, and hubby helped drape my old bra over my shoulders to see the difference. All I could do was cry with relief when I saw how big the change was.

One unexpected effect is back pain. I am getting a lot of that which I think is due to two things -
1. We are staying in short term accomm while we wait for our furniture to arrive and the bed is very uncomfortable
2. My back and neck are getting used to the change in my body structure.
I wish I had had a good back, shoulder and neck massage before I had the surgery.

Today is Friday and I've spent most of the day in bed or on the couch. It is getting easier to move so tomorrow I'll head outside for a while I think. I've only needed two painkillers since coming home and they were for headaches rather than breast pain.

I am really looking forward to buying some new clothes - all my tops are too big now! I'm swing the surgeon next Thursday so will write more afterwards.