BUTT IMPLANTS: Asian 29F, 5'3, 100lbs -- 230cc Natural Contour Intramuscular Solid Silicone - Sydney, AU

Hi RealSelf!
This is my first review. I have been a lurker for many years and have gleaned a lot of information from this forum for the various procedures I've had (breast implants, abdominal liposuction, buccal fat removal, fat transplant to nose, blepharoplasty, Botox, et cetera) and I thought maybe it's time to give back to the community.

INTRODUCTION

After careful deliberation over the course of a several years, I finally decided to take the plunge to get butt implants as I really have very little body fat to compensate for BBL. Similarly, I wanted something permanent and implants seem to be the only sure way to go so I went for an consultation appointment with Dr Laith Barnouti ($200 for consultation) who was ever so kind and informative. I scheduled in the surgery for 24 May and that was that.

DETAILS:
230cc, natural contour so on the smaller side of things but then I'm really very skinny (100lbs at 5'3"). Intramuscular implant. One incision about 7cm in length. Total cost around $18000 AUD, $1200 of which goes to the anaesthetist.

PRE-OP

Prior to surgery, you're told not to take any blood thinners (watch out for vitamin E and garlic and strawberries!), no alcohol and no smoking (I don't do either but just a heads up for the people who do) and strictly no food for 8 hours to surgery (essentially you fast after your last dinner). After surgery, you're told not to shower for a week, and that the drains will be kept in for a minimum of 3 days.

On the day, as far as I remember, I arrived at the day surgery clinic at 7:15 I was told to get changed into the gown and cap, remove all jewellery, 7:30 the nurse cannulated me on my wrist and 7:45 the anaesthetist put me to sleep.

Before I knew it, it was 11:30 and I woke up in the most excruciating pain. Holy moly. This is no joke. It really hurts so very much. Your bum feels like it's been cut open and stuffed which is of course stating the obvious but because the area is so rich in nerves and the muscle is quite large, you feel it radiating and regardless of how much endone you're getting, it just does not seem enough and I'm not even a cry baby. Really. And the dizziness. Don't even get me started there.

The nurse, bless her heart, kept giving me juice boxes and what do you know, it actually made me feel a little bit better.

12:00pm my best friend came to pick me up in his car and they wheeled me out on a wheelchair. I think I was moaning and groaning the whole time. Got into the car and sat on the back end of my thighs because it hurt too much to lean back and got home.

Crap. My stairs. That was a task and a half! But I did it! With the help of my best friend, we got me and my newly bolted on ass cheeks up the stairs and into bed where I laid belly down for what felt like forever and trying to compensate for the pain with sleep, endone (oxycodone) and panadeine forte (paracetamol + codeine).

I was prescribed augmentin (amoxicillin) and meloxicam both of which I was to take twice a day with meals which I did.

POST-OP DAYS 1-4

As I wasn't given a compression garment (apparently some require it and some do not) I was just a vegetable in a robe with two drains coming out the side of my bum like little blood grenades. It was a sorry and funny sight. Really couldn't move much at all and had very little appetite, but managed to hold down a lot of 2% Fat Plain Greek yoghurt, bananas, blueberries and protein shakes beefed up with psyllium husks and chia seeds aiming for between 1300-1500 calories. That was basically my diet for the next five days too. I wanted it to be high in protein to make up for the tissue rebuilding process whilst being easy to digest and also maintain levels of calcium and potassium, vitamins, trace minerals, and probiotics which are necessary in healing. Similarly I supplemented my diet with zinc, omega 3, curcumin, more probiotics, magnesium, more vitamin C, GABA, garlic and horseradish.

In terms of mobility, I was in so much pain and I couldn't sit on the toilet so I hovered over the top of it. Clean up was just baby wipes. No bowel movements for the first four days.

POST-OP DAY 5-7

Diet was maintained and finally had a bowel movement on day 5. It was dry and hard and I felt like my butt was going to explode but I did it and thank god I did.

Pain management was still the same and no significant changes there.

On day 6 (Monday 30 May 2016) I had the drains taken out. Hurt a lot less than I thought it would -- hurrah! They were such a nuisance. Necessary, but nonetheless a nuisance. And I was glad to see them gone. Dr Barnouti said that everything was looking great. I was to keep the tapes on my wounds for a week more but I was free to shower after day 7. On this day I started introducing some chicken breast and some fish and eggs as well into my diet -- maintaining a high protein diet is of absolute importance when healing from surgery.

So day 7 comes rolling around and so does another bowel movement! This time it wasn't too bad and I my butt didn't feel like death after. Pain is still pretty awful so I am still on the endone and the panadeine forte but I started trying to wean myself off of them on this day.

Bad idea. Big bag of nopes. Shouldn't have done it. I was crying into my pillow so much so I took up taking them again and what do you know? I'm so much more mobile and functional with them. I even managed to do 2 lots of laundry! So it was decided that I should stay on the pain killers until I'm ready.

I was still a bit scared to take a full shower as I didn't want to catch an infection on my incision so I did my best to wash my hair whilst keeping the rest of me dry and just cleaning up with baby wipes. Oh my goodness. It is the best. My scalp felt so good. I felt so much more dignified! Then I caught myself in the mirror and checked out my new rear view.

Yes sir, I am derrière extraordinaire! Zero regrets! I am very, very happy with the results thus far.

So that night, I went to sleep very happy with myself and a lot less sore than when I woke up because painkillers are pretty necessary in this procedure.

POST-OP DAY 8-9

Yesterday was day 8 and yesterday I introduced tomatoes and lentils into my diet because I wanted to poop more and one thing about those life saving painkillers is they obliterate any chances of you pooping normally -- that's the catch I guess. In terms of pain, it's manageable but clearly I am still not ready to be taken off the meds. I am hoping it will be easier in the coming week as it is a soft tissue procedure and even bone takes 6 weeks to heal so this should be significantly faster.

Today is day 9. I'm really trying to move around more -- maybe walking around my apartment about an hour or two since day 7. There's a radiating pain that sometimes comes from my butt down my thigh and into my calf when I point my toes in a certain direction but I think that's just the implant pressing on a nerve or something and everything will work itself out in time.

As for how the butt looks -- well, I will attach before and after pics. I'm loving it. The curve is so natural and full and surprisingly it has augmented my hips as well. Maybe that was something I should have taken into consideration before surgery but wow, my shape is nothing short of terrific right now and I have my surgeon to thank for it. I still have a ways to go in terms of healing -- apparently another couple of weeks minimum, but I'm really happy with what I've got so far. I've been told also that the size will shrink by 5-10% due to swelling and whatnot. I don't mind this at all, either. In any case, I feel it will all hang well on my body and I look forward to the bootyful days ahead.

Will keep updating as I go on healing and I hope I was able to inform some of the ladies and gentlemen out here looking to get this procedure.

Just a heads up to the folks down here in Australia who are interested in this procedure, particularly those in Sydney: the pricing is of roughly $18,000.00 (it was less than that but I can't remember off the top of my head the exact number but I believe it's listed on Dr Barnouti's website) is in Australian dollars. Understandably it is a significant jump from what seems to be the norm of $8,500.00-$12,000 in USA. With that said, there aren't as many surgical practitioners in Australia who perform this procedure, let alone specialise in it. Similarly, my work and entire life is here in Sydney and therefore it is foreseeably impossible for me to take 3 weeks off to go anywhere else for surgery and this was therefore my option. I think even if you were to travel overseas for this procedure based on cost alone, you'd come to roughly the same price if you include transportation, insurance, food, and lodging.

The past couple of days, I haven't really observed any significant changes from the previous week. Bowel movements are coming to tolerable normality occurring every other day of so. I've also observed that on days where my protein intake is significantly higher (1.5 times my usual intake), the pain seems to get better. I'm not sure if this is a coincidence though. In terms of dietary macros, because of this observation, I've been keeping it at 30% carbs, 55% protein, 15% fats, no caffeine, and I am eating at 10-15% my TDEE. I think I will continue to observe the healing process in conjunction with this dietary plan for another week or so before deciding whether or not to switch back to my usual eating habits.
Due to the broad spectrum antibiotic I was on (amoxicillin) in the fest few days I failed to mention I had developed thrush which is probably the most annoying thing ever but thankfully that was managed with Diflucan (fluconazole) and a lot of probiotics and yoghurt.
I took measurements and where I used to be 24" in the waist and 32" at the widest part of my hips, I have now become 36" at the widest part of my hips. I think a lot of this has to do with swelling though but I am really happy about this development as I've almost always been on the skinnier side and at 16% body fat generally because it's difficult for me to bulk. I think even after all the swelling goes down, the lateral expanse of the implant itself will give the illusion of a wider hip and I'm estimating this number will sit on a comfortable 34.5-35.5". I could be wrong but we'll wait and see.
"Sitting" on the toilet (more like a plié-squat combo) is becoming easier. I've found if you make put your feet in something that vaguely resembles second position (ballet parlance) and squat down tilting your butt out and up, it makes the process a lot more tolerable.
Kneeling is also now a lot easier so when I drop something, with a bit of effort, I can actually retrieve it.
I also cannot emphasise how glad I am to have baby wipes. Seriously. To everyone who is planning to get their butt done -- please invest in baby wipes. Like the value pack ones. Don't have to be expensive but they are a godsend when you are cleaning up down there as well as just wiping yourself down to clean in general when you can't shower. BONUS! They exfoliate too!
Been trying to walk a lot more to reduce swelling and it's working out alright. Standing up isn't an issue, walking (or waddling) isn't too bad either. The tough parts are getting up and out of bed and getting back into bed but even then it's tolerable when you plan your timing of pain meds correctly. I've found the paracetamol-codeine stuff takes about 30 min to kick in and the oxycontin takes about 20 min, so make sure you have a vessel of water and the meds beside you so can plan your trips to the toilet and walking and getting food, etc without too much pain.
The boredom from not really being able to do all that much is a bit of a bummer. I also miss eating salty, carb-heavy foods like fries and fajitas and nachos and ribs and ph? and I miss having a real sit-down meal but I guess this is just temporary and we'll get back to the yummy foods soon enough hahahaha
On the other hand, for the first time in my life I have a proper butt! This is so exciting for me and makes me feel so much more confident and feminine already. I know it's not as big as some of the others -- 230cc is a far cry from the 470-550cc I see so much of here -- and credit to every single one of you who went for the larger size as long as it's what makes you happy and I really do think they all look great. On me though, with my stick body, 230cc is just enough. Any larger and it would look really awkward on my frame as my hips are kind of narrow to begin with too.
I've got an appointment on Monday, 10am (essentially tomorrow morning) to replace the micropore tape off the midline and for my two week check-up. I hope everything is healing okay and that I am biologically on schedule. In any case, I will report back here the findings and post a progress pic then.
Hope everyone is having a great weekend!